mike@uhunix1.uhcc.Hawaii.Edu (05/07/91)
It is certainly true that the arrival of man in the Hawaiian
Islands was a catastrophy for the unique wildlife, especially
the birds.
I was, however, surprised at the vast array of breeding
populations of exotic parrots that have appeared, even in highly
urban areas and the very large number of species represented.
It appears that a lot of this may be traceable to the
single Huricane Ewa event. It may have set a record for the
number of non-native breeding populations of birds established
in a single event.
I wonder if anyone has data on other accidental or purposeful
releases of multiple species of non-native birds? Usually such
releases seem to involve a single species.
By the way, It was also mentioned that Hawaii may soon have
an open season on Cattle Egrets. Seems the birds have decided
that cow bugs are not as tasty as the nifty "bugs" found in the
ponds at the Kahuku Prawn Farms and have become a serious agricultural
pest. It is amazing how frequently purposely introduced non-native
species come back to haunt future generations.
Between wild cats, dogs, mongeese, goats, pigs, rats, man and an
army of agressive non-native birds, it is amazing any of the fragile
and unique Hawaiian bird species still find habitat isolated enough
to survive.
mike@uhunix.uhcc.hawaii.edu andrewt@cluster.cs.su.oz.au (Andrew Taylor) (05/07/91)
In article <12881@uhccux.uhcc.Hawaii.Edu>, mike@uhunix1.uhcc.Hawaii.Edu writes: > I wonder if anyone has data on other accidental or purposeful > releases of multiple species of non-native birds? Usually such > releases seem to involve a single species. there is a definitive book - "Introduced Birds of The World" by Lane (I think). It attempts to list every bird introduction. There are breeding records for various escaped parrots around Sydney. Most are species from elsewhere in Australia. One, Little Corella, is well established. > Between wild cats, dogs, mongeese, goats, pigs, rats, man and an > army of agressive non-native birds, it is amazing any of the fragile > and unique Hawaiian bird species still find habitat isolated enough > to survive. The Birds of the Hawaii and the Tropical Pacific field guide suggests that the introduction of a mosquito species caused the most damage to Hawaiian birds by being the vector of some avian disease. I don't if this a new theory or if its widely held. Andrew Taylor