| [00:01.14] |
Hawaii's 20 surviving species of honeycreeper also evolved from just a few individuals |
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Compared to seabirds, |
| [00:08.50] |
honeycreepers are poor fliers |
| [00:10.88] |
So how did the ancestors of these forest birds and Hawaii's other castaways get here? |
| [00:16.49] |
The answer may be blowing in the wind |
| [00:19.73] |
Even the gentlest breeze can have a huge impact |
| [00:23.73] |
Tree ferns stir and release their lightweight spores |
| [00:27.36] |
Thermal updrafts can carry the spores 30,000 feet into the jet stream |
| [00:32.25] |
And there are even animals designed to ride these high-altitude air currents |
| [00:36.92] |
Near-weightless spiderlings are expert ballooners, |
| [00:40.45] |
catching the wind with their gossamer threads |
| [00:43.49] |
Like spores,they, too, can hitch a ride on the jet stream |
| [00:47.62] |
Enduring temperatures of minus 30 degrees centigrade, |
| [00:51.46] |
a spider can cross the breadth of the Pacific in a matter of days |