Fossil Birds from the Hawaiian Islands: Evidence for Wholesale Extinction by Man Before Western Contact

“Evolutionary studies on the morphological variation and genetic divergences of insular biotas are mainly based on extant species. However, many extant island biotas represent modified assemblages of the original ones due to losses of native species and additions of exotics by humans”

“On the other hand, there is also an extensive archaeological record of environmental despoliation by past indigenous (pre-modern) cultures (Guthrie 1971; Olson & James 1982; Diamond 1986; Schmidt 1994; Runnels 1995; Buege 1996).”

“Fossil evidence (Olson and James 1982a,b) indicates that over 40 species of native birds became extinct between the time Polynesians arrived and when Captain Cook landed in 1776 (Scott et al. 1986).”

“…spp.; Van Riper et al. 2002) caused the extirpation of most native bird populations from areas of Hawaii below 1,200 m, in conjunction with habitat loss and introduced predators (Warner 1968, Atkinson 1977, Olson and James 1982, Scott et al. 1986, van Riper et al. 1986, Atkinson et al. 1995).”

“Nonetheless, thorn­like prickles developed in a group of at least ten plant species which evolved within the Hawaiian Islands, probably as a defense against Hawaii’s dominant vertebrate herbivores, a diverse group of now extinct flightless geese and goose­ like ducks (Olson and James 1982; Givnish et al. 1994; Duncan…”

“Fossil and anecdotal evidence suggest that Hawaiian Petrels were nesting from the summits of the highest volcanoes down to sea level prior to Polynesian colonization (Olson and James 1982), thus availability of habitat was not likely a limiting factor in the past nesting success of this species.”

“Prehistoric human occupation is known throughout the tropical Pacific region, except for the Galapagos Islands, and everywhere it has been associated with a dramatic loss of biodiversity, birds being the bestknown example (Olson and James, 1982).”

“…in large numbers in archeological middens left by native Hawaiians in numerous locations where seabirds no longer occur (Olson and James 1982; Athens et al. 1991; Moniz 1997), suggesting that Hawaiians exploited some seabirds to local or complete extirpation (e.g. Munro 1945; Olson and James 1982).”

“…temporal coincidence of evidence for human arrival and last occurrence of some now extinct bird species is too great to ignore the possibility that humans played a role in some extinctions of native taxa before European colonization (Olson and James, 1982; James et al., 1987; Burney et al., 2001).”

“Populations and species diversity of seabirds were much greater prior to Polynesian colonization around 1400 years BP and subsequent European colonization (Brandt et al., 1995; Olson and James, 1982).”

“…of alien species including their parasites and diseases), accompanied by massive faunal extinctions (Boyer, 2008; Burney and Flannery, 2005; Olson and James, 1982; Steadman, 2006; Turvey, 2009a; van de Geer et al., 2010; Worthy and Holdaway, 2002), this framework could be used to provide…”

“A high number of local and total extinctions of seabirds have occurred on islands and archipelagos around the world (see Olson and James 1982; Quammen 1996; Worthy and Holdaway 2002; Rando 2003; Steadman 2006).”

“Unfortunately, this unique environment has been almost overwhelmed by human influence, including land use change and a large number of invasive species (Kirch 1982; Olson & James 1982; Stone et al. 1992; Asquith 1995; Pratt et al. 2009).”

“Indeed, most indigenous birds, especially nesting land birds, flightless species, and burrowing seabirds were particularly vulnerable to predation by humans, dogs, pigs, and rats alike (Olson and James 1982).”

“Also, biogeographic studies must consider the recent disruption of naturally evolved communities due to the activities of man (Lynch and Johnson 1974; Olson and James 1982; Steadman et al. 1984).”

“The Hawaiian Islands are perhaps the most notable example, with collapses of avifauna, terrestrial mollusks, and plants occurring coincident with human inhabitation (Olson & James 1982; Athens et al. 2002).”

“This discovery has brought the total number of extinct endemic bird species on the Hawaiian Islands to more than 50 percent of the total number of resident bird species, completely altering the previous understanding of diversity on the islands (Olson and James 1982 ; Christensen and Kirch 1986 ; Athens et al.”

“…reduced the number of native bird species by at least half (Olson and James 1982a); that finding made possible only by the extraordinary number of extinct, fossil birds discovered throughout the Hawaiian Islands (Olson and James 1982b, 1991; James and Olson 1991, 2006; Iwaniuk et al. 2009).”

“. In general, the ensuing loss of biodiversity is dramatically more pronounced on islands, than continents, as islands often have a higher number of endemic species per unit area, and specific adaptations of their biota that predispose them to extinction, including tameness, site faithfulness, flightlessness and reduc…”

“Extirpation and extinction have been caused by low-elevation habitat loss and fragmentation (Kirsch 1982, Olson and James 1982, Jacobi and Scott 1985), depredation by introduced mammals (Atkinson 1977, Banko et al. 1999, Hodges and Nagata 2001) and introduced avian diseases (Warner 1968, Ralph and…”

“Indeed, it is well known that many other native species declined or went extinct following the initial arrival of humans in Hawai ʻ i. 3,9,40 Nevertheless, we stress that N e trajectories inferred >100 generations (or >400 years) ago using this method should be interpreted with some degree of…”

“3 Department of Anthropology, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Honolulu, Hawai‘i 96822.”

“…colonists around 400 AD, the Maui Parrotbill probably occurred throughout much of Maui, Molokai, and Lanai islands and inhabited a diverse assemblage of forest environments from sea level to treeline, as inferred from subfossil evidence and its historic distribution (Olson and James 1982a).”

“many bird species survived until (but not through) the fi rst contact with humans during prehistoric times ( Olson and James 1982 ; Steadman 1995 ; Pimm et al. 2006) . Although no direct evidence exists, the original fauna and fl ora may have been disturbed during this age.”

“The distribution and taxonomic status of extant and extinct populations of Hawaiian honeycreepers come from a variety of sources (Amadon 1950; Olson and James 1982a, 1982b, 1991; James andOlson 1991, 2003, 2005; Burney et al. 2001; Pratt 2002; James 2004; James and Prince 2008).”

“Species re-introductions often form an integral part of conservation management plans for isolated island ecosystems like Hawaii and New Zealand, as many species have been driven to extinction or reduced to relict populations following anthropogenic impact (Olson and James, 1982; Holdaway, 1989).”

“However, the same areas are equally sought after by other species and are becoming less accessible as cities are expanding (Olson and James, 1982; Steadman, 1995; Myers et al., 2000).”

“Island faunas around the world have been devastated following human settlement (Olson and James 1982; Steadman 1997; Alcover et al. 1998), and West Indian vertebrate communities are no exception (Steadman et al. 1984; Morgan and 29Avifauna of the BahamasVol.”

“While Hawaii extinctions have been attributed to post Polynesian (James et al. 1987; James and Olson 1991; Olson and James 1982) and post European (Banko and Banko 2009) contact, the arrival of mosquitoes and avian malaria was potentially the most serious threat to the parrotbill population and the resulting populatio…”

“In the Hawaiian islands, the arrival of Polynesian colonists about 1200 years ago corresponded with the extinction of about 50% of indigenous land bird species (56/111 species; Olson and James 1982, 1991).”

“One such taxon was an eagle placed in the genus Haliaeetus on the basis of comparative osteology (Olson 1982, Olson and James 1982), represented by remains of a few individuals that were found on Oahu and Molokai (see Appendix A).”

“Initially, specific species, particularly birds and snails, were posthumously recorded as extinct based on zooarchaeological techniques or physical remains (Olson and James 1982; Pimm et al. 1994; Steadman 1995; Bouchet and Abdou 2003; Richling and Bouchet 2013; Cooke et al. 2023).”

“…animals (pigs), cultivation, and fires leading to the regression of the forest to localized steep slopes and upper midelevation fragments (see also Orliac 2003); this phase corresponds to the decline and extinction of several land birds; (3) historical era, with introduction of additional grazing…”

“1982), and palaeornithological studies suggest that the majority of seabird extinctions have occurred in insular ecosystems (Olson and James 1982; Quammen 1996; Worthy and Holdaway 2002; Steadman 2006; Rando and Alcover 2008, 2010).”

“Further, none of the extinct birds in the current fossil record seem capable of preying upon limpets (see James & Burney, 1997; Olson & James, 1982).”

“As with the land birds of the region (Olson and James 1982; Steadman 1995, 2006; Duncan et al. 2013), the native terrestrial mollusks of the high islands of Polynesia are rapidly disappearing as a result of the direct and indirect effects of human activities, both pre- and post-contact.”

“Branta hylobadistes, a large robust goose with reduced wings and pectoral girdle, was described from bones found in the Auwahi lava tube (1,145 m) on Maui; bones of a similar-sized goose with reduced wings collected on Oahu and Kauai might represent the same species (Olson and James 1991).”

“tion of many species of native birds and land snails [59,60].”

“We now know that it is not even possible to reconstruct Holocene avifaunas based on "Recent" birds (Olson and James, 1982a. 1982b; Steadman et al., 1984).”

“Once widespread along the Hawaiian island chain, as evidenced by midden sites on the main Hawaiian Islands (Harrison 1990), its range is now limited (Olson and James 1982, Raine et al. 2017a).”

“The historical Hawaiian avifauna, once considered a similar example, is now recognized as but a fraction of the fauna existing when Polynesians arrived ( Olson and James, 1982 ).”

“Several decades ago, mounting evidence of the extent of prehistoric insular extinctions on Hawai’i led to warnings that “…biogeographical inferences about natural processes based only on historically known taxa may be misleading or incorrect” [( 29 ), p. 633].”

“Once entirely covered with native plants, large-scale prehistoric conversion of lowland forests to agriculture, wildfires, and over a century of livestock grazing have resulted in the loss of most of the original vegetation cover at Pu’u Wa’awa’a (Olson & James 1982; Giffin 2003).”

“…(Olson & James 1982b), coarsely to finely stratified sediments laid down in lava tubes (James et al. 1987), sediment deposits in karstic sinkholes (Olson & James 1982b), surface accumulations of bones found under freshwater in karstic caverns (Olson & James 1982b), deep unconsolidated Holocene…”