INVASIVE PLANTS OF KAILUA WATERSHED
via MEME
Kailua Watershed have many beautiful areas, and whether or not you are hiking the various trails or simply just enjoy driving through gives you an idea of how various a plant life that exists here, along with many significant indigenous animals. Along the ridges of the great ko'olau Mountain range falls a lot of rain water which ultimately ends up in Maunuwili Stream and down into Kawainui Marsh, which is the great wetland of the area, and home for many ancient myths and stories. This wetland is gives home to many plant species, which compose of both native plants, but unfortunately also one species of plants that have been introduced by man, and since then have become a large plague for the area. This is my presentation of the history, the situation and the fight against it:
Works Cited
Guinther, E. (2015, November 25). Kawainui Marsh. Retrieved from Plants and Animals: http://www.koolau.net/Kawai_Nui_4.html
HHF. (2019). HHF.com. Retrieved from Kawainui Wetland Restoration Manual: https://www.hhf.com/2016/kawainui-marsh-wetland-forest-restoration-project/
Kailua Bay Advisory Counsel. (2007, June). Hawaii State Department of Health. Retrieved October 2019, from Ko’olaupoko Watershed Restoration Action Strategy Kailua Bay Advisory Council (KBAC): http://health.hawaii.gov/cwb/files/2013/05/PRC_WatershedKoolaupoko.pdf
Kapadia, K. (2017, March). hanahou.com. Retrieved from Around the Great Water: https://hanahou.com/20.1/around-the-great-water
MacDonald, G., Sellers, B., Langeland, K., Bond, T. D., & Guest, E. K. (2008). University of Florida. Retrieved from Urochloa mutica: https://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/plant-directory/urochloa-mutica/
Marsh Master Sebastian Services, LLC 2 (2015). [Motion Picture]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=122&v=vJpeSrzeCek
Nā Pōhaku Ecology Group. (2019, May 15). Ahahui.net. Retrieved from About us: http://www.ahahui.net
Starr Environmental. (2006, February 28). Starrenvironmental.com. Retrieved from Habitat and aerial view - Kawainui Marsh: http://www.starrenvironmental.com/images/image/?q=24856557775
Wikipedia. (2019). Wikipedia.com. Retrieved from Brachiaria Mutica: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brachiaria_mutica
I had no idea Geckos were not native to Hawaii and they can be traced back to a college student. I have never heard of California grass until now, it is mind blowing to think it can grow in standing water and support cows on top of the plant. That is some tenacious grass. I also didn't realize they made an aquatic grass cutter like that. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHi Theresa,
ReplyDeleteThanks for you response. It is true - none of the nine gecko species here in Hawaii are native, and many have been introduced wither with settlers or as illegal "pets". I post you another website, which gives a full overview of the nine species and their individual stories and origin:
https://sciencing.com/types-geckos-hawaii-6541376.html
It's interesting that Brachiaria mutica is referred to as California grass, especially because it doesn't even grow in the state of California according to the USDA fact site (https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=URMU). I wonder how that common name came to be.
ReplyDeleteHi Nikolai,
ReplyDeleteI have thoroughly enjoyed looking over your blog site and learning about the Kailua watershed. It is very well put together and flows well. I didn't realize that the GEICO mascot was even based on an actual species, but then to find out that it is also invasive is pretty interesting. It seems that the island ecosystems are always the hardest hit by invasive species and have the toughest time coping with them.