Goat Island (Hawaii)

Last updated
Goat Island
Native name: Mokuʻauia
Oahu-Mokuauia-RobS-1.jpg
Aerial view of Goat Island
Geography
Location Oahu, Hawaii
Coordinates 21°39′43″N157°55′28″W / 21.6618985°N 157.9244453°W / 21.6618985; -157.9244453 Coordinates: 21°39′43″N157°55′28″W / 21.6618985°N 157.9244453°W / 21.6618985; -157.9244453
Area13 acres (5.3 ha)
Highest elevation15 ft (4.6 m)
Administration
United States

Goat Island, also known as Mokuʻauia, is a flat islet consisting of lithified dunes in Laie Bay on the northeast shore of Oahu, Hawaii. [1] [2] [3] The islet is separated from Malaekahana State Recreation Area by a 720 feet (220 m) channel of limestone reef shelf 1 metre (3.3 ft) underwater. [4] [5] [6]

Islet A very small island

An islet is a very small island.

Oahu The third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands and site of the state capital Honolulu

Oʻahu, known as "The Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—about two-thirds of the population of the U.S. state of Hawaiʻi. The state capital, Honolulu, is on Oʻahu's southeast coast. Including small associated islands such as Ford Island and the islands in Kāneʻohe Bay and off the eastern (windward) coast, its area is 596.7 square miles (1,545.4 km2), making it the 20th-largest island in the United States.

The islet is 13 acres (0.053 km2) in area with a maximum elevation of 15 feet (4.6 m). [3]

The islet is a Hawaii State Seabird Sanctuary. [3]

Wildlife and conservation efforts

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Goat Island is home to 16 native plant species, including the federally endangered Sesbania tomentosa . [4] It is a breeding ground for thousands of wedge-tailed shearwaters.

<i>Sesbania tomentosa</i> species of plant

Sesbania tomentosa, commonly known as Oahu riverhemp and ʻŌhai, is an endangered species of flowering plant in the pea family, Fabaceae, that is endemic to the main Hawaiian Islands as well as Nihoa and Necker Island. It inhabits low shrublands and, rarely, dry forests, at elevations from sea level to 2,500 ft (760 m). Associated native plant species include akiʻaki, ilima, naupaka kahakai, and pili. Off-road vehicles, wildfires, grazing, and alien species competition have destroyed their habitat on the main islands, but they are still quite common on Nihoa and Necker. At least 2000 specimens grow on Nihoa, while there are far less on Necker.

Wedge-tailed shearwater species of bird

The wedge-tailed shearwater is a medium-large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. It is one of the shearwater species that is sometimes referred to as a muttonbird, like the sooty shearwater of New Zealand and the short-tailed shearwater of Australia. It ranges throughout the tropical Pacific and Indian Oceans, roughly between latitudes 35°N and 35°S. It breeds on islands off Japan, on the Islas Revillagigedo, the Hawaiian Islands, the Seychelles, the Northern Mariana Islands, and off Eastern and Western Australia.

The islet contains invasive species, including black rats, fire ants, and big headed ants. [1] [4] [7] Black rats were first documented on the islet in 1967 with multiple eradication attempts in the 1990s and 2000s. [4] The elimination of the rats resulted in increased wedge-tailed shearwater reproduction. [4]

The dunes of the islet are a designated State Seabird Sanctuary, but its three beaches remain accessible to the public and attract many people annually. [4] [8]

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References

  1. 1 2 "Predator Control and Eradication". Pacific Rim Conservation. Retrieved 2017-04-30.
  2. Kahawainui Stream, Island of Oahu, Harbors and Rivers in Hawaii, Environmental Impact Statement. 1983. p. 200.
  3. 1 2 3 "Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 12-Month Finding on Five Petitions To List Seven Species of Hawaiian Yellow-faced Bees as Endangered" (PDF). Federal Register. Department of the Interior. 76 (172). 2011-09-06. Retrieved 2017-04-30.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Marie, Amarisa; VanderWerf, Eric A.; Young, Lindsay C.; Smith, David G.; Eijzenga, Jakob; Lohr, Michael T. (2014-05-14). "Response of Wedge-tailed Shearwaters (Puffinus pacificus) to Eradication of Black Rats (Rattus rattus) from Mokuʻauia Island after Reinvasion". Pacific Science. 68 (8).
  5. Andrew Doughty (15 January 2015). Oahu Revealed: The Ultimate Guide To Honolulu, Waikiki & Beyond. Wizard Publications, Incorporated. ISBN   978-0-9838887-9-6.
  6. Richard McMahon (January 2003). Adventuring in Hawai'i. University of Hawaii Press. pp. 237–. ISBN   978-0-8248-2693-2.
  7. "Hawaiʻi Conservation Conference, Part II: Islet Restoration in Hawaiʻi, Marianas" . Retrieved 2017-04-30.
  8. Sharon Hamblin (1 February 2011). Oahu's North Shore. Hunter Publishing, Inc. p. 103. ISBN   978-1-58843-996-3.