Paleoecology and "inter-situ" restoration on Kaua'i, Hawai'i

Paleoecological studies from tropical islands around the globe show that human. colonization has been devastating for these remote biotic communities. Island histories reveal that human predation and human-mediated landscape change have each played a key role, but many island extinctions following human arrival are strongly associated with introduced predators, herbivores, weeds, and diseases. On the Hawaiian Island of Kaua'i, human-caused extinctions are currently occurring in a microcosm of island endemics. Recent studies of endangered plants suggest that conventional in-situ and ex-situ conservation strategies are losing the battle here. Paleoecological findings support the idea that creating new populations in formerly much larger, late prehistoric and early historical ranges of declining species may provide a reliable and cost-effective hedge against extinction. On Kaua'i, several paleoecological sites have played key roles in planning and implementing ecological and cultural restoration projects.