Nature Notes

All animals have one main purpose: to survive. In general, everything about an animal relates to one of three basic drives: to eat, to escape from predators, and to have babies. When we study animals, we look at the way they are made (structures) and the way they act (behaviors). "Structures" means more than just bones and muscles. It includes shape, size, body covering (fur, feathers, or scales), and coloration. Sometimes, structures and behaviors work together to help animals survive. For instance, some baby chicks living in the Alaskan tundra have colors and markings (structures) that enable them to blend into their surroundings. They also instinctively sit absolutely still and close their eyes (behaviors) so that circling hawks or other predators can't see them.

Human Impact
We have to learn how to share the planet with animals so that we (humans) and they (wild animals) can both survive. In the past, humans have destroyed animals, plants, and whole habitats without regard for the balance of nature. Every day, we learn more about how plants and animals help humans and are important for human survival. One recent discovery, for instance, is a new clot-busting medicine used to treat people who have suffered strokes. This new medicine is made from a chemical found in the saliva of vampire bats. Who would have ever thought that an animal which has horrified people for centuries would turn out to be a lifesaver? When we build new cities, shopping malls, and freeways, we are cutting into the habitats of animals. If we destroy habitats, we destroy the animals that depend on them. Can we develop ways to manage the growth of our living areas without destroying wildlife? In the end, our own survival may depend on how well we do this.

For more information about the importance of protecting different species of wildlife, see "Biodiversity: The Fragile Web," National Geographic, February, 1999 (Vol. 195, No. 2)

Hawaii's Natural History
The Hawaiian islands hold a unique place in the natural world. Formed by volcanoes that grew from the ocean floor, the Hawaiian islands stand alone in the middle of the largest ocean in the world. They are a work in progress -- in the northwest, old islands slowly sink below the ocean, while in the southeast, a new island rises under the sea. Because they are so far from other land masses, it is hard for animals and plants to cross the vast expanse of open ocean to get to the islands. All plants and animals who lived here before people arrived came in one of three ways: by wind, wing, or water. Some were blown to the islands, some flew here or were carried by birds, and some floated or swam. All species that came to the islands changed in some way -- that is, they adapted so they could survive better. If they could not adapt, they died out. For instance, scientists have found evidence -- bones -- of bird species (and one bat species) that once lived on Hawaii but did not survive to the present.

In the days before human contact, Hawaii had few predators and little to endanger plants and animals. Over thousands of years, Hawaiian plants and animals lost their defenses. When humans did come to stay, sometime around 800 BC, they brought new plants and animals with them. These new plants and animals, hardier than native Hawaiian species, began to replace the native species. Later, when Europeans came to the island, the numbers of introduced species increased rapidly, and native species began to disappear. Today, visitors to Hawaii must travel high into the mountains to find native plants and animals. Many are seen only in museums. 95% of all known extinctions in the United States have taken place in Hawaii.

On the other hand, hope is coming from a variety of places, including one unlikely source: golf courses. Many courses in Hawaii have joined forces with the National Audubon Society to become bird sanctuaries. One golf course in Kaneohe, for example, has four endangered native birds living along its water holes: Hawaiian ducks, coots, gallinules, and stilts. At Barbers Point golf course, Kolea stand impatiently waiting for golfers to get off grassy tee boxes while groups of stilts squabble over landing space. On Kauai, golfers often have to wait for small flocks of Nene to walk off greens. Such happenings seem to show that if we just give them space, these birds will thrive.

To read more about Hawaiian natural history, look for these books:

Atlas of Hawaii (third edition), Juvik, Sonia P. and James O. Juvik, editors. (University of Hawaii Press, 1998)
By Wind, By Wave: An Introduction to Hawaii's Natural History, by David L. Eyre (The Bess Press, 2000)
Islands in a Far Sea: The Fate of Nature in Hawaii, by John L. Culliney (University of Hawaii Press, 2005)



© Marion Coste 2005. All Rights Reserved


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