Hawaiian Natural History, Ecology, and Evolution

498 Pages·2002·4.641 MB·English

by  Alan C. Ziegler

Hawaiian Natural History,
Ecology, and Evolution
Alan C. Ziegler
Hawaiian
Natural History,
Ecology, and Evolution
The perpetually isolated location of the main Hawaiian Islands. On this map, known as an
azimuthal equidistant projection, the concentric circles radiating from Honolulu indicate units
of 1,600 km (1,000 miles). (Unnumbered figure on p. 9 of Armstrong [ed.] [1983], used with
permission of University of Hawai‘i Press.)
Hawaiian
Natural History,
Ecology, and Evolution
Alan C. Ziegler
University of Hawai‘i Press
Honolulu
© 2002University of Hawai‘i Press
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
07 06 05 04 03 02 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ziegler,Alan C.
Hawaiian natural history, ecology, and evolution /Alan C.Ziegler.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
ISBN 0–8248–2190–4
1. Natural history—Hawaii. 2. Ecology—Hawaii. I. Title.
QH198.H3 Z542002
508.9969—dc21 2001048094
University of Hawai‘i Press books are printed on acid-free
paper and meet the guidelines for permanence and durability
of the Council on Library Resources.
Designed by David Alcorn, Alcorn Publication Design,
Graeagle, California
Printed by The Maple-Vail Book Manufacturing Group
Dedicated to all those who have worked in the past, who are presently working,
and who will work in the future toward understanding
and preserving Hawai‘i’s natural heritage.

Contents
List of Figures ix
List of Plates xiii
List of Tables xv
Acknowledgments xvii
1. Introduction 1
2. Plate Tectonics 5
3. Hawaiian Archipelago Formation 17
4. Volcanism 32
5. Hawaiian Topography 43
6. Actions of the Ocean 59
7. Climatology 69
8. Freshwater 85
9. Ecological Principles 98
10. Evolutionary Principles 109
11. The Marine Environment 127
12. Marine and Freshwater Fishes 144
13. Dispersal and Establishment 157
14. The Terrestrial Environment 169
15. Flowering Plants 184
16. Terrestrial Arthropods 202
17. Picture-Winged Flies 213
18. Nonmarine Snails 221
19. Amphibians, Reptiles, and Mammals 235
20. Birds 250
21. Hawaiian Honeycreepers 266
22. Flightless Birds and Fossil Sites 277
23. The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands 289
24. Polynesian Origin and Migration 307
25. Polynesian Ecology 321
26. Historic Ecology 339
27. Natural Resource Protection 358
28. Historic Hawaiian Naturalists 374
Glossary of Hawaiian Place Names 391
References Cited 399
Audiovisual Aids 429
Index 437
vii

Figures
Frontispiece. The perpetually isolated location of the main Hawaiian Islands
2.1. Continental drift following the breakup of Pangaea 5
2.2. Tectonic plates and related physiographic structures of the world 7
2.3. “Mirror-image” pattern of magnetic anomaly 7
2.4. Seafloor movements along a transform fault 12
2.5. Known and suspected world hot spots 13
3.1. Islands, banks, reefs, and shoals of the Hawaiian chain 17
3.2. Island and seamount chains of the Pacific Plate 19
3.3. Approximate outline of Maui Nui 22
3.4. Idealized life history of a Hawaiian island 23
3.5. Formation of O‘ahu Island 24
3.6. Topographic map of Hawai‘i Island 25
3.7. Progressive stages in atoll formation 30
4.1. Andesite Line around the Pacific Basin 33
4.2. Cross section of a typical volcano 34
4.3. Part of a volcanic dike swarm 35
4.4. Comparison of typical volcano profiles 36
4.5. Two eruption products of very fluid magma 41
5.1. Contour map of Hawai‘i Island 44
5.2. Relief map of O‘ahu 45
5.3. The great Ko‘olau Pali of Windward O‘ahu 46
5.4. Development of Kaua‘i Island’s flat summit 47
5.5. Rejuvenation-Stage tuff cones and craters of southeastern O‘ahu 48
5.6. Stages in formation of a lava tube 52
5.7. Schematic representation of in situ soil formation 55
6.1. The earth’s lunar tidal bulges 60
6.2. Transformation of ocean swells to breaking waves 62
6.3. Generation of a longshore current 64
6.4. Formation of a sea cave, arch, and stack 67
6.5. A wave-cut terrace, nip, and sea cliff 68
7.1. Typical seasonal positions of the North Pacific High 72
7.2. Schematic representation of production of a cold-front storm 74
7.3. Satellite view of Hurricane ‘Iniki 75
7.4. Rainfall distribution in the main Hawaiian Islands 78
7.5. Schematic representation of trade-wind rainfall on a mountain 78
7.6. Schematic representation of inversion layer–trade winds interaction 79
7.7. Schematic representation of trade-wind rainfall distribution at a pali 80
7.8. Schematic representation of the rain-shadow phenomenon on O‘ahu 81
ix