Island Extinctions, Hawaii

"At least half of Hawaii's native land birds were extirpated by the early Polynesian settlers, who cleared the lowland forests, hunted the larger species, and introduced the first of what would eventually become an army of non-native species that prey upon or compete with the native species. And approximately half of the remaining species disappeared following the arrival of European settlers in the 19th century. The Europeans cleared still more of the forests and brought with them many more harmful invasive species, including mosquitoes that transmitted two deadly diseases-avian pox and avian malaria-to the native birds."

"On the Hawaiian Islands, 60 native bird species have become extinct since the arrival of the Polynesians between 1,500 and 2,000 years ago. Roughly one-third of those remaining (20-25 species) disappeared in the two centuries following the arrival of the Europeans, and two-thirds of the surviving species are now endangered. . . . Before discovering the great Holocene extinction of Pacific birds, biologists and biogeographers thought that today's distribution patterns for birds were natural. Now they are beginning to reinterpret the patterns and to recognize human effects. . . .While some of the range losses for living species might be restored through conservation efforts, it is increasingly apparent that we are centuries too late to preserve any true reflection of the original Pacific avifauna."

"Evidently, the islands had been populated by various species of flightless geese, ibises, and rails; three species of long-legged owls; an eagle; a hawk; two species of crows; four petrels; and assorted honeycreepers and finches. As many as forty-four species of birds became extinct in Hawaii before they could be recorded by ornithologists."

"Not only exotic species were introduced; massive damage has been done by commonplace aliens. Rats, pigs, goats, dogs, cats, snakes, and mongooses have fed on birds and birds' eggs, contributing to the downfall of native Hawaiian birds. No single factor is responsible for the crash of these bird species, but habitat loss, introduced avian diseases, and the deliberate taking of certain species have combined to make the Hawaiian Islands a showplace for island extinctions."

"A perennial shrub of dry shrublands on calcareous sand, atolls, and on emerged atolls. . . . The last known individual of A. atollensis was seen in 1964 and is now thought to be extinct. Islands where this species was most commonly found have been heavily affected by the development of military installations. The decline of the species has been attributed to this development, as well as the introduction of alien plants and animals."

"Some Hawaiian birds have proved horribly vulnerable to mosquitoes. At altitudes where these insects don't flourish, the birds seem safe; if captured and brought down to lower altitudes, individuals can be dead in a matter of hours from the effects of bites."

"Cyanea giffardii was endemic to the Island of Hawaii. The species is known only from the original specimens collected in 1917 in the Glenwood area in the district of Puna on Hawaii Island."

“Endemic to Kauai in the Hawaiian Islands and once widespread throughout the island from sea level to the highest elevations, by the 1970s this species was only found within the Alaka'i Wilderness Preserve. In 1981, only a single pair of birds remained, of which the female was lost in 1982 and the male has not been sighted since 1985."

"The most poignant loss, however, may have been the Kauai 'o'o. A sleek chocolate-brown bird with bright yellow thighs, it was the last of a noble line of 'o'os that were celebrated in Hawaiian folklore for their beautiful feathers. The 'o'os that once lived on Oahu, the Big Island, and Molokai had been driven to extinction by the beginning of the twentieth century, leaving the Kauai species as the sole survivor. A small population held out in the heart of the Alakai wilderness, delighting the handful of intrepid ornithologists who sought them out. About 36 birds were thought to survive in the early 1970s. Within a decade, that number had dropped to only 2, a pair nesting in the big ohia tree. After a hurricane struck Kauai in 1982, only one individual, a male, could be located. He survived for 4 more years, vigilantly guarding his little territory, constantly singing for a mate that never appeared."

"The Kākāwahie (Paroreomyza flammea), also known as Moloka'i Creeper, has not been recorded since the early 1960s despite intensive forest bird surveys in the 1970s, 1988, and 1992 and is probably extinct."

"When rabbits were introduced to Laysan, they ate the foliage that provided cover for the little rails. Because the birds were fast disappearing, some were collected and transported to the rabbitless Eastern Island of the Midway Atoll, where they flourished. In 1943, a US Navy landing craft drifted ashore on Eastern, bringing an invasion of rats..."