Author Archives: Sebastian Marquez

Snapshot: Hinahina

Hinahina (Heliotropium anomalum var. argenteum) is a coastal plant that one can still come across fairly readily in Hawai`i. Many populations have dense silky pubesence, but this varies. The population that I saw at Pounder’s did not have much pubesence; … Continue reading

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The Takahe at Zealandia

Takahe (Porphyrio hochstetteri) are another member of New Zealand’s wonderful endemic avifauna. Once thought to be extinct, they are making a comeback and giving us a glimpse of a lifestyle that we don’t really associate with birds.

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Snapshot: More Cerambycid beetles

I wanted to see if I could get a little bit better shots of that native cerambycid beetle I took a few weeks back. They seem to really like rotten koa trees as I rather easily found another one on … Continue reading

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The weka of Kapiti Island

In honor of Kahurangi, I will continue to talk about the other awesome birds we came across in Aotearoa. I mentioned in that post that each conservation area we went to had a different bird taxa stand out. Kapiti Island … Continue reading

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Snapshot: Short-horned longhorn beetle

I can across this while randomly picking at the bark of a dead koa tree. It’s a native cerambycid beetle (Parandra puncticeps). I thought it was interesting even though it’s part of the longhorn beetle radiation, it has short antennae. … Continue reading

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Getting to know your Hawaiian Lobeliads #41 Cyanea kauaulaensis

Cyanea kauaulaensis Links: Oppenheimer H, Lorence DH. A new species of Cyanea (Campanulaceae, Lobelioideae) from Maui, Hawaiian Islands. PhytoKeys. 2012;(13):15-23. doi: 10.3897/phytokeys.13.3447. Epub 2012 Jun 20. PMID: 22787424; PMCID: PMC3391714.

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Manoa Cliff Before and After photos

So I have also been trying to update the Manoa Cliff website as well. With 17 years of native reforestation under our belt, we have seen areas come a long way. Here is a link to some before and after … Continue reading

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MAPA1: A most stubborn individual

One lone bird flies back to its home range on the other side of a volcano. Seems straightforward enough. Animals making their way back home after an arduous journey are typically feel-good stories that are sometimes made into movies. Homeward … Continue reading

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About those Indian Cities and their urban wildlife

I mentioned in my post about A.I. generated artwork that my mindset on the coexistence of people and fauna is partly informed by the images I’ve seen coming out of Indian cities. India is an interesting case study because while … Continue reading

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Who let the dogs out? Wolves, Coyotes and the Post-Hemphilian Canis radiation

So this post may just be an excuse for me to post more photos from my trip to the Living Desert Zoo and Garden. While wolves and coyotes may look similar enough for the lay person like myself to confuse … Continue reading

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