Ecology of Feral Goats in Haleakala National Park, Maui, Hawaii

Biogeomorphic relationships between slope processes and globular Grimmia mosses in Haleakala's Crater (Maui, Hawai’i)

“…The period October-March receives ∼75% of annual rain, whereas April-September averages b75 mm/mo. Crater records are sparse; the mountain summit receives b500 mm/yr, but some crater-floor sectors may get ≤130 mm/yr (Yocom, 1967). Data interpolation (Kobayashi, 1973;Noguchi et al, 1987;Giambelluca and Nullet, 1991) indicates ∼600-800 mm/yr precipitation reach the study site (2725 m), although fog interception from the NE trades, and resultant fogdrip, increase annual water supply by ∼115% (Kobayashi, 1973;Juvik and Perreira, 1974;Pérez, 2009a).…”

“…Aridity above the inversion level at ∼2200 m causes a drought-induced timberline, and dense subalpine scrub changes into sparse alpinedesert (Whiteaker, 1983;Leuschner and Schulte, 1991); this vegetation zone includes Haleakala's crater. Alpine-desert flora consists of ∼ 35 vascular species (Ruhle, 1959;Yocom, 1967), including the silversword (Argyroxiphium sandwicense), native grasses such as piliuka (Trisetum glomeratum), Deschampsia nubigena, and Agrostis sandwicensis, and shrubs like kupaoa (Dubautia menziesii), pukiawe (Styphelia tameiameiae) and catchfly (Silene hawaiiensis) (Wagner et al, 1990). HNP resource inventories (Berger et al, 1975;Hoe, 1979;Vitt and Hoe, 1980) list 128 moss species.…”

“…Goats were formerly abundant in Haleakala's crater (Alexander, 1870;Yocom, 1967;Stone and Loope, 1987), where they caused severe plant browsing (Medeiros and Loope, 1994), but after completion of a 57-km long goat-proof fence encircling the crater in 1986, most goats were excluded from the crater (Loope et al, 1988). Goats often chose as bedding sites the cliff ledges and outcrops where petrel burrows are located; Simons (1983, fig.…”

Feral goats (Capra hircus L.) in the Macleay River gorge system, north-eastern New South Wales, Australia. II. Impacts on rainforest vegetation

“…Studies of floras on oceanic islands have demonstrated goat impacts on forest tree seedlings and ferns (Yocom 1967;Sykes 1969;Spatz and Mueller-Dombois 1973) and reductions in native grasses and forbs (Coblentz 1977;Scowcroft and Giffin 1983). Feral goats have also been associated with the development of weedy floras (Pickard 1976) and the alteration of the relative abundance of endemic plants (e.g.…”

Seawater Consumption and Water Economy of Tropical Feral Goats

“…Populations of feral goats have become established on countless islands in the tropics and elsewhere, and their ability to survive and overpopulate, even in harsh environments, is well documented (Yocum 1967, Williams & Rudge 1969, MacFarland et al 1974, Bullock 1977, Rudge & Campbell 1977, Coblentz 1978, Burke 1988b. While investigating the behavioral ecology and population dynamics of feral goats on Aldabra Atoll, Republic of Seychelles, I discovered the goats drank seawater regularly.…”