Not all reptiles a threat to Islands
By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser Staff Writer
Many lizards and other reptiles are a threat to the Hawaiian environment, but a proponent of the scaly critters says folks should remember that some of them are doing us some good, too.
For instance, the Madagascar giant day gecko, which state wildlife officials have warned of, probably is not a hazard, said Sean McKeown, the author of "A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians in the Hawaiian Islands."
"The lizard . . . is a lowland species that may be expected to feed primarily on roaches, mosquitoes and other introduced insect pests," McKeown said.
State and federal agencies and local conservation groups have expressed severe concern over the flood of alien species invading the Islands. These include plants, insects, reptiles and other forms of life.
One of the primary examples is the brown tree snake, which has devastated bird life on Guam. Several of these snakes have hitchhiked to Hawai'i aboard military flights, but thus far none has escaped.
Conservation interests are fighting to control the introduced weed tree, miconia. And agricultural interests despair of gaining control of the two-spotted leafhopper, a sucking insect that feeds on hundreds of species of plants and is a threat to both agricultural species and native forest plants.
McKeown notes that some of the reptiles brought to the islands were imported specifically to control other pests.
"A number of species of amphibians in Hawai'i were deliberately brought in by government scientists to help reduce the population of harmful insects during the past" century or more, he said. "Many of the established reptiles have entered Hawai'i with state Department of Agriculture permits."
McKeown agrees with residents and pest control authorities about the tiny singing frogs, whose ear-piercing chirps keep neighbors awake where they have become established on Maui and the Big Island.
"The Caribbean frogs are real trouble," McKeown said. Tougher inspection of imported plant materials and quicker response might have prevented their establishing footholds in the Islands, he said.
In his book, McKeown notes that Hawai'i has no native land reptiles, just five sea turtles and a rare, poisonous sea snake.
He says geckos and skinks found in the Islands when the first Europeans arrived were brought by the early Polynesian voyagers.
They may have been accidental tourists, but McKeown argues they were purposely brought by the first Hawaiians, since they are "valued both in extensive folklore and Polynesian religion."
Jan TenBruggencate is The Advertiser's Kaua'i Bureau Chief and its science and environment writer. You can reach him by e-mail at jant@honoluluadvertiser.com.
