Laysan
Encyclopedia
Northwestern Hawaiian Islands
The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands or the Leeward Islands are the small islands and atolls in the Hawaiian island chain located northwest of the islands of Kauai and Niihau. They are administered by the U.S. state of Hawaii except Midway Atoll, which has temporary residential facilities and is...
. It comprises one land mass of 1016 acres (4.1 km²), about 1 by 1.5 miles in size (1.6 by 2.4 km). It is an atoll
Atoll
An atoll is a coral island that encircles a lagoon partially or completely.- Usage :The word atoll comes from the Dhivehi word atholhu OED...
of sorts, although the land completely surrounds a shallow central lake some 8 feet (2.4 m) above sea level that has a salinity
Salinity
Salinity is the saltiness or dissolved salt content of a body of water. It is a general term used to describe the levels of different salts such as sodium chloride, magnesium and calcium sulfates, and bicarbonates...
approximately three times greater than the ocean. Laysan's Hawaiian name of Kauō means egg, referring to its shape and how much life springs from the island.
Geology
Laysan is the second largest single landmass in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, after Sand Island at Midway AtollMidway Atoll
Midway Atoll is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean, near the northwestern end of the Hawaiian archipelago, about one-third of the way between Honolulu, Hawaii, and Tokyo, Japan. Unique among the Hawaiian islands, Midway observes UTC-11 , eleven hours behind Coordinated Universal Time and one hour...
. Laysan was created by coral growth and geologic upshift. The fringing reef
Fringing reef
A fringing reef is one of the three main types of coral reefs recognized by most coral reef scientists. It is distinguished from the other two main types in that it has either an entirely shallow backreef zone or none at all...
s surrounding the island cover about 735 acres (3 km²). Lake Laysan, the 100 acre (0.404686 km²), brown, hypersaline lake in the island's interior, has varied in depth over the decades. In the 1860s, the lake was at most 30 feet (9.1 m) deep, but by the 1920s it averaged 3–5 ft (0.9144–1.5 m) deep, because of the buildup of sand that had been blown away in sandstorms
Dust storm
A dust / sand storm is a meteorological phenomenon common in arid and semi-arid regions. Dust storms arise when a gust front or other strong wind blows loose sand and dirt from a dry surface. Particles are transported by saltation and suspension, causing soil to move from one place and deposition...
. The best way to find fresh water on Laysan is to observe where the finches
Laysan Finch
The Laysan Finch is a species of finch in the Hawaiian honeycreeper subfamily, Drepanidinae, that is endemic to the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. It is one of four remaining finch-billed Hawaiian honeycreepers, and is closely related to the smaller Nihoa Finch. The Laysan Finch is named for...
are drinking; the fresh water floats on the saltier water and accumulates around the shore. The tallest point on the island is at 50 feet (15.2 m) above sea level, on a large dune that covers much of the northern portion of the island.
Discovery and early expeditions
Native HawaiiansNative Hawaiians
Native Hawaiians refers to the indigenous Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands or their descendants. Native Hawaiians trace their ancestry back to the original Polynesian settlers of Hawaii.According to the U.S...
may have known about Kauō before Americans and Europeans sailed their ships into the region in the early 19th century. The first reported sightings of the island were by Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
whalers
Whaling
Whaling is the hunting of whales mainly for meat and oil. Its earliest forms date to at least 3000 BC. Various coastal communities have long histories of sustenance whaling and harvesting beached whales...
in the 1820s. The Nantucket Enquirer reported a sighting in 1825. Here we probably find the first reference to the name Laysan in print. They were among many who took advantage of the newly discovered whaling grounds off the coast of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, making the waters around the Northwest Hawaian archipelago an increasingly popular commercial route. A United States Government survey of Pacific Ocean geography in 1828 included the earlier whalers' reports and an additional sighting of an island fitting Laysan's description by Capt. "Brigs." This may refer to Capt. John Briggs of New Bedford
New Bedford
-Places:*New Bedford, Illinois*New Bedford, Massachusetts, the most populous New Bedford**New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park*New Bedford, New Jersey *New Bedford, Ohio*New Bedford, Pennsylvania...
, who may have come across the island as early as 1822. Various publications name Capt. Staniukowitch of the Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n ship Moller as the discoverer of Laysan. Although he mapped the island in 1828 and attempted to name it for his ship, he clearly was there after the New Englanders, at least.
In 1857, Capt. John Paty of the Manuokawai annexed Laysan to the Kingdom of Hawaii
Kingdom of Hawaii
The Kingdom of Hawaii was established during the years 1795 to 1810 with the subjugation of the smaller independent chiefdoms of Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lānai, Kauai and Niihau by the chiefdom of Hawaii into one unified government...
. In 1859, Capt. Brooks of the ship Gambia traveled to the island, and in his ship log wrote that there was guano
Guano
Guano is the excrement of seabirds, cave dwelling bats, and seals. Guano manure is an effective fertilizer due to its high levels of phosphorus and nitrogen and also its lack of odor. It was an important source of nitrates for gunpowder...
there, but "not of sufficient quantity to warrant any attempts to get it."
In 1890, the Kingdom of Hawaii granted George D. Freeth and Charles N. Spencer permission to mine the guano on Laysan anyway, as long as they paid a royalty. This newfound attention to Laysan attracted scientists, and in the next decade, many of Laysan's unique species were scientifically examined for the first time. The working conditions at the guano mines were grueling, but there seemed to be more guano than Capt. Brooks had thought. Around 100 short tons (90.7 MT) were extracted per day. In August 1900, the Japanese workers mutinied against the American management and refused to work, leading to violence because of the language barrier
Language barrier
Language barrier is a figurative phrase used primarily to indicate the difficulties faced when people who have no language in common attempt to communicate with each other...
; there were two deaths and two injuries.
Guano digging affected the island’s ecosystem dramatically. Professor William Alanson Bryan of the Bernice P. Bishop Museum estimated that there were 10 million seabirds on Laysan in 1903, but eight years later the estimation was at little more than a million. In those eight years, the Pritchardia
Pritchardia
The genus Pritchardia consists of between 24-40 species of fan palms found on tropical Pacific Ocean islands in Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Tuamotus, and Hawaii. The generic name honours William Thomas Pritchard , a British consul at Fiji.-Description:These palms vary in height, ranging from...
palms that were unique to Laysan, and the island’s sandalwood trees (Santalum
Santalum
Santalum is a genus of woody flowering plants, the best known and commercially valuable of which is the Indian Sandalwood tree, S. album. Members of the genus are trees or shrubs. Most are root parasites which photosynthesize their own food but tap the roots of other species for water and...
ellipticum
Santalum ellipticum
Santalum ellipticum, commonly known as Iliahialoe or Coast Sandalwood, is a species of flowering plant in the European mistletoe family, Santalaceae, that is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. It is a sprawling shrub to small tree, typically reaching a height of and a canopy spread of , but is...
) both became extinct.
1894 marked the arrival of Laysan’s most notorious inhabitant, German
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
immigrant Max Schlemmer
Max Schlemmer
Maximilian "Max" Schlemmer was called the "King of Laysan" and superintendent of a guano mining operation on the Hawaiian island of Laysan, where he lived from 1894 to 1915...
. Schlemmer released domestic rabbit
Domestic rabbit
A domestic rabbit, or more commonly known as simply the rabbit, is any of the several varieties of European rabbit that have been domesticated....
s, Belgian hare
Belgian Hare
The Belgian Hare is a fancy breed of domestic rabbit, that was developed through selective breeding to closely resemble the wild hare in physical appearance, and is believed to be one of the most intelligent and active breeds of domestic rabbit...
s, English hares, a and guinea pigs on the island, expecting them to multiply, and provide supplies for a future meat-canning business. This innocent move proved to be crucial in the decline of Laysan.
Period of extinction
The rabbits multiplied rapidly. Soon, the appetite of the rabbits far exceeded the available vegetation. Complaints about this and about JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese poachers
Poaching
Poaching is the illegal taking of wild plants or animals contrary to local and international conservation and wildlife management laws. Violations of hunting laws and regulations are normally punishable by law and, collectively, such violations are known as poaching.It may be illegal and in...
of the bird population led President Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
to declare the Northwestern Hawaiian chain a bird sanctuary in 1909. Schlemmer continued to allow the Japanese to export bird wings illegally and so was removed from the island. But without plant cover, much of the soil and sand became loose and blew about in horrific dust storms. By 1918, the rabbits had eaten so much that the remaining vegetation was only enough to sustain 100 rabbits. Twenty-six plant species had been eradicated, and the Laysan Millerbird
Laysan Millerbird
The Laysan Millerbird was a subspecies of the Millerbird, similar in appearance to the remaining subspecies, the Nihoa Millerbird. Its dorsal side was brown, and its belly was grayish...
had gone extinct.
In 1923, the Tanager Expedition
Tanager Expedition
The Tanager Expedition was a series of five biological surveys of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands conducted in partnership between the Bureau of Biological Survey and the Bishop Museum, with the assistance of the U.S. Navy. Four expeditions occurred from April to August 1923, and a fifth in July...
arrived, and the rabbits were exterminated at long last. The bird population had been reduced to about a tenth of its former size. Three endemic taxa had become extinct
Extinction
In biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or of a group of organisms , normally a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point...
, as had numerous other plant species. Two other endemic species, the Laysan Duck
Laysan Duck
The Laysan Duck , also known as the Laysan Teal because of its small size, is an endangered dabbling duck endemic to the Hawaiian Islands...
and the Laysan Finch
Laysan Finch
The Laysan Finch is a species of finch in the Hawaiian honeycreeper subfamily, Drepanidinae, that is endemic to the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. It is one of four remaining finch-billed Hawaiian honeycreepers, and is closely related to the smaller Nihoa Finch. The Laysan Finch is named for...
, survive to this day, but are endangered
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
.
Recent history
Like most of the Northwestern Hawaiian islands, Laysan is currently uninhabited. It is protected by the Hawaiian Natural Life Act of 1961 and cared for by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife ServiceUnited States Fish and Wildlife Service
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is a federal government agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats...
, who have had success in eliminating pests, restoring the island to almost pre-desert state, and restoring the numbers of imperiled species.
All sorts of garbage that is thrown from ships ends up floating to shore on Laysan. This poses a great danger to the birds because they swallow the plastic, which remains undigested and crowds the stomach, leaving no room for actual food. Curiously, most of the plastic found is Japanese in origin. Additionally, in the 1990s, biologists found that a container of poisonous carbofuran
Carbofuran
Carbofuran is one of the most toxic carbamate pesticides. It is marketed under the trade names Furadan, by FMC Corporation and Curater, among several others. It is used to control insects in a wide variety of field crops, including potatoes, corn and soybeans...
had floated to shore and burst open above the high tide
High Tide
High Tide was a band formed in 1969 by Tony Hill , Simon House , Peter Pavli and Roger Hadden .-History:...
line, creating a "dead zone" which killed anything alive that went near it. This area is still off-limits.
Sandbur eradication
In 1991, the United States Fish and Wildlife ServiceUnited States Fish and Wildlife Service
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is a federal government agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats...
started an effort to eradicate alien sandbur
Sandbur
Cenchrus is a genus of about 25 species of grasses in the family Poaceae. Common names include buffelgrasses, sandburs, and sand spur. Some botanists include the genus within the related genus Pennisetum.-Species:...
, a grass that crowds out the native bunchgrass, which is habitat for the birds. Sandbur was first introduced in the 1960s by US Armed Forces personnel. Costing almost one million dollars, the project ended in 2000 when the sandbur was completely removed. With this threat gone, the USFWS hopes to restore Laysan to how it was before it was discovered. To replace the Pritchardia palms that went extinct, the FWS wants to bring in Pritchardia remota
Pritchardia remota
Pritchardia remota is a species of palm endemic on the island of Nihoa, Hawaii, and later transplanted to the island of Laysan. It is a smaller tree than most other species of Pritchardia, typically reaching only tall and with a trunk diameter of . It is the only type of tree on the island and...
from Nihoa
Nihoa
Nihoa , also known as Bird Island or Moku Manu, is the largest and tallest of ten islands and atolls in the uninhabited Northwestern Hawaiian Islands . The island is located at the southern end of the NWHI chain, southeast of Necker Island...
, a similar species to Laysan’s lost fan palm. Next may be Nihoa Millerbird
Nihoa Millerbird
The Nihoa Millerbird is a subspecies of the Millerbird. It gets its name from its preferred food, the Miller moth. The five-inch long Millerbird has dark, sepia-colored feathers, white belly, and dark beak...
s, to replace the extinct Laysan Millerbirds that were closely related. These transfers would accomplish a two-fold goal: to restore Laysan to its original form, and to protect those two species from extinction by maintaining a second population on Laysan. That way, if diseases, fires, or hurricanes obliterate the Nihoa population, the population can be revived by transplanting some from Laysan.
"Laysan fever"
In 1991, several workers on Laysan came down with a feverish illness previously unknown there or anywhere else. It affected workers on Laysan in varying levels of severity: one woman was evacuated for persistent fever, but others showed very mild symptoms. Cedric Yoshimoto, of the University of Hawaii at MānoaUniversity of Hawaii at Manoa
The University of Hawaii at Mānoa is a public, co-educational university and is the flagship campus of the greater University of Hawaii system...
School of Public Health, wrote that "surveillance has identified a newly-described illness of humans termed 'Laysan fever (LF)' It is associated with bites of the seabird tick Ornithodoros capensis...
Q fever
Q fever is a disease caused by infection with Coxiella burnetii, a bacterium that affects humans and other animals. This organism is uncommon but may be found in cattle, sheep, goats and other domestic mammals, including cats and dogs...
overlap significantly with those of Laysan fever, and scientists have speculated as to their possible common causes.
Possible ancient Hawaiian presence
Recently, an archaeologistArchaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
examining sediment
Sediment
Sediment is naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of fluids such as wind, water, or ice, and/or by the force of gravity acting on the particle itself....
cores found pollen from coconut
Coconut
The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...
palms deep below the bottom of the central lagoon. This unexpected find raises several issues. Heretofore, no evidence existed that the coconut ever reached any of the Hawaiian Islands
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
before the arrival of the Polynesia
Polynesia
Polynesia is a subregion of Oceania, made up of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are termed Polynesians and they share many similar traits including language, culture and beliefs...
n voyagers. Further, there has never been any physical evidence that the ancient Hawaiians extended their explorations of the Hawaiian chain beyond Nihoa
Nihoa
Nihoa , also known as Bird Island or Moku Manu, is the largest and tallest of ten islands and atolls in the uninhabited Northwestern Hawaiian Islands . The island is located at the southern end of the NWHI chain, southeast of Necker Island...
and Mokumanamana (Necker). Dating the sediment containing the Cocos pollen is imprecise, but appears to be somewhere between 5,500 years ago, and the arrival of Europeans in Hawaiian waters in the late 18th century. The full length of the core was 70 feet (21.3 m) and is thought to represent a record spanning 7,000 years. Coconut pollen was not found in the deeper (older) part of the core. However, cores from Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
in the western Pacific
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
show the presence of coconut trees there as early as 9,000 years ago, well before human habitation. Hawaiian traditions suggest that the Hawaiians were aware that islands existed to the northwest, and the pollen evidence could be interpreted as proof of early Hawaiian visitation to Laysan. Clearly, more precise dating of the sediment layers will be crucial to better interpreting this find.
Distinctive species of Laysan
Laysan is generally regarded as the "gem" of the NWHINorthwestern Hawaiian Islands
The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands or the Leeward Islands are the small islands and atolls in the Hawaiian island chain located northwest of the islands of Kauai and Niihau. They are administered by the U.S. state of Hawaii except Midway Atoll, which has temporary residential facilities and is...
, with the most biodiversity. It is home to the Laysan Duck
Laysan Duck
The Laysan Duck , also known as the Laysan Teal because of its small size, is an endangered dabbling duck endemic to the Hawaiian Islands...
, the rarest duck in the world. The other native land bird of Laysan is the Laysan Finch
Laysan Finch
The Laysan Finch is a species of finch in the Hawaiian honeycreeper subfamily, Drepanidinae, that is endemic to the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. It is one of four remaining finch-billed Hawaiian honeycreepers, and is closely related to the smaller Nihoa Finch. The Laysan Finch is named for...
, an opportunistic hunter. Eighteen other bird species nest here and use Lake Laysan, the only lake in the NWHI, as a rest stop or breeding ground. Laysan also has its share of native plants, many of which, such as Eragrostis variabilis, were extirpated from Laysan during its extinction period and then reintroduced by scientists afterwards, from other Leeward islands. Like most other of the NWHI, Laysan is home to Hawaiian Monk Seal
Hawaiian Monk Seal
The Hawaiian monk seal, Monachus schauinslandi, is an endangered species of earless seal in the Phocidae family that is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands....
s and Green Sea Turtle
Green Sea Turtle
The Green sea turtle or green turtle is a large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae. It is the only species in the genus Chelonia. Its range extends throughout tropical and subtropical seas around the world, with two distinct populations in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans...
s.
Birds
- Laysan Finch
Laysan FinchThe Laysan Finch is a species of finch in the Hawaiian honeycreeper subfamily, Drepanidinae, that is endemic to the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. It is one of four remaining finch-billed Hawaiian honeycreepers, and is closely related to the smaller Nihoa Finch. The Laysan Finch is named for...
, Telespiza cantans - endemic- Laysan Duck
Laysan DuckThe Laysan Duck , also known as the Laysan Teal because of its small size, is an endangered dabbling duck endemic to the Hawaiian Islands...
, Anas laysanensis - endemic- Laysan Albatross
Laysan AlbatrossThe Laysan Albatross, Phoebastria immutabilis, is a large seabird that ranges across the North Pacific. This small two-tone gull-like albatross is the second most common seabird in the Hawaiian Islands, with an estimated population of 2.5 million birds, and is currently expanding its range to new...
, Phoebastria immutabilis- Black-footed Albatross
Black-footed AlbatrossThe Black-footed Albatross, Phoebastria nigripes, is a large seabird from the North Pacific of the albatross family Diomedeidae. It is one of three species of albatross that range in the northern hemisphere, nesting on isolated tropical islands...
, Phoebastria nigripes- Short-tailed Albatross
Short-tailed AlbatrossThe Short-tailed Albatross or Steller's Albatross, Phoebastria albatrus, is a large rare seabird from the North Pacific. Although related to the other North Pacific albatrosses, it also exhibits behavioural and morphological links to the albatrosses of the Southern Ocean...
, Phoebastria albatrus- Great Frigatebird
Great FrigatebirdThe Great Frigatebird is a large dispersive seabird in the frigatebird family. Major nesting populations are found in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, as well as a population in the South Atlantic....
, Fregata minor- Lesser Frigatebird
Lesser FrigatebirdThe Lesser Frigatebird, Fregata ariel, is a species of frigatebird.It nests in Australia, among other locations.There is a single record from the Western Palearctic, from Eilat in the Gulf of Aqaba....
, Fregata ariel- White Tern
White TernThe White Tern is a small seabird found across the tropical oceans of the world. It is sometimes known as the Fairy Tern although this name is potentially confusing as it is the common name of the Fairy Tern Sternula nereis...
(or "Fairy Tern"), Gygis alba- Sooty Tern
Sooty TernThe Sooty Tern, Onychoprion fuscatus , is a seabird of the tern family . It is a bird of the tropical oceans, breeding on islands throughout the equatorial zone. Colloquially, it is known as the Wideawake Tern or just wideawake...
, Onychoprion fuscatus- Spectacled Tern, Onychoprion lunata
- Bristle-thighed Curlew
Bristle-thighed CurlewThe Bristle-thighed Curlew, Numenius tahitiensis, is a large shorebird that breeds in Alaska and winters on tropical Pacific islands. It has a long, decurved bill and bristled feathers at the base of the legs. Its length is about 43 cm and wingspan about 84 cm...
, Numenius tahitiensis- Pacific Golden Plover
Pacific Golden PloverThe Pacific Golden Plover is a medium-sized plover.The 23–26 cm long breeding adult is spotted gold and black on the crown, back and wings. Its face and neck are black with a white border and it has a black breast and a dark rump. The legs are black...
, Pluvialis fulva- Christmas Shearwater
Christmas ShearwaterThe Christmas Shearwater, Puffinus nativitatis, is a medium-sized shearwater of the tropical Central Pacific. It is a poorly known species due to its remote nesting habits, and it has not been extensively studied at sea either....
, Puffinus nativitatis- Red-tailed Tropicbird
Red-tailed TropicbirdThe Red-tailed Tropicbird, Phaethon rubricauda, is a seabird that nests across the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the rarest of the tropicbirds, yet is still a widespread bird that is not considered threatened. It nests in colonies on oceanic islands....
, Phaethon rubricauda rothschildi- Brown Noddy
Brown NoddyThe Brown Noddy or Common Noddy is a seabird from the tern family. The largest of the noddies, it can be told from the closely related Black Noddy by its larger size and plumage, which is dark brown rather than black...
, Anous stolidus- Black Noddy
Black NoddyThe Black Noddy or White-capped Noddy is a seabird from the tern family. It resembles the closely related Brown or Common Noddy , but is smaller with darker plumage, a whiter cap, a longer, straighter beak and shorter tail...
, Anous minutus melangogenys- Masked Booby
Masked BoobyThe Masked Booby, Sula dactylatra, is a large seabird of the booby family, Sulidae. This species breeds on islands in tropical oceans, except in the eastern Atlantic; in the eastern Pacific it is replaced by the Nazca Booby, Sula granti, which was formerly regarded as a subspecies of Masked Booby...
, Sula dactylatra- Brown Booby
Brown BoobyThe Brown Booby is a large seabird of the booby family, Sulidae. The adult brown booby reaches about in length. Its head and upper body are covered in dark brown, with the remainder being a contrasting white. The juvenile form is gray-brown with darkening on the head, wings and tail...
, Sula leucogaster- Red-footed Booby
Red-footed BoobyThe Red-footed Booby, Sula sula, is a large seabird of the booby family, Sulidae. As suggested by the name, adults always have red feet, but the colour of the plumage varies. They are powerful and agile fliers, but they are clumsy in takeoffs and landings...
, Sula sula rubripes- Bonin Petrel
Bonin PetrelThe Bonin Petrel, Pterodroma hypoleuca, is a seabird in the family Procellariidae. It is a small gadfly petrel that lives in the waters of the north west Pacific and nests on islands south of Japan and in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands...
, Pterodroma hypoleuca- Laysan Rail
Laysan RailThe Laysan Rail or Laysan Crake was a tiny inhabitant of the Northwest Hawaiian Island of Laysan. This small island was and still is an important seabird colony, and sustained a number of endemic species, including the rail. It became extinct due to habitat loss by domestic rabbits, and ultimately...
, Porzana palmeri - extinct- Laysan Apapane Himatione sanguinea freethi - extinct
- Laysan Millerbird
Laysan MillerbirdThe Laysan Millerbird was a subspecies of the Millerbird, similar in appearance to the remaining subspecies, the Nihoa Millerbird. Its dorsal side was brown, and its belly was grayish...
, Acrocephalus familiaris familiaris - extinct
Insects
- Laysan Dropseed Noctuid Moth
Laysan Dropseed Noctuid MothThe Laysan Dropseed Noctuid Moth was a species of moth in the Noctuidae family. This species is now extinct.This moth was endemic to Laysan Island, one of the Outlying Hawaiian Islands, United States....
, (Hypena laysanensis) - extinct- Laysan Noctuid Moth
Laysan Noctuid MothThe Laysan Noctuid Moth was a species of moth in the Noctuidae family. This species is now extinct.It was endemic to Laysan Island, one of the Outlying Hawaiian Islands, United States....
, (Agrotis laysanensis) - extinct- Procellaris Grotis Noctuid Moth
Procellaris Grotis Noctuid MothThe Procellaris Grotis Noctuid Moth was a species of moth in the Noctuidae family. This species is now extinct.This moth was endemic to Laysan Island, one of the Outlying Hawaiian Islands, United States.-Source:...
, (Agrotis procellaris) - extinct