|
Primitive Koa Finch
The primitive koa finch (''Rhodacanthis litotes'') is an extinct species of Hawaiian honeycreeper in the subfamily Carduelinae of the family Fringillidae. It is known from fossils on the islands of Maui and Oahu, Oʻahu in Hawaii. Description An adult primitive koa finch was slender and had a total length of about . There was probably a small distinct difference between the sexes. Based on fossils, it is known that the adult primitive koa finch had a slightly curved, thick bill. The paper that named the species in 2005 also mentions, "the fossil record of ''Rhodacanthis'' may contain at least one additional Species complex, cryptic species. The difference in aperture of the nasal cavity in the Oahu vs. Maui fossils of ''R''. ''litotes'' suggests that those two populations might be recognized as distinct species if more fossils or genetic data were available for them." Distribution Primitive koa finch fossils have been found on Maui and Oahu, Oʻahu. Based on its disjunct dis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Holocene
The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene together form the Quaternary period. The Holocene has been identified with the current warm period, known as MIS 1. It is considered by some to be an interglacial period within the Pleistocene Epoch, called the Flandrian interglacial.Oxford University Press – Why Geography Matters: More Than Ever (book) – "Holocene Humanity" section https://books.google.com/books?id=7P0_sWIcBNsC The Holocene corresponds with the rapid proliferation, growth and impacts of the human species worldwide, including all of its written history, technological revolutions, development of major civilizations, and overall significant transition towards urban living in the present. The human impact on modern-era Earth and its ecosystems may be considered of global si ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kauai
Kauai, () anglicized as Kauai ( ), is geologically the second-oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands (after Niʻihau). With an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), it is the fourth-largest of these islands and the 21st largest island in the United States. Nicknamed the Garden Isle, Kauai lies 73 miles (117 km) across the Kauai Channel, northwest of Oahu. This island is the site of Waimea Canyon State Park and the Na Pali Coast State Park. The United States Census Bureau defines Kauai as census tracts 401 through 409 of Kauai County, Hawaii, which comprises all of the county except the islands of Kaʻula, Lehua and Niihau. The 2020 United States census population of the island was 73,298. The most populous town is Kapaa. Etymology and language Hawaiian narrative locates the name's origin in the legend of Hawaiiloa, the Polynesian navigator credited with discovery of the Hawaiian Islands. The story relates how he named the island of Kauai after a favorite son; ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scissor-billed Koa Finch
The scissor-billed koa finch or scissor finch (''Rhodacanthis forfex'') is an extinct species of Hawaiian honeycreeper in the subfamily Carduelinae of the family Fringillidae. It is known from fossils on the islands of Maui and Kauaʻi in Hawaii. Distribution Scissor-billed koa finch fossils have been found on Maui and Kauai. Based on its disjunct distribution, the species might have occurred on all of the main islands (except the island of Hawaii), although more fossils are needed for confirmation. Diet The scissor-billed koa finch was a granivore, that, like the other members of its genus, had a bill adapted to eat the hard seeds and pods of legumes. Pollen and fossil evidence indicates that ''Ka palupalu o Kanaloa'' ('' Kanaloa kahoolawensis'') and ''koaia'' (''Acacia koaia'') were probably important food sources, and it may have eaten caterpillars and ''aalii'' (''Dodonaea viscosa'') berries. Extinction The koa finches seem to have been driven to extinction by habit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Habitat Destruction
Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby reducing biodiversity and species abundance. Habitat destruction is the leading cause of biodiversity loss. Fragmentation and loss of habitat have become one of the most important topics of research in ecology as they are major threats to the survival of endangered species. Activities such as harvesting natural resources, industrial production and urbanization are human contributions to habitat destruction. Pressure from agriculture is the principal human cause. Some others include mining, logging, trawling, and urban sprawl. Habitat destruction is currently considered the primary cause of species extinction worldwide. Environmental factors can contribute to habitat destruction more indirectly. Geological processes, climate change, introdu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Berry
A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, red currants, white currants and blackcurrants. In Britain, soft fruit is a horticultural term for such fruits. In common usage, the term "berry" differs from the scientific or botanical definition of a fruit produced from the ovary of a single flower in which the outer layer of the ovary wall develops into an edible fleshy portion (pericarp). The botanical definition includes many fruits that are not commonly known or referred to as berries, such as grapes, tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants, bananas, and chili peppers. Fruits commonly considered berries but excluded by the botanical definition include strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries, which are aggregate fruits and mulberries, which are mu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caterpillar
Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Symphyta) are commonly called caterpillars as well. Both lepidopteran and symphytan larvae have eruciform body shapes. Caterpillars of most species eat plant material ( often leaves), but not all; some (about 1%) eat insects, and some are even cannibalistic. Some feed on other animal products. For example, clothes moths feed on wool, and horn moths feed on the hooves and horns of dead ungulates. Caterpillars are typically voracious feeders and many of them are among the most serious of agricultural pests. In fact, many moth species are best known in their caterpillar stages because of the damage they cause to fruits and other agricultural produce, whereas the moths are obscure and do no direct harm. Conversely, various species of caterpi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Legume
A legume () is a plant in the family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seed of such a plant. When used as a dry grain, the seed is also called a pulse. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consumption, for livestock forage and silage, and as soil-enhancing green manure. Well-known legumes include beans, soybeans, chickpeas, peanuts, lentils, lupins, mesquite, carob, tamarind, alfalfa, and clover. Legumes produce a botanically unique type of fruit – a simple dry fruit that develops from a simple carpel and usually dehisces (opens along a seam) on two sides. Legumes are notable in that most of them have symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria in structures called root nodules. For that reason, they play a key role in crop rotation. Terminology The term ''pulse'', as used by the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), is reserved for legume crops harvested solely for the dry seed. This excludes green beans and green peas, which a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seed Predation
Seed predation, often referred to as granivory, is a type of plant-animal interaction in which granivores (seed predators) feed on the seeds of plants as a main or exclusive food source,Hulme, P.E. and Benkman, C.W. (2002) "Granivory", pp. 132–154 in ''Plant animal Interactions: An Evolutionary Approach'', ed. C.M. Herrera and O. Pellmyr. Oxford: Blackwell. . in many cases leaving the seeds damaged and not viable. Granivores are found across many families of vertebrates (especially mammals and birds) as well as invertebrates (mainly insects); thus, seed predation occurs in virtually all terrestrial ecosystems. Seed predation is commonly divided into two distinctive temporal categories, pre-dispersal and post-dispersal predation, which affect the fitness of the parental plant and the dispersed offspring (the seed), respectively. Mitigating pre- and post-dispersal predation may involve different strategies. To counter seed predation, plants have evolved both physical defenses ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Acacia Koa
''Acacia koa'' or commonly known as koa is a species of flowering tree in the family Fabaceae. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands, where it is the second most common tree. The highest populations are on Hawaii, Maui and Oahu. Name The name ''koa'' in the Hawaiian language ultimately comes from Proto-Austronesian *''teRas'' meaning "core" or "ironwood"; many names referring to certain ironwood or heartwood species in Southeast Asia and Oceania such as ''Vitex parviflora'' (''tugás'' in Cebuano), ''Eusideroxylon zwageri'' (''togas'' in Tombonuwo), and ''Intsia bijuga'' (''dort'' in Palauan) descend from this root. ''Koa'' also means brave, bold, fearless, or warrior. Description Koa is a large tree, typically attaining a height of and a spread of . In deep volcanic ash, a koa tree can reach a height of , a circumference of , and a spread of . It is one of the fastest-growing Hawaiian trees, capable of reaching in five years on a good site. Leaves Initially, bipinnat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Acacia Koaia
''Acacia koaia'', known as ''koaia'' or ''koaie'' in Hawaiian, is a species of acacia that is endemic to Hawaii. It is closely related to ''koa'' (''Acacia koa''), and is sometimes considered to be the same species. Description ''Acacia koaia'' is usually distinguished by growing as a short (rarely more than ), broad, gnarled tree; having the seeds longitudinally arranged in the pod; shorter, straighter phyllodes; and much denser wood. A population on the northern coast of Kauai may be intermediate, but the relationships have not been worked out. ''Koaia'' wood is claimed to be very different from that of ''koa'', and this may be the best character to separate them. Distribution ''Acacia koaia'', ''Koaia'', is highly adapted to dry habitats, and is capable of forming dense forests in areas with very little rainfall. It was formerly found widely in dry forests on all of the main islands. Associated plants include ''uluhe'' (''Dicranopteris linearis''), ''hala'' (''Pandanu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pritchardia
The genus ''Pritchardia'' (family Arecaceae) consists of between 24 and 40 species of fan palms (subfamily Coryphoideae) found on tropical Pacific Ocean islands in Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Tuamotus, and most diversely in Hawaii. The generic name honors William Thomas Pritchard (1829-1907), a British consul at Fiji. Description These palms vary in height, ranging from . The leaves are fan-shaped (''costapalmate'') and the trunk columnar, naked, smooth or fibrous, longitudinally grooved, and obscurely ringed by leaf scars. The flowers and subsequent fruit are borne in a terminal cluster with simple or compound branches of an arcuate or pendulous inflorescence that (in some species) is longer than the leaves. Species There are 29 known species, of which 19 are endemic to the Hawaiian Islands, with the remainder on other island groups. * '' Pritchardia affinis'' Becc. – Hawaii Pritchardia (Island of Hawaii) * '' Pritchardia arecina'' Becc. – Maui Pritchardia (Maui, Hawaii ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dodonaea Viscosa
''Dodonaea viscosa'', also known as the broadleaf hopbush, is a species of flowering plant in the ''Dodonaea'' (hopbush) genus that has a cosmopolitan distribution in Tropics, tropical, Subtropics, subtropical and warm temperate regions of Africa, the Americas, southern Asia and Australasia. ''Dodonaea'' is part of Sapindaceae, the soapberry family. This species is notable for its extremely wide distribution, which it achieved only over the last 2 million years (from its region of origin in Australia) via oceanic dispersal. Harrington and Gadek (2009) referred to ''D. viscosa'' as having "a distribution equal to some world’s greatest transoceanic dispersers". Common names The common name hopbush is used for ''D. viscosa'' specifically and also for the genus as a whole. In the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu, this plant is called ''virāli'' (விராலி). Australian common names include: broad leaf hopbush, candlewood, giant hopbush, narrow leaf hopbush, sticky hopbus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
