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Non-native pigs eat the nestlings of ground-nesting birds, and their wallows create breeding sites for foreign mosquitoes, which spread deadly diseases to Hawai`i's endangered forest birds. State, federal, and private managers of Hawai`i's native species and ecosystems, spend more than 75% of their resources to prevent the spread of pests, such as the feral pig, and to repair the damage they cause. The flow of new pests into the state is a constant threat to the survival of Hawai`i's precious natural resources.
Non-native species prey upon and destroy habitat for native species, compete with them for food and habitat, and spread foreign diseases to native plants and animals.
Because of these and hundreds of other examples, there is widespread agreement among farmers, scientists, government agencies, business people, and others, that stopping the influx of new pests is essential to the future well-being of Hawai`i. |
Hawai`i is home to 41% of the nation's endangered birds.
Introduced mosquitoes spread avian malaria and other diseases that have devasted Hawai`i's native birds in many lowland areas. Although the mosquitoes we have now do not commonly survive above 5,000 feet elevation in Hawai`i, there are many mosquito species in the world that could spread into these last, high-elevation refuges. At stake for these birds is the survival of their entire species.
More than one-third of all the threatened and endangered plants and birds in the entire U.S. live only in Hawaii. For more than 95% of these 282 native Hawaiian species, alien competitors such as non-native goats and deer, diseases, or predators are a primary threat. As new pests enter our forests, streams, and coastal waters, the number of native species threatened with extinction is increasing faster than conservation programs can protect them.