Why Are Hawaiian Animals Endangered

Now, as most may know sea turtles are both marine and land animals depending on what stage of life they are in. Which means that they need to be able to go on land during certain stages of their lives. One of the main reasons why a sea turtle will go on to land is to lay their eggs. Within the last few years this has become harder and harder for the already endangered species. It

Turtles are one of the oldest reptile groups. They are classified as amniotes. They have existed a long time ago, which means they have seen the rise and fall of the dinosaurs and the rise of humanity. Scientists think that turtles have existed for around 157 million years (mosaic 29). Approximately, sea turtles were 65 million years ago (Dobbs 1). This family has survived the passage of time and is threatened by the contamination that humans have created in the ocean. The six sea turtles that occur on the coasts of America are in fact threatened. Sea turtles are very important for the ecosystem, but humans, directly and indirectly, endanger this family. If humans do not stop their destructive habits, we can lose the influence of sea turtles on seafarers. Sea turtles play an important role in the ecology of the ocean, and without turtles, we can see an ecological collapse in the oceans. Sea turtles are one of the few animals in the sea that eat sea grass (Godfrey). Sea turtles act as grazing animals that cut short grass and help maintain the health of the family of seaweed (Godfrey). In recent decades, there has been a decline in the sea grass family. This decrease may be related to the decrease in the number of sea turtles (Godfrey). Sea grass is important because it is a fertile ground for many species of fish, shellfish and crustaceans (Godfrey). The beaches and sand dunes are known for not having many nutrients. When the sea turtles reach

Humans have caused another extinction, one that could possibly take us down in the process, species are exponentially going extinct because of habitat loss, species exportation, and invasive species bullying native species. On the other hand, scientists are trying to safe guard native species, keep animals in captivity whether it be for the animals well-being or for research, and widespread invasion. In this essay I will be comparing and contrasting “What Everglades Pythons and Other Invasive Species are Trying to Tell Us,” by Julia Whitty and “The Sixth Extinction,” by Jeff Corwin.

The impact of toxoplasmosis has resulted in the endangerment of the California sea otter and the extinction of alala, the Hawaiian crow. With only 1300 Hawaiian monk seals in existence, toxoplasmosis can potentially lead to their extinction. The extinction of the Hawaiian monk seal can produce devastating effects on the species that rely on the Hawaiian monk seal for food, such as the Tiger shark and Galapagos shark (NOAA, 2016). Meanwhile, the fish, crustacean, and cephalopod population may increase due to the reduction in predators. Therefore, the extinction of a species can disrupt Hawaii’s sensitive

Hawaii Turtle Tours takes you for a tour around the island of Oahu to see some pretty amazing things. However, most people don’t know about the trouble that the islands face. The islands are home to some amazing and unique plants and animals. Yet, today it is estimated that there approximately 90% of these species are invasive or foreign. Leaving only 10% of native and endemic species left on the island. This means that of this small percentage, these plans and animals are found nowhere else in the world. Plus, the majority of these species are endemic, which means that they are found only in Hawaii and nowhere else.

Even today more than 30 years later, the seals have the status as the most endangered species in the United States. The seals population has declined three to four percent every year for the past decade. With this decrease the seals have seen the lowest number in years. There were 1,100 seals left in existence. This news is important since the species is only found in Hawaii. It has been in existence for more than fifteen million years. There is expected to be better news soon. There have been significant efforts to help the recovery of the species in the past few years, environmentalist have removed several tons of ocean trash from the seals habitat and moving the seals from an area of low survival rate to that of a higher survival rate. There are some indications showing that the hard work is paying off. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) teams reported about 121 pup seals were born in 2014, which was higher than the amount of pup born in 2013 with 103 pup seals and in 2012 with 111 pup seals born. So with this information it shows that the hard work is improving the life of the Hawaiian monk seals. The total population is now estimated to be around 1,200 Hawaiian monk seals. So most of the seals are placed in the Main Hawaiian Islands and the other seals are placed in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Due to the Hawaiian monk seals being on the endangered species list

Loggerhead eggs and hatchlings are a large food source for a variety of terrestrial animals, nearshore predatory fish, and seabirds, providing substantial amounts of energy and nutrients for these species (Wilson et al. 2010). A five or ten year period of loggerhead turtle declines may cause sublethal effects such as decreased growth rates or reproductive output for these predator species and a fifty year period of loggerhead turtle decline may potentially have more severe impacts such as significant declines for local populations that rely on eggs and hatchlings as a food source.

The National Wildlife Institute has published “Conservation Under the Endangered Species Act: A Promise Broken”. Their critique of the Act includes questioning the programs undertaken as a result of the Act have played sufficient roles in the recovery of species that were delisted, as well as questioning the allocation of funding to programs intended to aid listed species.

Could the Endangered Species Act itself become endangered with the current debates? Recently, many conservation advocates and government officials think so, pointing to the proposed policy change that could make it harder for wildlife to receive protection under the Act. So, what does the future hold for the Endangered Species Act? With more than 40 years since the passage of the ESA in 1973, politicians and environmentalists alike have analyzed the realities of the Act, creating an interesting current state of debate regarding conservation. With poor administration and provisions designed to promote good science and good sense flouted, the Act needs to change and improve to find the best middle available between the suppression of economic activity and the preservation of species within the United States. The Act now more than ever is in need of political cooperation that can both revive and reform it to best protect against future challenges and obstacles otherwise the act will eventually be rendered useless due to it ineffectiveness, falsified science, and lack of consistency.

The Kaho’Olawe island restoration project is a one of the smallest Hawai’ian Islands located near Maui. The Island is the largest unpopulated offering an opportunity to protect the Hawai’ian species and culture. Kaho’Olawe Island historically support many Hawaii’s native plant and animals yet invasive species present on the island have destroyed native plants and animal’s populations and disruptive of other practices. ISLAND CONSERVATION (IC) is working with the Kaho’Olawe Island Reserve Commission ( KIRC ) to advance the restoration of the islands by the removing of invasive species such as rodents and feral Cats. This effort of removal of these invasive species will allow for the protection of native habitats and providing the opportunity

Furthermore, one of my favorite days during the program was going to the Maui Ocean Center. It is known to be the nation’s largest tropical reef aquarium. This allows people from all over the world to be able to view Hawaii’s beautiful undersea world all at once. Many of the animals that are held captive at the Maui Ocean center are mainly found in Hawaii. The Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles exhibit truly caught my attention at the Ocean center. They have a education outreach program called Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle Educational Loan Program that helps strengthen the population of this particular specie. There was a study done to see how well the captive bred green turtles were adapting to wildlife. The information obtained during 267-481 days of remote monitoring using satellite tracking gave strong support to the premise of successful adaptation to the wild by the four captive- reared juvenile green turtles released by the Maui Ocean Center (Balazs, Parker, Gorman, Luecke, Pawloski, 2015) . Current research in Hawaii shows the Hawaiian green turtle population is increasing since they have been protected by federal law (Maui Ocean Center,

In Australia, loggerhead turtles nest on open sandy beaches (Environment, 2001). Therefore when hatchlings are born they need to make their way down to the ocean, this makes them vulnerable (Environment, 2001). Baby turtles and most vulnerable when they are scurrying, to the water because there are many obstacles along the way (Nobs, 2004). For example baby turtles mistake artificial lights for the sea and are then more likely to be killed by predators such as birds, raccoons, foxes and cats, which are just a few of the predators these vulnerable creatures face (Marine Bio, 2015). Around 10% of hatchlings from each batch are lost artificial lights each year. To decrease the amount of baby turtles killed we are going to fix how far the artificial lights are between each other. When breeding season takes place there needs to be a rule that four lights every kilometre need to be turned off. This will help by reducing the amount of hatchlings that take a wrong turn towards the light, and attract unwanted predators. This problem could most probably be bought with an organisation called ‘Sand Cloud’. When you purchase one of Sand Cloud’s products, you help to preserve and protect oceans, and Marine Life. 10% of their net profits are donated to saving marine life. In particular turtles. So if this problem was bought up with them they would probably take it up and solve

Sea turtle hatchlings are now having trouble finding their way to the sea because of all the lights from buildings that are built on the coast. They get disoriented when they are born and will wander in the wrong way away from the sea. This leads them to predators that live inland or will even cause the turtle to become dehydrated and die. Humans are also building coastal armoring that is blocking female turtles from reaching a suitable nesting habitat. This is a severe problem in Florida where they have many coastal rock elevations and sand bags. Where all this beach development is occurring thousands of sea turtles are trying to nest. Beach dredging is also having a direct effect on sea turtle's trying to nest. If the sand is too impacted or is drastically different from native beach sediment, the mother will have trouble creating the

Native plants are very important to the Hawaiian Islands and their ecosystems. Native plants are plants that formed naturally with the land. Sometimes native plants are only found in that area. When you completely remove a native plant from an area, it can cause a chain reaction due to it removing a food source from an insect. Then a bird can suffer from a lack of the insects they feed on. The benefits of native plants can be it introduces a new species of animals that can feed on it. Native plants don't need to be cared for that much because it is already adapted to growing in certain locations. The effects of native plants can be completely erased by invasive plants.

Bill Freedmen, author of “Endangered Species—Human Causes Of Extinction and Endangerment” notes, “scientists approximate that present extinction rates are 1,000 to 10,000 times higher than the average natural extinction rate.” These distressing numbers should be acted upon to save the endangered species and avoid the catastrophic change to this planet if these species were to become extinct. In order to produce change, people need to recognize that habitat loss, climate change, and poaching are all factors in why our animal species are going extinct.