Biology 123

Introduction to Science: Hawaiian Environment

General Information

• Note: This was formerly listed as Science 123
• Instructor: Dr. Mark Merlin (Dean108, 956-6038)
• Lecture:

Lecture Topics

• Introduction to the course
• Introduction to the aims and methods of science; how scientists gather information and develop explanations about nature; two perspectives of original botanical and ecological field research in Hawai'i
• Origins of the Hawaiian Islands: Polynesian legends that explain how the islands were formed. Overview of the origins of the Hawaiian Islands; scientific theories that explain how the islands were formed
• Evolution of the plate tectonic and "hot spot: theories. Volcanic activity in Hawai'i: explosive versus "quiet" eruptions; subduction versus shield volcanoes; Hawaiian "hot spot"
• Volcanic activity in Hawai'i: processes, products and landforms
• Introduction to the regional oceanography, hydrology and climate of the Hawaiian Islands; major factors and general effects
• Climatic zones and microclimates of the Hawaiian Islands
• Weathering of the Hawaiian volcanoes; mechanical and chemical disintegration of volcanic rocks. Soil development in Hawai'i
• Natural agencies of erosion in the Hawaiian Islands; stream erosion, mass transfer, ocean waves, salt-spray, wind and ice
• Natural history of a Hawaiian volcano; stages of development and destruction. Survey of the physical geography of the Hawaiian Islands; the active, dormant and extinct volcanoes of the chain (2X)
• Exam 1
• Origins of life on Earth and an introduction to ecological science. Biogeography, ecosystems and ecological processes
• Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution through natural selection
• Gregor Mendel and his theory of biological inheritance
• Chromosomes, genes, DNA and evolutionary biology
• Origins of the native Hawaiian biota; screening effects, bottlenecks and dispersal mechanisms. Which plants and animals arrived without human help and which did not
• Problems of remote island existence: examples from the Hawaiian Islands. Adaptive radiation and some of the unique evolutionary adaptations of the endemic Hawaiian organisms
• Evolution of native Hawaiian plants: isolation, ecological diversity, endemism, and adaptive radiation: Examples from Hibiscus, the lobelias, sunflowers and other families
• native Hawaiian land snails, happy-faced spiders, carnivorous caterpillars, and over 500 fruit fly species
• Flightlessness in insects and birds: unique evolutionary trends in the Hawaiian Islands?
• Hawaiian honeycreepers and other endemic forest birds
• Biological regions of the main Hawaiian Islands: coral reefs, coastal environments (including Northwest Hawaiian Islands), dry forest, wet forests, freshwater streams, bogs, sub-alpine scrub, and alpine stone deserts
• Exam 2
• Origins of humans in Hawai'i and other remote Pacific islands: possible source areas, prerequisities, and the evidence of ethnobiology, linguistics, and archaeological science
• Polynesian navigation and the colonization of the Pacific. The Hokule'a voyages and experiments. Archaeology in the Pacific. Ecological adaptation and the evidence of human impact
• Human ecology in prehistoric Hawai'i: ethnobiology, subsistence patterns, and ecological alteration
• Contact with the outside world: the historic effects of alien peoples and the introduction of new seeds, stock, and diseases in the Hawaiian Islands. Case Study: Botany, ecology, and biogeography of Santalum trees in Hawai'i; sandalwood trade and its impact on the Hawaiian environment
• Case Studies: Decline of the Palila bird on Mauna Kea; and some of the most noxious alien weeds in Hawai'i. also, ecological impact of alien insects, snails, amphibians, and reptiles, rodents, and mongoose in the Hawaiian Islands
• Endangered species, endangered ecosystems of Hawai'i: our dubious distinction, what has been done, and what needs to happen
• Review of the course
• Final Exam