Jut Wynne at Rano Kao Volcano conducting reconnaissance for the cliff work to take place in August. (Credit: Rafael Rodriguez Brizuela) On Easter Island, isolated in the middle of the vast Pacific Ocean, ten species of near microscopic insects are all that remain of the island's native species — at least for now. Hidden in volcanic caves that dot the island, the endemic insects of Rapa Nui eke out an existence in an increasingly imperiled habitat. Their ancestral homes, fragile gardens of moss and ferns, are endangered by tourists flooding into the tiny island, and hordes of invasive species threaten to crowd them out. The island may have been immortalized by its iconic Moai, monolithic stone statues standing some 40 feet tall, but its most important inhabitants are almost too small to be seen.
Long History of Ecological Stress
The story of environmental destruction on Rapa Nui begins when humans arrived on the island. Polynesian sailors, carried over the waves in giant canoes, made landfall sometime between 800 and 1200 AD. They built a civilization on the verdant island, utilizing the tropical forests for boats and building materials, farming the virgin earth and fishing the bountiful seas. The population soon swelled, likely to around 15,000 inhabitants at its peak in the 17th century, but the population fell to around two or three thousand people by the time Europeans first arrived in 1722.
