Publisher's Synopsis
The Hawaiian Islands, one of the world's most remote archipelagos, has experienced high rates of extinctions since the arrival first of Polynesians between 800 and 1,200 years ago and, more recently, with European contact 230 years ago. Seventy-one known species and subspecies of forest birds native to Hawai'i went extinct between the arrival of Polynesian and first contact with Europeans, while another 24 have disappeared since Europeans arrived (Banko and Banko, 2009). Today, of the 21 extant species, 11 are endangered or exist in only captivity. Of the species that became extinct, many vanished after the introduction of disease, but habitat loss, introduced predators and competitors, and invasive plants and animals that have degraded forests have all contributed to bring tremendous change to the Hawaiian Islands (Price and others, 2009).
