116 



technology. With this technology, it has become possible for man to intervene in the 

 processes of natural evolution for producing useful products. 



Natural genetic diversity in the tropical flora and fauna of the world represents 

 a storehouse of genetic information most of which we know very little about. The 

 University of Hawaii's Biotechnology Program intends to take full advantage of the 

 genetic resources available in our native ecosystem. Genes that are specifically 

 adapted to our tropical environment can be engineered into agricultural crops for 

 improving them. For instance, genes isolated from salt-tolerant, drought-tolerant or 

 disease- and pest-tolerant native plants can be isolated and transferred to commer- 

 cial crops for making them resistant to these factors. New strains of nitrogen fixing 

 bacteria that are specifically effective in the acidic soils of the tropics can be devel- 

 oped. Useful genes from tropical fresh water and salt water fishes can be isolated 

 and used to improve aquaculture. The fresh water and marine tropical environment 

 of Hawaii contains thousands of unexplored species of algae and seaweeds poten- 

 tially rich in unknown natural products beneficial to man. The genes encoding these 

 compounds can be isolated and made use of for man's benefit. Therefore, it is of the 

 utmost importance to preserve Hawaii's native species, not only for the study of nat- 

 ural evolution, but also for the economic opportunities they offer through bio- 

 technology. 



Impacts of Non-Indigenous Species 



Almost the whole of the native Hawaiian flora and fauna — 98 percent — is endemic 

 to these islands, found nowhere else in the world. Discovery and occupation by hu- 

 mans, first Polynesians and then Europeans, led to gross disturbance of the natural 

 environment through habitat loss, the introduction of alien browsers, predators, 

 birds and plants. The native plants and animals that had evolved in an era without 

 browsing or predatory mammals, faced the onslaught of tens of thousands of goats, 

 pigs and deer, and many pest plants spreading through the forests and other 

 ecosystems. 



These disturbances have resulted in the loss of ecosystems, the extinction of nu- 

 merous plants, birds, insects and other animal life and drastic population reductions 

 in many more plant and animal species. Hawaiian plants and animals currently ac- 

 count for 2*7 percent of our Nation s rare and endangered species. More than 70 per- 

 cent of the extinctions recorded in the U.S. in the past two decades were of plants 

 and animals once found only in Hawaii. 



New pest species continue to become established in Hawaii and there is a great 



f)otential for even more harmful ones to be introduced. The introduced animal prob- 

 ems include: 



Pigs: disturbing the forest floor vegetation; preventing regeneration of plants, 



both rare and common; causing water deterioration. 

 Goats: eating plants of the forest floor and lower forest undergrowth; killing 



trees by barkstripping; 

 Rats: preying on the nests of rare birds, on rare snails, and probably other 



fauna; destroying the seeds of rare plants. 

 Mongooses: preying on rare birds. 

 Feral cats: preying on rare birds. 

 Mosquitoes: infecting native birds with malaria. 



New alien insects have been introduced, accidentally and deliberately, in a steady 

 stream. Even today, with modem surveillance at the ports, airports and postal serv- 

 ices, 23 new insects were recorded as becoming established in 1991. As many as 

 2,500 alien arthropod species may now live here. These insects can attack and eradi- 

 cate "keystone" species that others depend upon. A simple example is the ants that 

 attack the native bee that pollinates the beautiful Haleakala silversword, so indi- 

 rectly threatening the silversword's continued existence. 



Hawaii is an excellent growing climate for the many trees, shrubs, garden plants, 

 grasses and weeds that humans have introduced, whether purposely or accidentally. 

 There are now more than 800 alien plants established in the wild. 



An introduced vine, the banana poka of the passionfruit family, smothers pristine 

 native forest, cutting out the light from the tree crowns and shading the forest floor 

 so much that some plants can no longer grow there. Kahili ginger, introduced for 

 its flowers, takes over the floor of the forest and crowds out the native plants. When 

 the current overstory of trees die in their natural cycle, will there be any native 

 plants to replace them? These are but two of the many plant pest species seriously 

 degrading Hawaii's natural environment. 



Promising work is being done on the biological control of several of the worst 

 weeds but biological control research is expensive. With present resources, nothing 



