From: edstrom@hsc.ucalgary.ca (John Edstrom)
Subject: Re: Oahu wallabies (was Re: Logic and God)
Date: Tue, 08 Sep 92 15:18:45 GMT
Organization: Neuroscience Division, U of Calgary School of Medicine, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

In article <1992Sep4.041642.1652@csis.dit.csiro.au> prl@csis.dit.csiro.au (Peter Lamb) writes:
>cjhs@minster.york.ac.uk writes:
>
>>Seconded. Peter Lamb in particular went to a lot of trouble to check
>>out the Oahu wallaby story, and I also looked up what references I
>>could. As far as I am aware, the assertion frequently made in this
>>group that the Oahu wallabies are incapable of interbreeding with their 
>>Australian cousins is entirely supposition, and I would have thought it
>>is a pretty unlikely supposition. (Disclaimer -- my opinion is that of
>>a complete novice at biology; more informed guesses welcome.)
>
>>The lack of feedback from the most knowledgeable contributors to
>>talk.origins has been disappointing to me. I would still like someone
>>who is a genuine expert on biology and evolution to check out the
>>references and see precisely what can be claimed for these wallabies.
>>Perhaps Chris Colby would be willing to check the references and give
>>an informed opinion on what may be fairly claimed for the wallabies.
>
>Yes, I'd have liked to see some more informed feedback, too, but
>there's not all that much claimed for the wallabies in sources which
>could be regarded as peer-reviewed biological journals.  The only thing
>I could find is in the abstract to Lazell[2] (Lazell is the biologist
>cited in the original Science Digest article).  Lazell simply states
>"the taxonomic status of these animals is under study".
>
>Unfortunately, I have so far been unable to locate copies of either
>Lazell[1] or [5]. It is [1] that is probably the main source of the
>information in the Science Digest article.
>
 ...

>Peter Lamb (prl@csis.dit.csiro.au)



I've had some trouble tracking down the story too.  It seems that not
much is being done to study them.  I have a friend in Hawaii and a
while ago I asked if he could see what the folks at Hawii U thought
about it all.  Here is what I got back.  Notice the dates.  I haven't
really pursued it beyond this point.

------------------------------------------


Date: Wed, 10 Jul 91 14:18:15 HST
From: peter@wasabi.pbrc.Hawaii.Edu (Peter Ruben)
To: edstrom@Elmer.hsc.ucalgary.ca
Subject: More on dem critters

Tomich says the original breeding pair escaped in 1916 from a group totalling
three when a dog ripped into their cage (a tent).  He suggests that there
may actually be more than one colony.  Moanalua valley is another possible
location of some wallabies.

He says they live between 300 and 1,400 feet and primarily eat grasses, as
evidenced by their fecal material.  There is no explanation as to why they 
haven't spread further.  They don't breed well in captivity because of
antagonistic behavior between males and females (sounds familiar),
The Honolulu zoo apparently keeps one on display.  
He suggests that they be allowed to survive in Hawaii since they might be
endangered in Australia.

Stay tuned...


Date: Mon, 15 Jul 91 10:18:19 HST
From: peter@wasabi.pbrc.Hawaii.Edu (Peter Ruben)
To: edstrom@Elmer.hsc.ucalgary.ca
Subject: More on wallabies


Aloha,

I spoke this morning with Rebecca Cann, a geneticist of some fame for
her work on the genetic lineage of h.sapiens.  She is one of the 
proponents of the "Eve" or "Out of Africa" theory of human 
phylogenetic development, based on her DNA analyses.

Her group is working on the genetic identity of the Oahu wallaby
population.  In fact, she was just leaving to check her traps with the
state Land and Natural Resources people.  She will bleed some of the
animals (small samples, she assured me) to get enough DNA (amplified
with PCR) to do a study comparing the local population with a
phenotypically similar population in a Germany zoo, and the phenotypically
*dissimilar* populations that have been studied in Australia.  Needless
to say, she suspects that the pheotypic differences will be evident at the
level of DNA.  On the other hand, her preliminary studies have shown that,
at the level of mitochondrial DNA, the Oahu and German populations appear
to be similar.

She also expanded upon details of my previous information...the population
varies between 200 to 400 individuals, the social structure is that of a
group of harems, they live mostly in the rocky cliffs on the Ewa (west) side
of Kalihi valley, and although they seem to be shy, there are anecdotal
reports of wallabies sauntering across the parking lot of Kamehameha School
in Kalihi.  They sound pretty easy to reach and I may try to do so, now
that I know how to get there.  If I get any good photographs, I'll send
some.  Otherwise, get on over here and come see them for yourself.  You can
hire me as an experienced local guide:-)

Let me know if you want any more information.

Laters,
Peter.


-----------------------------

John Edstrom | edstrom @ elmer.hsc.ucalgary.ca


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