Two roads diverged in a wood (Halawa Ridge)

Posted on September 11, 2011 by Sebastian Marquez

… I most certainly took the one less traveled. All this blogging about hiking and it took till now to get to Robert Frost’s famous poem? After today’s long hike, it seemed particularly apropos.

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Snapshot: Philippine Tarsier

Posted on September 7, 2011 by Sebastian Marquez

There’s nothing like quirky endemic fauna. Here is a picture I took in Bohol of Philippine Tarsiers (Tarsius syrichta). If you love phylogeny (and who doesn’t?), tarsiers have been found to be more closely related to monkeys and great apes (clade Haplorhini) than lemurs and lorises (clade Strepsirrhini).

Biogeographically, it’s neat that they are only found in Indonesia and the Philippine archipelago. In the Philippines, there are only Macaques, Tarsiers and People present from the primate family. Lorises and Gibbons, found throughout Southeast Asia, are absent. Like the Philippine Flying Lemur, Tarsiers are only found on Greater Mindanao. Back in during the lower sea levels of the last ice age, Bohol, Samar, Leyte and Mindanao all form a much larger landmass, much like Maui Nui. Here, the little Tarsiers prospered.

Tarsiers have been exploited by people in the past. I’m fairly certain many of the Philippine Tarsier photos people find on the web like mine are from the Loboc & Loay  captive populations. Those have since been closed. Let’s hope we can find a way to live better with our neat little cousins.

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Roadside plants of Mauna Kea

Posted on September 5, 2011 by Sebastian Marquez

Mauna Loa from Mauna Kea summit road

I may enjoy hiking, but taking on Mauna Kea is a different beast altogether. Perhaps it’s a challenge for hikers more extreme than I. Besides there is a perfectly good road that takes you up to the native alpine denizens, so why not take it?

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Random Dogbane photos

Posted on August 28, 2011 by Sebastian Marquez

I have pictures of the native dogbanes (Apocynaceae) that I’d like to share. Most people are familiar with at least one member of the family, albeit non-native: The different Plumerias. Fortunately, they don’t seem to escape from cultivation easily.

The native Apocynaceae are not a monophyletic group; there were several independent colonization events. The are native plants in the genera of Alyxia, Rauvolfia, Ochrosia as well as an endemic genus of Pteralyxia.

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Small Victories

Posted on August 25, 2011 by Sebastian Marquez

I haven’t really mentioned anything about the Manoa Cliff restoration efforts lately. I would certainly be remiss if I didn’t let my dear readers know about some of the progress being made.

Tackling large problems and solving them can be very satisfying; nothing like solving meta on meta issues to flex your intellectual muscle. But I also particularly enjoy the small victories at the restoration site.

Here, some of our Phyllostegia grandiflora have finally bloomed. This particular vine had been steadily growing for over a year before the infloresence developed. We have some other P. grandiflora at the site that are much bigger but have yet to flower. I’d like to think this bunch is merely the vanguard of the coming floral army…

I’ll end the short post with this: Small victories and pleasant surprises are always a great combination. This past workday we had access to a small portable propane burner. What better way to savor these native plants being invigorated than with a nice, freshly-brewed batch of in-situ Mamaki Tea.

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Snapshot: Ohe Naupaka

Posted on August 15, 2011 by Sebastian Marquez

Maybe I’m just fascinated by bird-pollinated plants. Here is another plant that I’ve been interested in seeing up close. Ohe Naupaka (Scaevola glabra) is quite different from the other naupakas native to Hawai’i. Instead of the characteristic half-flower of the other native species, Ohe Naupaka has evolved to a tubular flower, presumably to aid in bird pollination.

This species is only found in the wet forests of Kaua’i and O’ahu. A nice little population occurs on the Aiea Ridge trail if one doesn’t mind the long tough hike.

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Snapshot: Native Tantalus tree snails

Posted on August 13, 2011 by Sebastian Marquez

One nice thing about hiking on cool cloudy days is that it give you a better chance to see native snails. This little guy is an Auricullela minuta/perpusilla cruising around on a Cyrtandra grandiflora. There were even some on invasive cestrum as well.

While it’s no Achatinella, it is still nice to see some native tree snails have survived in the Manoa area.

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Ko’olau Pride

Posted on August 7, 2011 by Sebastian Marquez

I wonder if the Ko’olau mountains are sometimes taken for granted in the public’s eye. Thousands of people commute over and through the Ko’olaus every weekday for work or school. They are the prized “Mauka view” in real estate listings in Honolulu. Indeed, the Ko’olaus are the backyard for Honolulu and windward communities. Do people know what awesome wild things are still found in these mountains a stones throw away from most O’ahu residents?

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Extinct Megafauna at the Mall

Posted on July 31, 2011 by Sebastian Marquez

There is a passion that I have which predates native Hawaiian plants. It’s one that I haven’t gotten a chance to talk about on this blog yet. Luckily this is Studia Mirabilium, the Study of Marvelous Things. With Pearlridge Mall having their Planet Ice event, I get a chance to talk about this other marvelous thing. The passion is for Cenozoic fauna, more specifically, extinct megafauna in this case.

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Big Island Part 2: Giffard’s Hope

Posted on July 24, 2011 by Sebastian Marquez

A few hours before flying back to Honolulu, we decided to check out Volcanoes National Park. With such little time, we could only afford to rush Kipuka Puaulu.

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