These Letters Were Written To Express: 11/01/2009

Hawaii, a beautiful place to live with lots of beautiful plants and animals. But are they all from Hawaii? Hawaii is rich with an endemic biodiversity. Endemic means that it originated in Hawaii and was not a type of introduced specie. Biodiversity is the number and variety of species in one area. Species brought to Hawaii are part of its biodiversity but can also ruin the greatness of it. Invasive alien species in Hawaii are a threat to Hawaii’s rich biodiversity.

Hawaii’s biodiversity has many unique and well adapted species. Most of them aren’t even found anywhere else but in Hawaii. Invasive species came here by themselves or were brought here. The early settles brought as food, so they had something to eat. The Hawaiians brought “32 species of plants, geckos, pigs, and rats. In less than 2 millennia Hawaiians had forced 17 flightless birds to go extinct.”(http://www.explorebiodiversity.com/Hawaii/Pages/conservation.htm). Birds such as the flightless goose to the Hawaiian ‘O’o has gone extinct because of alien invasive species. These birds were here from 1000-1300 years ago. Then another reason why they were brought here is to solve problems from species that were already ruining the biodiversity. But once the problem is gone, the species that were brought here would multiply and become a larger population.

Another invasive species that is a threat to Hawaii’s biodiversity are humans. Humans harm the native animals by capturing them and altering the natural habitats, these areas that the native species would need to survive. Once they alter it, the habitats for the native species would get eliminated and the native species would not be able to survive anymore. Due to Hawaii’s small animals that were not adapted to compete, Hawaii became vulnerable to its threats. If these native species become extinct, the stunning array of plants and animals will quickly disappear. If they disappear, Hawaii’s biodiversity wouldn’t be rich in its unique and large variety of animals.

Due to the Invasive species, Hawaii’s biodiversity has suffered for it. Hawaii’s biodiversity is as rich as it is now because of the native species. Its native species have well adapted to its environment and are about to live and reproduce easily. But because of Invasive alien species, they are becoming extinct. When they become extinct, Hawaii’s biodiversity wouldn’t be good anymore because it would have a small amount of species in this area. A type of native specie that is now becoming extinct because of its threats are the Silversword, it was still recovering from its depletion from collectors but is now having a hard time about Argentine Ants that attack its pollinators. Another is the Oahu tree snails. They are rapidly disappearing from Oahu’s forests from people collecting it’s shell. The biodiversity mostly depends on its variety of different animals. And if the native species continue to become extinct, there wouldn’t be much of a variety except the invasive species that came to Hawaii.

The invasive species are affecting Hawaii’s biodiversity. They only thrive on a specific habitat and when they do, the native species living in that habitat would become extinct. They would limit the sources that are needed by the native species that were already in that habitat. When its sources are limited, they are forced to compete and since they were adapted to compete, they won’t be able to survive. They would also mess with the interaction of the native species, interaction that they need to survive and multiply. Invasive alien species would also prey on native species, give them diseases, and hybridize. Having all these threats that affect the native species, would affect the way that Hawaii’s biodiversity was.

Hawaii’s biodiversity is important. We need the native plants and animals. They recycle nutrients, produce oxygen, pollinated plants and these plants are used for crops, fibers, and medicine. The biodiversity is good for human health, economy, ethical, and aesthetic reasons. They perform needed ecological roles in our biosphere.

Hawaii has 30 vertebrates, 102 invertebrates, and 515 plants that are considered “critically imperiled globally”. This means those 1–5 occurrences and/or fewer than 1,000 individuals remaining. All these animals and plants played an important role in Hawaii’s biodiversity and played ecological roles. Every year, Hawaii receives and excess of 20 new species. All of which could destroy and eliminate the native species by creating a competition that the native species are vulnerable to.

Bibliography

KC3 thesis

KC3- draft

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