Ric Beard, Staff Writer

 Exotic plants,  historical insight and discussion of evolutionary trends will all be part of a trip to Hawaii open to Appalachian State University students and faculty this summer.

 The new field course, entitled The Natural History of Hawaii, is offered by the Department of Biology.

 Dr. Matthew Rowe and Dr. Howard Neufeld of the Department of Biology will lead the trip.

 Rowe calls the Hawaiian islands a “remarkable biological laboratory” and reasons that the isolation of the islands has accentuated the great diversification of species.

 Rowe sees the trip as an opportunity to “expose students to [Hawaiian] plants and animals and the processes that gave rise to them.”

 According to Rowe, the Hawaiian islands have been hurt by “human thumbprints like high rises and pineapple planters, starting with the first Hawaiians 1,500 years ago.”

 He said that species on the islands are now extinct due to mongooses, mosquitoes and rats that have been transported there by humans.

 Rowe cited the early aristocracy of Hawaii as a contributor to the extinction of a species of bird because they wore ceremonial gowns made with the bird’s feathers.

 Neufeld feels that the field study will allow students to have the opportunity to learn about Hawaii’s cultural history and how European invasions brought viral havoc to the islands in the form of measles, small pox and other variables that affected the native species.

 According to Neufeld, the onslaught of people who moved to Hawaii after World War II caused many changes in the island state’s ecosystem.

 He said these people brought vertebrate predators to Hawaii that native birds had never had to worry about before.

 “Birds that nested on the ground due to lack of vertebrate predators were killed by ones the outsiders brought in,” Neufeld said.

 Neufeld hopes that the trip to Hawaii will include  a journey to Father Damien’s Leper Colony. Father Damien aided the people who lived in the colony until he contracted leprosy and died.

 The colony can only be reached by airplane, boat or a 3,000 foot hike down a trail along a cliff that holds the world record for the longest drop to sea level in the world.

 The leper colony is part of Hawaii’s cultural history, which Neufeld thinks must be studied in order to understand the culture’s influence  on the evolution of native creatures and plants.  When the last people have moved away from the colony, it will be turned into a national monument.

 The trip will take place from June 10-29 and will cost approximately $2,500. There are spaces still available, but students who wish to register should do so soon, said Neufield.

 Students and faculty who would like more information can contact Neufeld at 262-2683 or Rowe at 262-2676.

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