Islands are well known among biologists for having a wealth of endemic, unique species found nowhere else in the world. Unfortunately, there is another reason why island organisms have attained celebrity status among biologists: they are extremely vulnerable to extinction, much more so than mainland species. These two attributes are connected. The uniqueness of island organisms is the main reason why they are so susceptible to rarity and extinction, a condition that has been likened to a “Shakespearean tragedy” (Wilcove 1999). In recent times, this tragedy has hit the Hawaiian Islands harder than any other island group. They are the most isolated island group in the world, so almost all of the wildlife on Hawaii is unique and found nowhere else. Each species was specially adapted to its island habitat and extremely sensitive to any changes to its nature because it had developed in isolation from conditions that had shaped mainland organisms. Not surprisingly, human colonization of Hawaii has been disastrous to its wildlife. This paper documents what has already been lost, what is currently being lost, and what is being done to conserve what is left of one of the stranges

Introduced birds have also caused their share of problems, but to a lesser extent than the mammals and birds. Some, such as the white-eye (Zosterops japonica) have invaded even the remotest areas of the islands, the last refuges of the native wildlife (Wilcove 1999). Zosterops is now the most abundant land bird on the islands. Even though it is a non-native species, many conservationists believe it is so common it wouldn’t even be possible to eliminate it. More importantly, the white-eye pollinates native plant species that have lost their native bird pollinators. The ie’ie vine (Freycinentia arborea) was once pollinated by three native birds that are now highly endangered and one that is extinct (the Kona Grosbeak (Chloridops kona)). The white-eye replaced these native birds just in time and became the main pollinator of the species, and in doing so it probably saved the vine from extinction (Cox et al. 2000). Similarly, introduced ring-necked pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) and chukar (Alectoris chukar) have been shown to play a beneficial role in dispersing native plant seeds and generally replacing several extinct or rare birds in Haleakala National Park (Cole et al. 1995), while not having a major detrimental impact on the ecosystem.

From all of the negative examples listed above, it would seem that there isn’t much hope for Hawaii’s wildlife. However, despite all of the extinctions, alien species, and habitat loss, over one-fourth of the land in Hawaii is still undeveloped (Royte 1995). This means that even though many species have been lost from these areas due to reasons other than habitat loss, the potential exists for reintroduction programs for rare species, removal of alien species, and restoration of native ecosystems. In the case of native plant recovery, a study of Pacific Islands with and without introduced herbivores suggests that native plants can successfully resist alien plant invasions as long as there are no herbivores on the island (Merlin & Juvik 1992 in Cabin et al. 2000). This is probably not true in all cases, but it does suggest that if Hawaiian conservationists can rid the islands of pigs, goats, sheep and other grazers (which is not an easy task), they could allow native plants to recover without having to fence off areas at great expense. Areas that have already been extensively damaged by grazing are unlikely to recover significantly, if at all, but rugged or remote areas that have only been slightly grazed often improve dramatically after the area is fenced or the grazers are removed (Cabin et al. 2000). Apparently it is the twin threat of grazing by alien ungulates and competition from alien plants that is causing the extensive problems for the native plants, but removal of the ungulates (which is much easier to do than getting rid of all the alien plants) may be the key to the recovery of Hawaii’s plants, and ultimately, the wildlife that depend on them. As an example, after the rabbits were eliminated on Laysan Island the native plants slowly grew back with the help of conservationists and many of the birds that had been driven nearly to extinction recovered eventually (Wilcove 1999).

t and most fragile ecosystems on Earth.

Many people, even biologists, are tempted to dismiss Hawaii’s uncommonly high number of rare and extinct species as a special situation caused by Hawaii’s extreme isolation, one that does not reflect conditions on the mainland. However, the possibility exists that, just like in Hawaii, mainland habitats around the world will have to be fenced off and patrolled for destructive alien species and rare native species will have to be taken from the wild, bred in captivity, and carefully introduced back into their environments. Currently, Hawaii is almost like an AIDS-stricken quadruple-bypass heart surgery patient, and the doctors (conservationists) are working overtime to save her. The only difference is there is a cure for many of Ha

Some topics in this essay:
Native Americans, Park Cole, Hawaiian Islands, Pacific Ocean, Laysan Island, Goose Branta, Park Royte, Merlin Juvik, Park Maui, Species Islands, wilcove 1999, et al, native plants, royte 1995, plant species, et al 2000, al 2000, native birds, wilson 2002, habitat loss, found else, unique found else, cole et al, cabin et al, hughes et al,