Invasive Mammals of Hawaii, Research Paper Example

Since Hawaii is a group of islands, there exist few native mammals, most of these species either migrated or were brought by humans. Most of these species were introduced for various purposes.  These invasive mammals have brought about extreme destruction of Hawaii ecosystem. This has brought about the conservation measures by Hawaii Species Council to plan and control the extent to which the initiative of introducing the species in order to safeguard the ecosystem. Other mammals were brought over to fill the gap that was eminent in the ecosystem and since Hawaii has a warm tropical climate, it provides the most suitable habitat for the mammals.

Feral pig (Sus scrofa) these pigs inhabit all islands of Hawaii except two. Since there were no native pigs, they were brought in order to fill the gap in the ecosystem. These species of pigs inhabit the forests of Hawaii (Hackwell 89). Plants have been destroyed thus resulting to damage of habitats. These species of pigs have also eaten native mollusks for protein purpose. Conservation measures have been taken onto consideration in order to curb the extent to which these pigs destroy the ecosystem. Hunting and snaring have proved to regulate the population of these species of mammals.

Feral goat (Capra hircus). These goats are found in all islands except two islands. These goats were introduced in order to provide food supplies to the sailor who anchored at the island. In Hawaii, they were able to survive in low and high attitudes (Thomson 89). These goats have destroyed the vegetation hence need to reduce the effect of destruction. Hunting and increased bag limits have played a key role in conservation efforts.

Aphanomyces astaci (oomycete) is also found in Hawaii. Commonly referred to as crayfish cray, this mould lives in water and only affects the species of crayfish (Thomson 102). Some of the crayfish species include Procambarus clarkia, Pacifastacus leniusculus, and Orconectes limosus. This species devastates native stocks of crayfish in most parts of Hawaii and America in general.

Feral sheep (Ovis aries) they inhabit most of the vegetative part of Hawaii. They were introduced to provide food. They have brought about destruction of Mamane, an endemic leguminous tree. Hunting and use of fences has been extensively used in order to safeguard the ecosystem from these invasive mammals.

Axis Deer (Axis axis) and Mule Deer (Odecoiles hemionus) Axis deer occupies Maui, Lanai, Molokai and Oahu while Mule deer inhabits Kauai (Thomson 124). They were brought over in order to promote game species. These mammals have destroyed grasses hence need to introduce conservation measures. It is suggested that use of fences could be functional in countering Axis deer .Hunting is also convenient in controlling these invasive mammals.

Pronghorn (Antilocapra Americana) They inhabit Lanai and introduced for hunting purposes (Hackwell 89). Though majority of these mammals have been reduced due to inability to cope with the environment they still posed a threat in destruction of the environment. For conservation measures suggests that pronghorn’s species might have died off.

Brush-tailed Rock Wallaby (Petrogale penicillata). They inhabit Oahu Island. They were brought over and kept in a zoo (Rahman and Ian). These species eat and then disperse plants such as Christmas berry. The conservation measures of these species have not been put in place since they do not pose a major threat to the ecosystem.

Feral cat (Felis catus). They inhabit all the islands and introduced by sailors to curb infestation by rodents. These cats have been the major reason for the decline of endemic forest birds. These cats have controlled by poisoning and shooting.

Small Indian Mongoose (Herpestes auropunctatus).These species occupy Hawaii, Maui, Molokai and Oahu (Hackwell 34). They were introduced to control the spread of rats. These species have predated on other small species and eggs. The conservation measure available is to use anticoagulant poison.

House mouse (Mus musculus), they occupy all islands of Hawaii. These species feed on berries and seeds. They have also led to decline of native birds. Thus, they have been controlled by poisoning (King 123).

These invasive have brought about a certain amount of destruction in ecosystem, thus bringing the need to regulate their population. Most of these mammals contribute positively in some situation (Allen & Lee 67). For the case of the mongoose which has greatly regulated the population of rats.

Works Cited

“Biting flies.” Hawaiiinvasivespecies.org. Retrieved 2013-04-14.

“Where We Work – Conservation Initiatives | The Nature Conservancy”. Nature.org. 2013-01-17. Retrieved 2014-02-29. Web

Allen, Robert B.; Lee, William G. Biological Invasions in USA. Berlin: Springer, 2006. Print

Hackwell, Kevin. Pests & Weeds: The Cost of Restoring an Indigenous Dawn Chorus: A Blueprint for Action Against the Impacts of Introduced Pest Organisms on the New Zealand Environment. Wellington [N.Z.]: New Zealand Conservation Authority, 1999.

Invasive Species in Hawaii. Retrieved from http://www.defenders.org/sites/default/files/publications/hawaii.pdf

King, Carolyn M. (2009). Immigrant Killers: Introduced Predators and the Conservation of Birds in USA. Auckland: Oxford University Press

Rahman, Anis and Ian Popay (1 August 2013). “Review of emerging weed problems in hill country pastures. web

Senior Seminar 2002. Introduced Species in Hawaii. Retrieved from http://legacy.earlham.edu/~biol/hawaii/mammals.htm

Thomson, George M. The Naturalisation of Animals and Plants in Hawaii. Cambridge University Press, 2011. Print

Timmins, S; Williams, P. “Weed numbers in New Zealand’s forest and scrub reserves”. New Zealand Journal of Ecol(New Zealand Ecological Society) 1999, 15 (2): pp 153–162. Print