endemism, evolution and extinction in the hawaiian archipelago
TRANSCRIPT
Endemism, Evolution and Extinction
In the Hawaiian Archipelago
The Hawaiian Islands are some of the most geographically isolated land
masses in the world
They are volcanic islands surrounded by the Pacific
Ocean
Except for one tiny atoll to the south, the Hawaiian Islands are separated from all other islands
by over 1000 miles!
So how did living things get to the Hawaiian Islands?
Make a guess!
By Wing (manu)
By Wind (makani)
Hawaii
By Water (moana)
When hardy, small or lost creatures made it to Hawaii
alive….
Survival wasn’t likely.Why do you think that was so?
Most people think of Hawaii as paradise but it is in fact, a chain of rugged volcanic
islands
It’s not easy to survive on barren volcanic rock
Scientists estimate that the survival rate was one successful natural colonization every 35,000 years.
When the Hawaiian islands emerged from the ocean, they had no coral
reefsReefs take millions of years to form as the island
slowly becomes an atoll
Lacking suitable habitat, shelter and food…..
Most species that arrived alive to Hawaii soon perished
Today, the reefs of the remote Hawaiian Islands team with
life!
25% of the marine species found near the northwestern Hawaiian
islands that make up the Papahānaumokuākea Marine
National Monument…
Are found nowhere else in the world!
Can you explain that?
Talk to your classmates and try to come up with an
explanation!
Hawaii has another distinction…
Approximately 30% of all endangered species in the United
States are in Hawaii
Why do you think there are so many native (and endemic) species in Hawaii that are
threatened with extinction?