Huelo Islet, Relict of Prehistoric Lowland Forests
Photo by Ken Wood, National Tropical Garden.
The relict loulu forest on Huelo Islet is typical of lowland forest ecosystems in Hawaii before human settlement.
Sediment cores from widespread archeology studies show that loulu palm forests predominated in Hawaii’s prehistoric lowlands. Polynesian colonists arriving in about 300 AD introduced new competing plants, the Polynesian rat, and cleared and burned these native forests for agriculture. Thereafter the endemic palm forests went into steep decline. Today they survive intact only on this tiny Huelo Islet, safe from rats that eat the seeds and alien competing plants.
Marine invertebrates of Kalaupapa NHP (illustrated) more...
Did You Know?
Sea cliffs rising two thousand feet above the peninsula and ocean separate Kalaupapa from the rest of the island of Moloka'i. In 1972 this area was designated as the North Shore Cliffs National Natural Landmark, recognized as a significant example of sea cliffs in the nation's natural heritage.