Articles tagged with: Evolution
Conservation
Posted: Aug 8, 2010
Conservation Pittosporum seeds eaten by rats Along with its world-class showcase of biology, evolution, geology, and astronomy, Hawaii has also gained the regrettable reputation as the endangered species capital of the world. Conservationists consider Hawaii to be at the forefront of the global...Continue Reading »
Natural History of Hawaii
Posted: Aug 8, 2010
Big Island. Big Dreams. Big Adventures.Often referred to as one of the world’s greatest natural history stories, the incredible legacy of the Hawaiian island chain begins with geology. Trillions of tons of rock, driven up from the earth’s molten mantle through a localized hot spot, created...
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Biogeography
Posted: Aug 8, 2010
Biogeography of Hawaii World map Biogeography is the study of how geography affects the biological world. Geographic features play a dominant role in shaping Hawaii’s natural world and make it a great place for biogeographic studies. The Hawaiian islands make up the most extensive archipelago on...Continue Reading »
The Sex Lives of Flies
Posted: Aug 8, 2010
In 1963 a pre-med undergraduate student at UH Manoa got a summer job washing test tubes. The student was Ken Kaneshiro and the job was for the new Hawaii Drosophila Project. Today, Dr. Ken Kaneshiro is an eminent evolutionary biologist. He built his world-renown scientific reputation by studying...Continue Reading »
Evolution
Posted: Aug 8, 2010
Evolution, Hawaiian Style Lava Dubautia Alpine Dubautia Hawaii is a world-class showcase of evolutionary process. In fact, in many ways it surpasses the examples from the Galapagos Islands. Hawaii’s extreme isolation coupled with its phenomenal array of life zones allowed for the small pool of...Continue Reading »
Chirps and Trills
Posted: Aug 8, 2010
"Maybe I should write about crickets?" I asked. "Is there enough stuff to write an article on crickets?" Cindy responded. In answer I pulled down Daniel Otte's The Crickets of Hawaii, a 400 page tome on the Orthoptera of our fair islands. Filled with dozens of pages of cryptic graphs and close-up...Continue Reading »
The Essence of Honeycreeperness
Posted: Aug 8, 2010
Iiwi Photo by Jack Jeffrey Once Hawaii was for the birds. Before the arrival of humans, it was birds, not mammals, which dominated the environment. Today Hawaii’s native forest birds are disappearing. Nearly half of the 140 bird species that were known from historic times are extinct and over 50...Continue Reading »
You Pest
Posted: Aug 8, 2010
I am the baby of six siblings. Growing up I was often referred to as a pest by my older brothers and sisters. “Mom, he’s such a pest. Do I have to take him along?!” “Quit being such a pest, Robbie.” Never lacking affection, attention or love, this pesty tag never bothered me too much. In fact,...Continue Reading »
Lumpers and Splitters
Posted: Aug 8, 2010
I like to know the names of things. Whether it’s the weed that leaves flat sticky seeds on my socks or the little worms that eat holes through my books, it drives me crazy if I don’t know their names. And though I often settle for the common name, it’s the scientific one that really catches my...Continue Reading »
A Founder Effect
Posted: Aug 8, 2010
Founder effect: Combination of genetic drift and natural selection resulting in a new genetic direction for a small population or individual in a new environment. (Dictionary of Biology, E. Martin 1986) My first lesson in Hawaii was about dirt. Soil development to be more precise. Like many who...Continue Reading »
Micro, Meso, and Macro Cavernous Critters
Posted: Aug 8, 2010
Let your imagination run wild. Visualize a subterranean world, literally underfoot. Tiny cracks in rock a millimeter wide, empty pockets once filled with volcanic gases, wider crack passages which may fit your thumb and even a hand, and also picture large caves that run for miles. Now imagine all...Continue Reading »
Don’t Call Me A Spelunker
Posted: Aug 8, 2010
Speleological, stalactites, stalagmites, troglobites, chemoautotropic the glossary of the underworld is intimidating. So is a descent thirty feet down on a six-inch-wide cable ladder into a dark, unknown hole in the forest. This is the world of cavers and caving (few of us moles use “spelunkers”...Continue Reading »
A Bird’s Bone View of Hawaii
Posted: Aug 8, 2010
Last month a bunch of bird people were in Hilo. They attended the 67th Annual Meeting of the Coopers Society. The Coopers Society publishes The Condor, one of the prestigious journals for ornithological research. Professional researchers, government officials, land managers, and conservationists...Continue Reading »
Creative Isolation
Posted: Aug 8, 2010
This summer the Pope and I came to an understanding. If you account for a Supreme Being, he said, the Vatican doesn’t have a problem with evolutionary theory. He went further to suggest that to view “life in terms of an ‘ongoing creation’ is a scenario that makes increasing sense, scientifically...Continue Reading »
Extinction at a Snail’s Pace
Posted: Oct 10, 2010
Most people are not fond of snails. Snails are known as serious garden and agricultural pests. Some like to eat them, but most of us think of them as slimy critters. The native Hawaiian snails however deserve a second look. While one type of native Hawaiian snail is affectionately called “Snot...Continue Reading »
Hawaii’s Native Birds
Posted: Oct 10, 2010
Roll over each bird to learn more Akiapolaau Akiapolaau Scientific name: Hemignathus munroi Status: Endangered Distribution: Hawai'i Island only, above 3,500' in 'ohi'a-koa forests. Best Adventures to Observe: Rainforest and Dryforest, Hakalau Forest Wildlife...Continue Reading »
