Hawaiian Islands


The Hawaiian Islands are the most isolated lands on the Planet. Located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, at 19 degrees North in the Tropic of Capricorn, the Islands are more than 2500 miles from the nearest continent.

The Hawaiian Islands were formed from the "hot spot," a magma pipeline in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, which is still actively flowing this very moment on the big Island, Hawaii. In fact, Mauna Loa, the largest mountain in Hawaii, at 13,679', makes up the bulk of the Island and is an active volcano. Kilauea volcano, also on the big Island, at 4,078', is very active. In fact, it has been flowing continuously for over 16 years.



  • The Hawaiian Islands are a perfect laboratory for the study of Natural History and Evolution.
  • Colonization

    • Plants and animals have been coming to Hawaii for millions of years. The isolation of the islands made it difficult for many species to survive the trip. Colonists in Hawaii had hurdles to overcome, therefore many species of plants and animals that are found on the continents are not found in Hawaii. "Disharmony" is the term for gaps, or missing species of flora and fauna. For example, large mammals did not make it to the islands. Imagine islands in which there are no feral ungulates; no cows, goats, sheep, bears, or wild boars. The plant and animal life that did survive the trip had a paradise, they had no predators so they could thrive and evolve undistrubed for millions of years. That is what happened in Hawaii.

    Plants and animals originally came in three ways; by wind, wing (attaching to birds), and water (by flotation.) Only small things can come by wind. Fern spores, parachute-shaped seeds, insects, and land birds were blown to Hawaii. The trade winds, kona storms, occasional hurricanes, and the jet stream makes travel by air possible. Animals that made it by wing are migratory birds, shore birds, bats, and plant seeds that came in or on birds. Insects such as worms and snails came between the mud on birds toes. Slimy seeds could stick to wings and make the journey. Larger bouyant seeds could float over. Wood provides floating rafts for seeds and other living things to travel on as well.

    There are many hurdles to overcome when crossing the Pacific Ocean. Not only do plants and animals have to be the right size, and be able to tolerate extremes in weather, but they also have to be in the right place at the right time. Another bottleneck is the equatorial current which prevents things from coming to the islands.

    Once the adversity of the long journey has been overcome by the shipwrecked creatures, they have more bottlenecks in order to survive in the new lands. Plants must land in favorable places with the growing conditions they need. They must also have suitable pollinators for reproduction. Animals need a mate and a food source. These conditions determine who will survive.

  • Adaptive radiation and Natural Selection
  • Endemnism

    An endemic plant or animal is only found in the place that it evolved, no where else in the world. The plants and animals that colonized the Hawaiian Islands didn't have competition, therefore evolved into many endemic species.

    Here are the statistics:

    • Groups of Native Flora and FaunaTotal # of Species, Subspecies, VarietiesPercentage which are Endemic
  • Insects-----------------------3750---------------------------99+
  • Land Molluscs-----------------1064---------------------------99+
  • Birds----------------------------71--------------------------98.6
  • Flowering Plants---------------1729--------------------------94.4
  • Ferns---------------------------168--------------------------64.9

    • The land birds are a wonderful example of evolution in isolation because they adapted to many environments and evolved physical characteristics that enabled them to exploit the resources of the environment. Some species of honeycreepers adapted to the dry forest and had strong beaks for cracking hard seeds. Other species, from the same subfamilies, found the forests and developed long, curved beaks for drinking nectar. The Hibiscus family also evolved many endemic species. Hawaiian Hibiscus flowers are unique in their appearance and they evolved with the birds which are their pollinators. You have heard the expression, "The birds and the bees, the flowers and the trees." Hawaii's birds and plants are an excellent example of co-evolution.

    Photos by Jill Wagner

    Hibiscadelphus hualalaiensis, on the left, is restricted to Hawaii island, it is found no where else in the world. Kokia drynarioides, on the right, is also an endemic hibiscus that is a food plant for the nectar drinking honeycreepers. These plants are endangered today. There are only a few plants left in the wild and some specimens are only found in botanical gardens. The reason for the rarity of these plants is that their habitat has been destroyed.
    Conservation strategies must be implemented to preserve native Hawaiian ecosystems and the plants that belong to the islands.

    More to come..

    TREE Center
    The Nature Conservancy
    Hawaii Natural Heritage Program
    'Ahahui Malama I Ka Lokahi
    Greenpeace, Save the Rainforests of the World

    climb the mountains and get their
    good tidings. nature's peace will flow
    into you as sunshine flows into trees...

    John Muir