Observation

Steven Shaak



The author with a small spider from a Thai rainforest 
Photo:  Biomes Participant

Written  in response to comparing what I observed and studied about  Hawaii and Thailand ---

The insects seemed more abundant and several of them quite large, 3-3 ½ inch cicadas and 4 inch long katydids roamed the forest.  The sound of these insects (and others) was more deafening than it was in Hawaii.  Hawaii did have large crayfish in the irrigation canal, but from the brief freshwater ecosystems I saw running through the rain forests in each place, I noticed much more fish abundance and fish diversity in Thai streams than in Hawaiian streams  A lot of this diversity and the abundance had to do with the age of the places. Hawaii is a lot younger, likely has less niches, and thus less diversity.  Thailand is older and is a peninsula attached to the mainland, where Hawaii is a distant island, so it is a lot easier for species to get to Thailand. 

Steven Shaak
shaaksg at my.hiram.edu
last updated 27 October 2008