Why Hawaii is a Conservation Hotspot

The Hawaiian archipelago is a tropical volcanic island chain with high biodiversity on land and in the surrounding waters of the Pacific Ocean. The mountainous terrain is home to many species found nowhere else on Earth, including 5000 insect species, 1000 plant species, 145 fish species, and 60 bird species. 

But Hawaii’s wildlife has been under siege ever since humans first set foot on the islands around 1000 AD. Those early settlers brought invasive animals like pigs and rats that dug up native plants and preyed on bird nests, decimating native species. Threats accelerated in the last two centuries as European colonists introduced more invasive species and destroyed habitat to build towns and plant crops. 

Below, learn more about how Hawaii’s unique history, rich biodiversity, and current state of peril have combined make it a global hotspot for conservation today. 

Splendid Isolation

When the Hawaiian islands first began to rise out of the Pacific Ocean around 5 million years ago, they kicked off a grand biological experiment. The nearest land was more than 2,000 miles away — what organisms might find their way to these far-flung humps of cooling magma? The answer was an astonishing array of life. 

Coral polyps swept by ocean currents to the Hawaiian coastline settled down and began to build reefs, which in turn attracted a kaleidoscope of fishes as well as predators such as seabirds. The birds found refuge on the volcanic slopes, and fertilized the soil with their nutrient-rich guano. 

Plant seeds and pollen arrived by wind and waves. A species of bat arrived, and a few mainland birds, likely blown there by storms. They found a predator-free paradise: no reptiles or amphibians, and no predatory land mammals. The islands were even free of disease-carrying insects like mosquitoes. 

A songbird from the mainland took particularly well to this new setting, proliferating into more than 50 species known as the Hawaiian honeycreepers. At their height before human arrival, these honeycreepers rivaled the famous Galapagos finches in their diversity of color, beak shape, and diet. But the splendid isolation of Hawaii’s endemic species would eventually be disrupted. 

Paradise Lost

Polynesians were the first humans to arrive in Hawaii, about 1000 years ago. They razed forests to plant crops such as sugar cane and taro. They introduced pigs which, along with rats that stowed away on their boats, which preyed on Hawaii’s endemic species

The destructive forces of habitat loss and invasive species accelerated when Europeans arrived in the late 1700s. Along the shoreline, development projects ravaged seabird colonies. Rodents and cats ate their eggs and chicks. Further inland, deforestation and avian malaria, likely introduced from mainland Asia, drove to extinction more than a dozen honeycreeper species. The devastation for Hawaii’s birds has been so profound that some call the island chain “the extinction capital of the world.” And in recent years, global warming has begun to harm Hawaii’s biodiversity, most notably its coral reefs. 

A Hotspot for Conservation Action

Many Hawaiian species are on the ropes — but conservationists are rallying to their cause. 

Hawaii is now the site of a unique coral breeding program seeking to produce heat-resistant corals that can recover from bleaching events and hopefully withstand the worst effects of rising ocean temperatures. Researchers at the Coral Resilience Lab have already begun to introduce corals bred in the program to a reef near O‘ahu and will be monitoring their progress over the coming years. 

Some lost seabird colonies are returning as well. On Maui, native plant restoration, bird decoys, and a predator-proof fence are setting the stage for the comeback of two species of imperiled shearwaters. 

And while many of the remaining Hawaiian honeycreeper species are imperiled, conservationists are hoping that a plan to rid some islands of disease-carrying mosquitoes will give the iconic birds a fighting chance at survival. Researchers are trialing a safe and effective form of mosquito birth control that, if successful, will curtail — or even stop — the spread of avian malaria.

Hawaii’s wildlife may be embattled, but many creatures found nowhere else on Earth are hanging on. Below, explore Wild Hope stories of people working to save species and restore a breathtaking landscape. 

Coral Comeback

Watch Coral Comeback Now

To help coral reefs in Hawaii withstand the threat of climate change, Coral Resilience Lab in Hawaii is breeding corals that can tolerate ever-increasing amounts of heat stress.

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Corals growing in a nursery in Hawaii.

Seabird Sanctuary

Watch Seabird Sanctuary Now

Ecologists in Hawaii are working to protect two vital seabird species that are integral to the natural history of the islands.

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Shearwater chick in Hawaii.

Birds on the Brink

Watch Birds on the Brink Now

Hawaii’s native honeycreepers are on the brink of extinction. Now, a local team is removing invasive predators, restoring habitats, and using an innovative technique to protect them from their latest threat: avian malaria.

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Hawaiian honeycreeper with native plants