Hawaii Habitat

Instructions

Hawaii is an island chain found in the Pacific Ocean that was once a hotspot of avian biodiversity. While most amphibians, mammals, and reptiles failed to colonize the ecosystems, due to their inability to fly, raft, or swim (except bats, pinnipeds, sea snakes, and turtles), numerous bird species have successfully claimed the paradises as their home. This ranged from scurrying rails, probing ducks + ibises, herbivorous waterfowl, and running owl species found no where else in the world. In absence of competition, birds occupied every major ecological niche. Although, this extreme isolation eventually made the natives of these habitats extremely vulnerable to relentless human settlement and invasive species. Invasive vertebrates, such as cats, dogs, mongooses, pigs, and rats, plus invasive invertebrates, like mosquitoes, equally drove countless avifauna to extinction. As of today, no flightless, non-aquatic vertebrates remain and many flighted ones are on their way out, due to avian malaria, invasive predators, toxoplasmosis, and etc. Because of the risks, many native species are kept in captivity or fenced reserves so that they can rebound their populations. However, invasive species control has remained a challenge and controversy, due to intensive backlash. Despite the loss of biodiversity, Hawaii still maintains a few unique species, such as the hawaiian crows, ducks/geese, and honeycreepers, as well as various endemic raptors, seabirds, and shore/wader/waterbirds, which are worth protecting in every regard. Therefore, cleansing and protecting their environments is crucial. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- One of the possibilities of restoring Hawaii's ecosystems involves de-extinction, genetic engineering, or taxon substitution. De-extinction with birds requires sequencing ancient DNA found in subfossil remains, identifying key, lost traits for a particular niche, and performing precise edits to a closely related species' primordial germ cells. Eventually, those cells can be implemented into a surrogate embryo, that lacks their own PGCs, and will be hatched as the target species from the adults or an artificial egg. Genetic engineering is a more simplified version of de-extinction that aims to recreate the bare minimum of adaptations necessary for carrying on ecological functions and survival. Taxon substitution can be achieved by using a related species that sustains a similar degree of functionality among its close niche. For example: Giant tortoises. The moa-nalo is the best target as its role was important for dispersing seeds and managing the Hawaiian local vegetation. Although, Hawaiian ibises and rails are also sufficient options due to their close and generalistic counterparts. Mole ducks and stilt owls are likely more challenging due to their high levels of specialization. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Birds: 1. Hawaiian Rail 2. Hawaiian Ibis 3. Mole Duck 4. Moa-Nalo 5. Stilt Owl