The Laysan duck, also known as the Laysan teal, is a dabbling duck endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. Fossil evidence reveals that Laysan ducks once lived across the entire archipelago, but today survive only on Laysan Island and two atolls. The duck has several physical and behavioral traits linked to the absence of ground-based predators in its habitat. By 1860, the ducks had disappeared from everywhere except Laysan Island. The introduction of European rabbits by guano miners at the end of the 19th century brought the bird to the brink of extinction in 1912, with twelve surviving individuals. Rabbits were eradicated from the island in 1923 and numbers of Laysan ducks began to rise, reaching 500 by the 1950s. In an effort to ensure the long-term future of this duck, 42 birds were translocated to Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge in 2002. These thrived in their new surroundings, and another group were later relocated to Kure Atoll.
The Pearl and Hermes Atoll, also known as Pearl and Hermes Reef, is part of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, a group of small islands and atolls that form the farthest northwest portion of the Hawaiian island chain. The atoll consists of a variable number of flat and sandy islets, typically between five and seven. More were noted in historical sources but have since been lost to erosion and rising sea levels.
Laysan is one of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, located 808 nautical miles northwest of Honolulu. It comprises one land mass of 1,016 acres (4.11 km2), about 1 by 1+1⁄2 miles in size. It is an atoll of sorts, although the land completely surrounds a shallow central lake some 2.4 m (7.9 ft) above sea level that has a salinity approximately three times greater than the ocean. Laysan's Hawaiian name, Kauō, means 'egg'.
The Laysan rail or Laysan crake was a flightless bird endemic to the Northwest Hawaiian Island of Laysan. This small island was and still is an important seabird colony, and sustained a number of endemic species, including the rail. It became extinct due to habitat loss by domestic rabbits, and ultimately World War II.
The Laysan finch is a species of Hawaiian honeycreeper, that is endemic to the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. It is one of four remaining finch-billed Hawaiian honeycreepers and is closely related to the smaller Nihoa finch. The Laysan finch is named for Laysan, the island to which it was endemic on its discovery. It was subsequently introduced to a few other atolls, and its historical range included some of the main islands.
Cenchrus setaceus, commonly known as crimson fountaingrass, is a C4 perennial bunch grass that is native to open, scrubby habitats in East Africa, tropical Africa, the Middle East and south-western Asia. It has been introduced to many parts of the world as an ornamental plant, and has become an invasive species in some of them. It is drought-tolerant, grows fast, reaches 3 feet in height, and has many purple, plumose flower spikes.
The black noddy, also known as white-capped noddy, is a species of tern in the family Laridae. It is a medium-sized seabird with black plumage and a white cap that closely resembles the lesser noddy with which it was at one time considered conspecific. The black noddy has slightly darker plumage and dark rather than pale lores.
The Laysan albatross is a large seabird that ranges across the North Pacific. The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands are home to 99.7% of the population. This small gull-like albatross is the second-most common seabird in the Hawaiian Islands, with an estimated population of 1.18 million birds, and is currently expanding its range to new islands. The Laysan albatross was first described as Diomedea immutabilis by Lionel Walter Rothschild, in 1893, on the basis of a specimen from Laysan Island.
The bristle-thighed curlew is a medium-sized shorebird that breeds in Alaska and winters on tropical Pacific islands.
The ecological restoration of islands, or island restoration, is the application of the principles of ecological restoration to islands and island groups. Islands, due to their isolation, are home to many of the world's endemic species, as well as important breeding grounds for seabirds and some marine mammals. Their ecosystems are also very vulnerable to human disturbance and particularly to introduced species, due to their small size. Island groups, such as New Zealand and Hawaii, have undergone substantial extinctions and losses of habitat. Since the 1950s several organisations and government agencies around the world have worked to restore islands to their original states; New Zealand has used them to hold natural populations of species that would otherwise be unable to survive in the wild. The principal components of island restoration are the removal of introduced species and the reintroduction of native species.
Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge on the northwest coast of the island of Kauaʻi in Hawaiʻi.
The Laysan millerbird was a subspecies of the millerbird, similar in appearance to the remaining subspecies, the Nihoa millerbird. Its dorsal side was brown, and its belly was grayish. Its name derives from its favorite food, several species of moths of the genus Agrotis commonly referred to as "millers".
The millerbird is a species of Old World warbler in the family Acrocephalidae endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.
The Bonin petrel or nunulu is a seabird in the family Procellariidae. It is a small gadfly petrel that is found in the northwest Pacific Ocean. Its secretive habits, remote breeding colonies and limited range have resulted in few studies and many aspects of the species' biology are poorly known.
Capparis sandwichiana is a species of flowering plant in the Capparaceae family endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. Common names include maiapilo, pua pilo, and Hawaiian caper. C. sandwichiana can be found on the main islands, Midway Atoll, the Pearl and Hermes Atoll, and Laysan. It inhabits coastal low shrublands and rocky shores at elevations from sea level to 325 feet (99 m). Maiapilo is listed as vulnerable by the IUCN and is threatened by grazing, competition with invasive species, and habitat destruction.
The Laysan honeycreeper, Laysan honeyeater, or Laysan ʻapapane is an extinct species of finch that was endemic to the island of Laysan in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.
Cenchrus echinatus is a species of grass known by the common names southern sandbur, spiny sandbur, southern sandspur, and in Australia, Mossman River grass. It is native to North and South America. It is a clump-forming annual grass growing up to 80 cm (31 in) tall. The leaves occur with or without hairs and measure up to 12 mm (0.47 in) wide. The ligule is a fringe of hairs. The grass has barbed burrs of 4–10 mm (0.16–0.39 in) long.
The Aldabra fody is a passerine bird in the family Ploceidae. It is endemic to Aldabra, an atoll northwest of Madagascar, part of Seychelles. Regarded as conspecific with the Comoros fody in the past, it is now recognized as a distinct species by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Both sexes are yellow in color across much of the body, with breeding males orange-scarlet on the head and neck. The species has a large and powerful bill, used to compete with other birds of Aldabra for food. Nesting occurs over several months, often in introduced coconut palms and Casuarina trees. The Aldabra fody is considered endangered by the IUCN, threatened by predation of nests and drought. Hybridization with the related Madagascar fody has occurred in the past, but is not currently considered a danger to the species.
The Northwestern Hawaii scrub is a tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands ecoregion on the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean.
