Between 1958 and 2018, multiple roadside surveys were conducted on the upper altitudinal limits of the alpine Maunaloa (now preferred Hawaiian language spelling of Mauna Loa) vascular flora from near tree line (2,525 m) to the NOAA Mauna Loa Observatory (MLO) at 3,397 m. Five native plant species were encountered in 1958 on numerous sparsely vegetated historic and prehistoric basaltic lava flows. A resurvey of the roadside 50 years later (2008) yielded 22 species including nine new native species and eight aliens. The aliens were limited to a few individuals at sites disturbed by human activity. Here, floristic change along the transect was reassessed after 60 years (2018), recording a total of 30 species with 15 natives and 15 aliens. Floristic diversity and shifts in altitudinal limits are evaluated in relation to well documented and dramatic local climate change over recent decades, along with the competing influences of substrate-control and increasing human disturbance. The results indicate that lava substrate age and textural variation, along with human mediated propagule pressure, and associated disturbance exert greater impact than rapid climate change in explaining current patterns of plant distribution and diversity in this hyper-arid, alpine environment. This long-term monitoring effort of alpine lava flows has also informed and reinforced a more general moisture/ substrate-control model for early primary succession extending to lower subalpine mountain elevations involving the two dominant lava flow textural classes: 'a'ā and pāhoehoe.

We began developing our Geometric Tortoise Ecosystem Preserve in 2015. At the same time, we began a mark-recapture study to detect changes in the population size through time to inform our management practices. We now have data through 2021. Mark-recapture analysis gives a population size of between 800 and 1200 individuals. It is the last remaining substantial population. Using Lande's classification of 1933 of stochastic influences on demography, we find that 1) demographic stochasticity is not a problem, as the population is large enough and consists of individuals whose home ranges overlap; 2) environmental stochasticity is important mainly through variations in annual rainfall, including severe droughts; and 3) catastrophes occur in the form of wildfire that can destroy a local population. Taken together, these environmental effects can cause large changes in population size, making this species at risk of local extinction. If it were to go extinct, there are no other adjacent populations that could be used to recolonize our preserve. Therefore, we conclude that head starting is necessary to safeguard the population.

Turtles and tortoises (chelonians) have been integral components of global ecosystems for about 220 million years and have played important roles in human culture for at least 400,000 years. The chelonian shell is a remarkable evolutionary adaptation, facilitating success in terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems. Today, more than half of the 360 living species and 482 total taxa (species and subspecies combined) are threatened with extinction. This places chelonians among the groups with the highest extinction risk of any sizeable vertebrate group. Turtle populations are declining rapidly due to habitat loss, consumption by humans for food and traditional medicines and collection for the international pet trade. Many taxa could become extinct in this century. Here, we examine survival threats to turtles and tortoises and discuss the interventions that will be needed to prevent widespread extinction in this group in coming decades.

Pattern and process of vegetation change (succession) were compared on two northern North Island volcanoes: Whakaari (White Island) and Rangitoto Island where the endemic woody tree Metrosideros excelsa is the primary colonizer of raw volcanic substrates. Quantitative data from our previous publications (see References) and the references therein illustrate sequences of vegetation succession following significant volcanic eruptions. New information on Rangitoto Island M. excelsa patch dynamics and updated vascular species statistics for Whakaari have also been included. We also draw on supporting data from M. excelsa forest on the mainland and long-inactive volcanic islands in the Bay of Plenty, to provide a context for understanding the vegetation dynamics on Whakaari and Rangitoto Island. Species facilitation, light availability, humidity, substrate and disturbance history are all key determinants of vegetation succession across these volcanic landscapes.

Under the multiple-use paradigm, conflicts may arise when protection of an endangered species must compete with other management objectives. To resolve such a conflict in the Critical Habitat of the endangered Hawaiian honeycreeper, palila (Loxioides bailleui), federal courts ordered the eradication of introduced ungulates responsible for damaging the mamane (Sophora chrysophylla) forest on which palila depend. During 1980-2011, a total of 18,130 sheep (Ovis aries and O. gmelini musimon) and 310 goats (Capra hircus) were removed from Palila Critical Habitat (PCH) primarily by public hunters (54%) and secondarily by aerial shooting. Nevertheless, our analysis indicates that ungulates have increased over time. Palila numbers have declined sharply since 2003 due to long-term habitat degradation by ungulates and drought. Although culling ungulate populations has allowed some habitat improvement, their complete removal is necessary for palila to recover, especially given the potential for continued drought. Introduced predators are being controlled to reduce palila mortality, mamane and other native trees are being planted to restore some areas, and fencing is being constructed to prevent ungulate immigration. Funds are recently available for more effective eradication efforts, which are urgently needed to eliminate browsing damage in PCH and protect the palila from extinction.

This special issue focuses on the nature of alpine and subalpine environmental change on tropical island mountains. In August 2012 an international symposium on this theme was organized by the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo and its Office of Mauna Kea Management. Tropical mountains, because of their exceptional topoclimatic gradients, typically possess an array of distinctive, vertically compressed biomes or vegetation zones with associated localized biodiversity and endemism (e.g., Kilimanjaro; see Hemp, 2006). A subset of such tropical and subtropical high mountains occurs on oceanic islands in the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific. These insular mountains may include relatively large massifs (e.g., Taiwan and New Guinea) or individual volcanic peaks as found in Hawai‘i and La Réunion. We identified island mountains with prominences greater than 2750 m as those that host tropical subalpine and alpine ecosystems. The global distribution of these insular mountains is illustrated in Figure 1. The symposium organizers narrowed their focus to inviting participation by a range of experts on tropical islands with mountains that have important subalpine and alpine environments. The shared “special” character of such mountains often includes volcanic origin, geographic isolation, compressed spatial scales, mountain-mass (Massenerhebung) effects (Grubb, 1971), Hadley-Cell synoptic climate control, specialized endemic biota, and frequently magnified direct or indirect human impact in their restricted alpine and subalpine zones. The impetus for this symposium was driven by the University of Hawai‘i’s specific statutory responsibility for the management of a scientific reserve on the summit of the Hawaiian volcano Mauna Kea (4205 m), which has, over the past 45 years, become home to the world’s greatest concentration of very large research telescopes and consequently a range of associated land-use, cultural, and environmental conflicts resulting from their development (Juvik et al., 1992) (Fig. 2). The organizers wished to gain a global perspective on the current state of atmospheric and terrestrial science relative to tropical island high mountains and various best-management practices for these fragile alpine and subalpine environments. Both university and public management concerns for Mauna Kea have focused on a range of issues including (1) climate change and the shrinking and possible disappearance of the culturally important shallow alpine lake Wai‘au (Delparte et al., 2014); (2) possible impact of continued summit development on unique endangered alpine invertebrates such as the Wēkiu bug (Nysius wekiuicola, see Fig. 3) (Eaton and Businger, 2014); (3) continuing threats to the endemic alpine flora from alien feral ungulates; and (4) differing demands by Hawaiian cultural practitioners and other general recreational users relating to public access and use of the subalpine and alpine zone on Mauna Kea. The diversity of mountain users and stakeholders have historically operated under a prevailing “multiple-use” management paradigm (Juvik and Juvik, 1982).

Hydrological processes in the humid tropics differ from other regions in having greater energy inputs and faster rates of change. In this Review it is argued that understanding of the key hydrological interactions there remains limited, and a vision of future research designed to address these shortcomings is outlined.

In January 1958, a survey of alpine flora was conducted along a recently constructed access road across the upper volcanic slopes of Mauna Loa, Hawaii (2525-3397 m). Only five native Hawaiian species were encountered on sparsely vegetated historic and prehistoric lava flows adjacent to the roadway. A resurvey of roadside flora in 2008 yielded a more than fourfold increase to 22 species, including nine native species not previously recorded. Eight new alien species have now invaded this alpine environment, although exclusively limited to a few individuals in ruderal habitat along the roadway. Alternative explanations for species invasion and altitudinal change over the past 50 years are evaluated: (1) changes related to continuing primary succession on ameliorating (weathering) young lava substrates; (2) local climate change; and (3) road improvements and increased vehicular access which promote enhanced car-borne dispersal of alien species derived from the expanding pool of potential colonizers naturalized on the island in recent decades. Unlike alpine environments in temperate latitudes, the energy component (warming) in climate change on Mauna Loa does not appear to be the unequivocal driver of plant invasion and range extension. Warming may be offset by other climate change factors including rainfall and evapotranspiration.

Reviewed by: Atlas of the Pacific Islands James O Juvik and Sonia P Juvik Atlas of the Pacific Islands, by Max Quanchi. Milton, Queensland: John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd; Honolulu: Bess Press, 2003. ISBN 1-57306-154-9; iv + 156 pages, maps, gazetteer. US$24.95. Although this atlas has been expressly designed for those who "live and study in the Pacific region," the title of this well-illustrated volume is something of a misnomer. It is rather a secondary-school-level world atlas with a substantial focus (about 40 percent of the 156-page text) on the Pacific Islands region, including Australia. The Pacific Islands and comprehensive World sections are supplemented by a 34-page world gazetteer. The volume opens with a useful, 4-page "atlas skill" section, which includes concise presentations on standard subjects such as map keys, latitude/longitude, and map scale. Page layouts are generally attractive with a creative and information-rich mix of maps, photos, graphs, and additional satellite and computer generated images. In some cases, however, there appears to have been an unfortunate tendency to compress too much material onto each page. Graphics and accompanying font sizes are sometimes too small for easy comprehension. As an example, a graphic on compass reading on page 4 has microscopic compass bearing numbers that are essentially unreadable. Even when larger graphics are employed, opportunities are sometimes missed. On an attractive, full-page map of the Pacific Ocean sea floor there is no attempt to convey thedynamics of crustal plate movement so critical to an understanding of regional volcanism, earthquakes, and general geological process. This plate tectonic information is, however, conveyed elsewhere in the text as part of a much smaller, unrelated sidebar. Both the World and Pacific sections of the atlas are peppered with a total of twenty-seven useful "case study" sidebars grouped under three major themes: the physical world, the human world, and conservation and management. Examples of Pacific Island case studies include the Rock Islands of Palau, the geologic evolution of Pacific islands, impacts of the Bikini nuclear testing, and tourism in Vanuatu. Strangely, a sidebar on "Exploring thePacific Region" focuses solely onEuropean explorers, thus missing entirely one of the most dramatic events of humankind, the initial long-distance colonization of the Pacific, initiated by the early water crossing to Australia from the Lesser Sunda Islands and culminating with the rapid Polynesian settlement of remote Oceania. This sidebar also includes a photo of Thor Heyerdahl's Kon-Tiki raft, a logo for his thoroughly discredited "westward-drifting" theory of Polynesian settlement. In spite of this specific criticism, it is clear that considerable thought went into selection and development of the sidebar materials and themes that bring into focus a range of complex physical, cultural, and environmental issues in the region. The 60-page Pacific Islands section of the atlas opens with an initial 12 pages on broad thematic elements (eg,land tenure and agriculture, [End Page 196] urbanization and natural resources). This is followed by 1- to 2-page map/graphic spreads on each of the region's political entities. These are well done, although one might question why Sāmoa and American Sāmoa are separated by many pages in this section. A valuable "Pacific Statistics" table at the conclusion of this section is somewhat compromised by the absence of year-specific data sources; "latest available at time of publication" could frustrate students looking for a concise socioeconomic citation. Overall, the reviewers can recommend this volume as a useful student resource for the Pacific region. Sonia P Juvik University of Hawai'i, Hilo Copyright © 2006 University of Hawai'i Press

On the mountainous slopes of tropical volcanic islands, steep topo-climatic gradients serve to compress distinctive ecosystems and local biodiversity into spatially restricted, vertically stratifi ed environmental zones. This physical heterogeneity also presents a diverse range of constraints and opportunities for human landscape use and transformation, leading, in the case of most Pacifi c high islands, to a complex and interdependent spatial mosaic of natural and anthropogenic landscapes closely bounded spatially and strongly interconnected. The aboriginal settlers of the Pacifi c islands gained intimacy with these small yet complex environmental systems and in many cases evolved land tenure systems (e.g., the ahupua`a land management unit in Hawai`i) that explicitly acknowledged their understanding of upland-lowland (cf. watershed) environmental linkages in supporting sustainable agricultural and related traditional land-use systems (Fig. 1.2, p. 6). Modern global economic integration, along with rapid social, cultural and demographic change in the colonial and post-colonial Pacifi c, today present a host of impacts that work to disrupt and destabilize small island human-environment relations. In many ways these impacts are no different from the environmental issues confronting the world as a whole, they are simply playing out at a more rapid pace and in a much smaller and circumscribed geographical arena.

The native plants of remote tropical islands have been frequently characterized as poor competitors against seemingly more aggressive alien species. Does this "weak competitor" characterization relate to some real adaptive consequences of island isolation and endemism, or does the generally concurrent presence of introduced ungulates and other forms of recurrent human disturbance also act to encourage alien plant dominance? A comparison of tropical islands with and without introduced ungulates suggests that some insular plant species competitively resist alien displacement in the absence of ungulates.

Climate and Water Balance on the Island of Hawaii 4. Meteorology James O. Juvik, James O. Juvik University of Hawaii, Hilo, HawaiiSearch for more papers by this authorD. C. Singleton, D. C. Singleton University of Hawaii, Hilo, HawaiiSearch for more papers by this authorG. G. Clarke, G. G. Clarke University of Hawaii, Hilo, HawaiiSearch for more papers by this author James O. Juvik, James O. Juvik University of Hawaii, Hilo, HawaiiSearch for more papers by this authorD. C. Singleton, D. C. Singleton University of Hawaii, Hilo, HawaiiSearch for more papers by this authorG. G. Clarke, G. G. Clarke University of Hawaii, Hilo, HawaiiSearch for more papers by this author First published: 15 July 2005 https://doi.org/10.1002/047147844X.me2190 This article is a US Government work and, as such, is in the public domain in the United States of America. Read the full textAbout ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Water EncyclopediaBrowse other articles of this reference work:BROWSE BY TOPICBROWSE A-Z RelatedInformation

Common mullein (Verbascum thapsus) is a rosette, biennial weed native to temperate Eurasia and naturalized worldwide in suitable mid-latitude environments, where it frequently is considered a pest. The species tolerates a wide range of environmental conditions and is particularly adapted as an early successional pioneer in disturbed dry and rocky sites. Verbascum thapsus was introduced to the island of Hawai`i sometime around 1900 and has since spread into dry montane environments on the slopes of Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa, and Hualalai volcanoes. On the Indian Ocean island of La Reunion (environmentally similar to Hawai`i), mullein has also recently become established in comparable montane zones. A quantitative survey of roadside mullein populations along the Saddle Road ascending the slopes of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa resulted in determination of the morphological variation along steep topo-climatic gradients. Over the elevational range of occurrence (5,330 to 10,800 ft or 1,625-3,300 m), roadside mullein densities reached a maximum of 9-17 plants/100 ft (100-180/100 m) in the zone between 5,900 and 6,560 ft (1,800-2,000 m). The altitude-density relationship for mullein on the island of La R6union is nearly identical to that on Hawai`i and demonstrates the vulnerability of other tropical mountain areas to invasion. Over the elevational range of mullein on Mauna Kea the species exhibits striking variation in gross morphology and life history. Both mean rosette diameter and plant height increase with elevation. Above 8,200 ft (2,500 m) "gigantism" is common, with some plants reaching nearly 13 ft (4 m) in height, double the maximum height recorded for this species in its native European habitat. Additionally, with increasing elevation there is a strong tendency toward polycarpy and extreme stem fasciation, resulting in increased woodiness. These morphological trends appear consistent with an adaptive model proposed to explain the development of insular arborescence in rosette weeds. Control and eradication of mullein is made difficult by extensive seed viability (up to 100 years). In order to develop eradication strategies, the spatial configuration and population structure of selected V. thapsus colonies were documented prior to removal in order to facilitate long-term study of recolonization and site persistence.

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