Laysan
Native name: Kauō | |
---|---|
Geography | |
Location | Pacific Ocean |
Coordinates | 25°46′03″N 171°44′00″W / 25.7675°N 171.7334°W |
Archipelago | Northwestern Hawaiian Islands |
Area | 1,016 acres (411 ha) |
Length | 1.5 mi (2.4 km) |
Width | 1 mi (2 km) |
Administration | |
State | Hawaii |
County | Honolulu |
Laysan (
Geology
Laysan is the second largest single landmass in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, after Sand Island at
A
History
Discovery and early expeditions
In 1857, Capt. John Paty of the Manuokawai annexed Laysan to the
The island held an economic value in guano. In 1859, Capt. Brooks of the ship Gambia traveled to the island, and in his ship log wrote that there was guano there, but "not of sufficient quantity to warrant any attempts to get it."[8] Despite this estimate, in 1890 George D. Freeth and Charles N. Spencer successfully petitioned the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi for permission to mine guano on Laysan and agreed to make royalty payments to the Kingdom. Around 100 short tons (91 t) were extracted per day.[9] Given that iron-hulled sailing ships towards the end of the guano mining era had a capacity of 5,000 tons, Laysan produced a shipload every two months.[citation needed]
The working condition at the guano mine was grueling. In August 1900, Japanese workers mutinied against American management. At first the workers refused to work. That strike action turned to violence because of a language barrier. As a result, there were two deaths and two injuries.[citation needed]
This newfound attention to Laysan attracted scientists, and in the next decade, many of Laysan's unique species were scientifically examined for the first time.
1894 marked the arrival of Laysan's most notorious inhabitant,
Period of extinction
The rabbits did reproduce rapidly. Soon, their appetite far exceeded the available vegetation on Laysan island. Complaints about this and about Japanese poachers of the bird population led President Theodore Roosevelt to declare the Northwestern Hawaiian chain a bird sanctuary in 1909. Schlemmer continued to allow the Japanese to export bird wings illegally and so was removed from the island. But without plant cover, much of the soil and sand became loose and blew about in dust storms. By 1918, the rabbits had eaten so much that the remaining vegetation was only enough to sustain 100 rabbits. Twenty-six plant species had been eradicated, and the Laysan millerbird had gone extinct.[11]
In 1923, the
Recent history
Like most of the Northwestern Hawaiian islands, Laysan is currently uninhabited. It is protected by the Hawaiian Natural Life Act of 1961 and stewarded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, who have had success in eliminating pests, restoring the island's vegetation, and restoring the numbers of imperiled species.[citation needed]
Garbage from passing ships often washes ashore on Laysan. This poses a danger to birds because they can swallow
Sandbur eradication
In 1991, the
"Laysan fever"
In 1991, several workers on Laysan contracted a feverish illness previously unknown there or anywhere else. It affected workers on Laysan in varying levels of severity: one woman was evacuated for persistent fever, but others exhibited very mild symptoms. Cedric Yoshimoto, of the
Possible ancient Hawaiian presence
In 2003, an
Distinctive species of Laysan
Laysan is generally regarded as the "gem" of the NWHI, with the most biodiversity. It is home to the Laysan duck, the rarest duck in the world.[19] The other native land bird of Laysan is the Laysan finch, an opportunistic hunter. Eighteen other bird species nest here and use Lake Laysan, the only lake in the NWHI, as a rest stop or breeding ground. Laysan also has its share of native plants, many of which, such as Eragrostis variabilis, were extirpated from Laysan during its extinction period and then reintroduced by scientists afterwards, from other leeward islands.[20] Like most other of the NWHI, Laysan is home to Hawaiian monk seals and green sea turtles.
Birds
- Laysan finch, Telespiza cantans – endemic
- Laysan duck, Anas laysanensis – endemic
- Laysan albatross, Phoebastria immutabilis – nearly endemic
- Black-footed albatross, Phoebastria nigripes
- Short-tailed albatross, Phoebastria albatrus
- Great frigatebird, Fregata minor
- Lesser frigatebird, Fregata ariel
- White tern (or "fairy tern"), Gygis alba
- Sooty tern, Onychoprion fuscatus
- Spectacled tern, Onychoprion lunata
- Bristle-thighed curlew, Numenius tahitiensis
- Pacific golden plover, Pluvialis fulva
- Christmas shearwater, Puffinus nativitatis
- Red-tailed tropicbird, Phaethon rubricauda rothschildi
- Brown noddy, Anous stolidus
- Black noddy, Anous minutus melangogenys
- Masked booby, Sula dactylatra
- Brown booby, Sula leucogaster
- Red-footed booby, Sula sula rubripes
- Bonin petrel, Pterodroma hypoleuca
- Laysan rail, Porzana palmeri – extinct, endemic
- Laysan honeycreeper Himatione fraithii – extinct, endemic
- Laysan millerbird, Acrocephalus familiaris familiaris – extinct, endemic
Insects
- Laysan dropseed noctuid moth, (Hypena laysanensis) – extinct
- Laysan noctuid moth, (Agrotis laysanensis) - endemic
- Procellaris grotis noctuid moth, (Agrotis procellaris)
- Oedemasylus laysanensis) – extinct
See also
- Desert island
- List of islands
Notes
- ^ "Laysan". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
- ISBN 978-0-8248-4626-8, retrieved 2020-12-02
- ClimateWire and Scientific AmericanApril 12, 2013
- ^ "Forecasting the Impact of Storm Waves and SeaLevel Rise on Midway Atoll and Laysan Island within the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument—A Comparison of Passive Versus Dynamic Inundation Models" (PDF). Open-File Report 2013–1069.
- ^ The Daily National Journal (citing an article in The Nantucket Enquirer), issue of 7 March 1825.
- ^ Jeremiah N. Reynolds, Address on the subject of a surveying and exploring expedition to the Pacific Ocean and South Seas: Delivered in the Hall of Representatives on the evening of April 3, 1836 (New York:1836), pp. 201 & 223.
- ^ In The New Bedford Mercury, 21 Feb 1823, p. 3, the ship Persia reports sighting Briggs' ship Wilmington & Liverpool Packet northwest of Midway Island.
- ^ Rauzon 2001, pg.101.
- ^ a b Rauzon 2001, p.104.
- ^ Dill, Homer Ray; William Alanson Bryan (1912). "Report of an expedition to Laysan Island in 1911: under the joint auspices of the United States Department of Agriculture and University of Iowa". United States Department of Agriculture: 9.
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - ^ Rauzon 2001, p.110
- ^ Greene 2006.
- ^ Rauzon 2001, p.126-127.
- ^ Rauzon 2001, p.120.
- ^ Rauzon 2001, p.122.
- ^ Rauzon 2001, p.123.
- ^ Rauzon 2001, p.125.
- ^ TenBruggencate 2005
- ^ Liittschwager 2005, p.131.
- ^ Liittschwager 2005, p.128.
References
- TenBruggencate, J. 2005. "Coconut pollen found on Laysan". Honolulu Advertiser, Monday, May 23, 2005, p. B1-2.
- Rauzon, Mark J. (2001), Isles of Refuge: Wildlife and History of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, University of Hawaii Press, ISBN 0-8248-2209-9.
- Greene, Patricia (2006). "Death of a Laysan Albatross Chick." Archived 2012-02-07 at the Wayback Machine. Also available at "Mission Log: July 6, 2006: Death of a Laysan Albatross Chick"
- Liittschwager, David & Middleton, Susan (2005), Archipelago: Portraits of Life in the World's Most Remote Sanctuary, National Geographic, ISBN 0-7922-4188-6.