What Is the Animal & Plant Life Like in Hawaii?

Hawaii is a state made up completely of islands.

Hawaii is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It has a tropical environment and enjoys relative isolation in the central Pacific Ocean. This has given it a number of plant and animal species particular to the chain of islands itself. It's also ensured that many species that could be harmful to the local ecology never made it to the islands. Hawaii works very hard to keep it that way, too.

Considerations

Life was brought to Hawaii partly on the wings of birds.

The Hawaiian Islands are volcanic in origin. Topsoil and life were added over as much as 10 million years. Before humans, plant and animal species arrived by wind, by water and by wing. This means topsoil, seeds and other life were blown in via ocean winds. Additionally, it means ocean currents, birds and insects were also responsible for the introduction of life to Hawaii. In general, that life hitched a ride with those birds and insects.

Environment and Isolation

Hawaii features high mountain peaks and tropical lowlands.

Writing back in 1920, Stanford botanist Douglas H. Campbell noted that Hawaii features an extremely varied environment, in his report, "Ecology; Some Botanical and Environmental Aspects of Hawaii." This environmental diversity helps give the state a huge variety of Hawaii-only plants and animals. Also, Hawaii enjoyed isolation for ages, allowing many unique species to develop over time. In fact, there are more species than can be found even in the Galapagos Islands, first made famous by the evolutionist Charles Darwin

Unique Native Species

Hawaii features many unique hibiscus flowering plants.

According to the Hawaii Learning Center, humans didn't make it to Hawaii until around 300 B.C. This lack of human interaction ensured that Hawaii's native plant and bird species could develop free of outside influences. Thus, birds became one of the native animals of Hawaii. Birding Hawaii says that there's a large number of bird species with many sub-species among them. Plant life generally consists of unique ferns and flowering plants, like its famed and unique hibiscus types.

Animals

There are wild boar on certain Hawaiian islands.

As found by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), the most well-known animal types in Hawaii are its birds, including the Hawaiian goose called the Nene. There's also a wide variety of mammals on land and in the waters surrounding the islands. These include wild boar on the islands of Oahu and Hawaii, as well as humpback whales and dolphins all throughout Hawaiian waters. Tropical fish also abound, including the "Humuhumunukunukuapuaa," which is the native Hawaiian name for the state's species of trigger fish.

Expert Insight

Hawaii's isolation gave rise to many unique plant and animal species.

As noted by the Environmental News Network, humans brought many non-native species such as dogs, pigs and goats to Hawaii. There's even a small colony of wallabies (resembling miniature kangaroos) living in the hills above Honolulu. Today, the state guards against the possible introduction of new non-native plants and animals. This is accomplished through inspection of all inbound and outbound people and cargo. As well, the Hawaii Invasive Species Council (HISC) coordinates state and federal anti-invasive species activities.

References

• JSTOR: Ecology; Some Botanical and Environmental Aspects of Hawaii; Douglas H. Campbell; Oct., 1920
• The Learning Center: Hawaiian Culture and History: The Settlement of Polynesia; Part 1
• Birding Hawaii: Hawaii's Endemic Forest Birds
• National Academy of Sciences: Evolution in Hawaii: Teaching Supplement; 2004
• Environmental News Network: Animals Brought to Hawaii Flourish with Mixed Results; Tara Godvin, Associated Press; Nov., 2006

Resources

• Natural Hawaii: Flora and Fauna
• Hawaii Invasive Species Council (HISC)
• Hawaii Marine Life