What is a badland? Badlands are areas of land that cannot support plant growth due to severe erosion. They are barren patches of land that are commonly reddish-brown in color, but can sometimes be tan (Figure 1).
Badlands in Southern Guam Read Post »
Pacific Islands, including the Mariana Islands, often have many small native snails. Many of the species in the Marianas are unique to the archipelago, or even to only one of the islands. Some of these snails live in trees in the moist and shaded forests, while others live in the moss and leaf litter of the forest floor. Guam has about 100 species of land snails, although about twenty of these have probably been introduced.
Land Snails (Akaleha’) of the Mariana Islands Read Post »
Scientific name: Intsia bijuga. Ifit is the official territorial tree of Guam and is culturally important throughout the Mariana Islands. Ifit, also called ifil or ifel, belongs to the legume or pea family (Fabaceae) and subfamily Caesalpinoideae.
There are 11 classes (i.e., major groups) of living arachnids in the world. Of these, only six are likely to be encountered on Guam: the Acari (ticks and mites), Pseudoscorpiones (pseudoscorpions), Scorpiones (scorpions), Solifugae (sun spiders), Opiliones (harvestmen or daddy long-legs) and Araneae (spiders).
In addition to analyzing artifacts, archeologists often study ancient environments to understand how prehistoric societies both shaped, and were shaped by, their natural surroundings. For example, an archeologist might be interested in learning how an ancient population managed to live in a particular environment, such as a desert.
Ancient Guam’s Environment Read Post »
Listen to Guam birds like the Åga (Mariana Crow) and the Yǻyaguak (Mariana Gray Swiftlet).
Guam Birds Audio Files Read Post »
The hilitai or monitor lizard (Varanus tsukamotoi) was introduced to the island before European contact in the 1500’s. It is black or dark green with yellow or white spots covering its body.
Hilitai: Monitor Lizard Read Post »
William Edwin Safford (1859 – 1926), raised in Ohio, served as a lieutenant in the US Navy during the Spanish-American War. Guam became a possession of the United States after the signing of the peace treaty on 10 December 1898.
The brown treesnake was accidentally introduced most likely by the US military to Guam in the late 1940s or early 1950s. The brown treesnake (Boiga irregularis) is a native of Australia, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands.
Yellow bittern live in a variety of habitats including savanna, forest, offshore islands, tangantangan, weedy tall grass and mowed fields. They feed on snails, geckos, insects, and fish.
