Nihoa: Difference between revisions

{{distinguish|text=[[wikt:nǐhǎo|Nihao]] or [[Ni‘ihau]]}}

'''Nihoa''' ({{IPAc-en|n|iː|ˈ|h|oʊ|.|ə}}; {{lang-haw|Nīhoa}} {{IPA|haw|niːˈhowə|}} or {{lang-haw|Nihoa}} {{IPA|haw|niˈhowə|}}), also known as '''Bird Island''' or '''Moku Manu''', is the tallest of ten islands and atolls in the uninhabited [[Northwestern Hawaiian Islands]] (NWHI). The island is located at the southern end of the NWHI chain, {{convert|296|km|nmi|0|abbr=on}} southeast of [[Necker Island (Hawaii)|Necker Island]]. Nihoa is the closest NWHI in proximity to the eight main windward [[Hawaiian Islands]] at approximately {{convert|240|km|nmi|0|abbr=on}} northwest of the island of [[Kauai|Kaua{{okina}}i]]. The island has two peaks, {{convert|272|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} Miller's Peak in the west, and {{convert|259|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} Tanager Peak in the east. Nihoa's area is about {{convert|171|acres|km2|abbr=on}} and is surrounded by a {{convert|142000|acre|adj=on}} [[coral reef]]. Its jagged outline gives the island its name, {{lang|haw|Nīhoa}}, which is [[Hawaiian language|Hawaiian]] for "toothtoothed, serrated".<ref name="Rauzon8Wehewehe-nihoa">{{harvnbcitation|Rauzontitle="nihoa" entry|2001dictionary=Hawaiian Dictionary|pyear=8}}2003|editor-first1=Mary|editor-last1=Pukui|editor-first2=Samuel|editor-last2=Elbert|url=https://wehewehe. Captain William Douglas, the second Western explorer to find Nihoa, describes the island as "org/gsdl2.85/cgi-bin/hdict?e=q-11000-00---off-0hdict--00-1----0-10-0---0---0direct-10-ED--4--textpukuielbert%2ctextmamaka-----0-1l--11-haw-Zz-1---Zz-1-home-n%c4%abhoa--00-4-1-00-0--4----0-0-11-00-0utfZz-8-00&a=d&d=D14398#hero-bottom-banner|quote=Pas[bearingsive] the form/imp[erative]. of aniho; saddletoothed, high at each endserrated, and low in the middle. To the southnotched, it is covered with verdure; but on the northjagged, west,sharp...|publisher=University andof eastHawaiʻi sides it is a barren rock, perpendicularly steep..."Press}}</ref>

In 1909, Nihoa became part of the Hawaiian Islands Reservation, a federal wildlife refuge established by U.S. presidentPresident [[Theodore Roosevelt]]. The [[Tanager Expedition]] surveyed the island in 1923, taking a comprehensive biological inventory of its many species. In 1940, it became part of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Wildlife Refuge and in 1988, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places due to its culturally significant archaeological sites. In 2006, it became part of the [[Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument]]. Efforts are underway to ensure that endangered plant species are propagated beyond their limited range and represented in ''ex situ'' collections. Persons intending to visit Nihoa for cultural and scientific research purposes require a [[United States Fish and Wildlife Service|USFWS]]-issued special-use permit to land on the island so as to reduce the risk of [[Introduced species|introducing alien species]] to Nihoa's already fragile ecosystem.

==Geology &and geography==

The valleys slant towards Adam's bay on the south side, which also has sea cave.<ref name=USFWS>{{cite book |title=The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands: An Annotated Bibliography |year=1978 |publisher=U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service |url=https://wwwbooks.google.com/books/edition/The_Northwestern_Hawaiian_Islands/R5g6AQAAIAAJ?hlid=en&gbpv=1R5g6AQAAIAAJ&dq=nihoa+geology&pg=RA2-PA17&printsec=frontcover |access-date=25 March 2021 |language=en}}</ref>

The island is about 1371 meters long going from east to west, and 274-914274–914 meters wide.<ref name=USFWS/> The overall shape is that of half saddle, with one side having sheer cliffs and the other sloping towards the ocean.<ref name=USFWS/><ref name="Rauzon8">{{harvnb|Rauzon|2001|p=8}}. Captain William Douglas, the second Western explorer to find Nihoa, describes the island as "[bearing] the form of a saddle, high at each end, and low in the middle. To the south, it is covered with verdure; but on the north, west, and east sides it is a barren rock, perpendicularly steep..."</ref>

Nihoa's inaccessibility and lack of major [[guano]] deposits made the island unattractive to humans, helping to preserve its [[Endemism|endemic]] species from extinction. Because of Nihoa's small size, most of its endemic organisms are [[endangered species|endangered]], as one single disaster, such as an island-wide fire or an introduction of [[invasive species]], could wipe out the whole population. One such invasive species is the [[Schistocerca nitens|gray bird grasshopper]], ''Schistocerca nitens''; from the period between 1999 and 2003, grasshoppers devastated much of the vegetation on the island and posed a real threat to the continued health of plants on Nihoa.<ref name="Litts">{{harvnb|Liittschwager|Middleton|2005|p=94}}</ref> The following year, the numbers decreased and the vegetation became lush again. The grasshoppers probably came to Nihoa by way of wind from [[Kauai]].

The north side of the island's cliffs are mostly bare, but the sloping valleys are covered with a variety of grasses and shrubs.<Refref name=USFWS/> The two most common grasses on these slopes are ''Eragrosis Varabilis'' and ''Panicum torridum''.<Refref name=USFWS/>

There is also a variety of scrubs and bushes on the island slopes, such as ''Chenopodium sandwicheum'' and ilima bushes (''[[Sida fallax]]'').<Refref name=USFWS/>

* ''[[Hylaeus perkinsianperkinsianus]],'', Perkin's yellow-faced bee

Nihoa was well known to the [[Ancient Hawaii|early Hawaiians]]. Archaeological expeditions found extensive prehistoric [[Terrace (agriculture)|agricultural terraces]] and house sites.<!-- In 1779, approximately 4,000 [[Ancient Hawaii|Hawaiians]] lived on Nihoa. --><ref name="Tava_1998_102103">{{harvnb|Tava|Keale|1998|pp=102–103}}.</ref> At least one site has been dated to around the 1st millennium AD, sometime between 867 and 1037.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Hunt|first=Terry L.|author2=Holsen, Robert M. |year=1991|hdl=10125/19261|title=An Early Radiocarbon Chronology for the Hawaiian Islands: A Preliminary Analysis|journal=Asian Perspectives|volume=30|issue=1|page=157|issn=0066-8435}}</ref> There is some doubt as to the number of people that lived on Nihoa, because while the large terraces suggest a considerable number, there is scant [[fresh water]] to be found. Archaeologists [[Kenneth Emory]]<ref name="Emory28">{{cite book|last=Emory|first=Kenneth P.|author-link=Kenneth Emory|orig-year=1928|year=2003|title=Archaeology of Nihoa and Necker Islands|publisher = [[Bishop Museum|Bishop Museum Press]]|series=Bishop Museum Bulletin. 53}}</ref> and Paul Cleghorn<ref name="Cleghorn88">{{cite journal|last=Cleghorn|first=Paul L.|year=1988|title=The settlement and abandonment of two Hawaiian outposts: Nihoa and Necker islands|journal=Bishop Museum Occasional Papers|publisher=Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum|volume=28|pages=35–49}}</ref> estimate that water could support as many as 100 people, although if the island were previously forested, this would have increased fresh water supplies relative to its current state. It is also thought that Nihoa may have been used only for religious purposes, which would have meant that ancient Hawaiians only visited here occasionally and did not stay for long. Because of the island's importance, the island was added to the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1988, and subsequently became part of [[Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument]] in June 2006.

TheArtifacts terracesrecorded areon thoughtthe toisland berepresent fora agricultureunique purposes,material andculture demonstrating restraint in the utilization of wood. wideA varietynumber of practicalartifact itemstypes such as stone toolsbowls and bowlshuman figures called ''ki'i'' that elsewhere in the Hawaiian chain would have been foundmade out of wood were instead carved from stone, a lengthy and labor-intensive process.<ref name="Archaeology">[https://www.nps.gov/articles/archeology-of-the-mystery-islands.htm Archeology of the “Mystery Islands” Nihoa and Mokumanamana]</ref> Archaeological sites on the island are similar to other site types within the Hawaiian islands and include both packed dirt and stone terraces likely for habitation and agricultural uses on the steep slopes of the island, cave shelters, and [[heiau]]. Some scholars consider Nihoa to be a matched pair with Necker Island although the latter appears not to have had a permanent population.<ref name="Archaeology" />

The hieauheiau on Nihoa and [[Necker Island (Hawaii)|Necker Islands]] are unique in the Hawaiian chain representing a raised pavement of basalt stones with upright stones placed across this pavement often near the edges<ref name="Emory28" /> as opposed to the form common to other islands in the chain represented by a high stacked stone wall enclosing a central space. This difference in form represents an earlier iteration of Hawaiian monumental architecture that offers a unique perspective intoon cultural norms prior to the abandonment of Nihoa.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kirch |first=Patrick Vinton |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/11841243 |title=Feathered gods and fishhooks : an introduction to Hawaiian archaeology and prehistory |date=1985 |publisher=University of Hawaii Press |isbn=0-8248-0981-5 |location=Honolulu |oclc=11841243}}</ref>. Thanks to this difference in form, scholars often use the term '[[marae]]' as opposed to 'hieauheiau' in reference to these structures and some scholars argue that the shift in form represents a shift in ritual practice in Hawaii.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kirch |first=Patrick Vinton |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1099790638 |title=Heiau, ʻaina, lani : the Hawaiian temple system in ancient Kahikinui and Kaupō, Maui |date=2019 |others=C. L. N. Ruggles, Andrew B. Smith |isbn=978-0-8248-7942-6 |location=Honolulu |oclc=1099790638}}</ref>.

The abandoned settlements seen by the early explorers caused Nihoa and Necker islands, to be called the 'mystery islands'.<ref name=Archaeology/> However, this term is used more generally to refer to any island in the Pacific that was similarly abandoned prior to European contact.

During 1923-4 the Tanager expedition was a noted scientific exploration of Nihoa island.<ref>{{cite web |title=Nihoa Island - Hawaiian Islands |url=https://www.fws.gov/refuge/Hawaiian_Islands/about/Nihoa.html |website=www.fws.gov |publisher=U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service |access-date=25 March 2021}}</ref> This resulted in various biological and archeological discoveries.<ref name="Emory">Emory 1928</ref><ref name="Rauzon 2001, p.18">Rauzon 2001, p.18</ref>

Noted events include finding a specimen of ''[[Amaranthus brownii]]'' and the discovery of the [[Nihoa millerbird]] which was formally named ''Acrocephalus familiaris kingi'',<ref> name="Rauzon 2001, p.18<"/ref>

On this expedition, several hundred Loulu fan palms were counted on the island.<ref name=USFWS/> Twenty other flowering plants were also noted at this time.<reFref name=USFWS/>

Examples of exploration work:<Refref name=USFWS/>

* {{cite book|lastlast1=MacDonald|firstfirst1=Gordon A.|last2=Peterson|first2=Frank L.|last3=Abbott|first3=Agatin T.|year=1983| title=Volcanoes in the Sea: Geology of Hawaii (2nd edition)|publisher=[[University of Hawaii Press]]|isbn=0-8248-0832-0|edition=2nd }}

* {{cite journal|last=Clapp |first=Roger B. |author2=Eugene Krindler |author3=Robert R. Fleet |editor=F. R. Fosberg |editor2=M. -H. Sachet |editor3=D. R. Stoddart |title=The Natural History of Nihoa Island, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands |journal=Atoll Research Bulletin |issue=207 |publisher=[[Smithsonian Institution]] |location=Washington, D. C. |date=May 1977 |url=http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/duffy/arb/206-207/207.pdf |format=PDF |access-date=2008-12-07 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060913013539/http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/duffy/arb/206-207/207.pdf |archive-date=September 13, 2006 }}

* {{cite journal |last=Lebo |first=Susan A. |author2=Kevin T.M. Johnson |year=2007 |title=Geochemical sourcing of rock specimens and stone artifacts from Nihoa and Necker Islands, HawiʻiHawaiʻi |journal=Journal of Archaeological Science |publisher=Elsevier |volume=34 |issue=6 |pages=858–871 |doi=10.1016/j.jas.2006.08.009 |bibcode=2007JArSc..34..858L}}

* {{cite journal |last=Olson |first=Storrs L. |year=1996 |title=History and ornithological journals of the ''Tanager'' Expedition of 1923 to the northwestern Hawaiian Islands, Johnston and Wake islands |journal=Atoll Research Bulletin |volume=433 |issue=433 |pages=1–210 |url=http://si-pddr.si.edu/jspui/handle/10088/5880|publisher=[[National Museum of Natural History]]|doi=10.5479/si.00775630.433.1 }}