That is interesting about the Olives in Hawaii.

I used to live near the sand dunes that are dug for two reasons.
The dunes are of an ancient ocean beach that was uplifted several
hundred feet when the coastal mountains were thrust upward in California.
The dunes are near Felton and other San Lorenzo valley towns. Being
on the South side of the river.  North is clay, south is sand.
Therefore the sand is before Felton and more on the Scotts Valley side.
Sand trucks haul this clear sand to Oakland shipyards and over to the
central valley.

1. For making glass - clean clear sand.
    Canning glass for fruits and vegetables.

2. Ship load after shipload went to blanket the beaches on Oahu, Hawaii.
    The Kaiser - created the beautiful beaches out of old pock marked lava.
    The idea was: if beautiful beaches are shown and hotels built then
    tourists will come year after year.
    Created the pink this and that everywhere.  And it worked.

The olive must be truly adaptive since the white sand is less than
75 years old.

Martin

On 9/22/2010 2:17 PM, Keith Zeilinger wrote:
> I just watched on PBS the Nova show "What Darwin Didn't Know".  One of
> their examples of selection was of a mouse in the Arizona desert that is
> dark colored on dark lava flows and is light colored on light sand
> environments.  I believe there is a similar example in Oliva here in
> Hawaii and if Dennis can get examples it might be an interesting story
> for his Oliva book.  Here on Oahu all of our sand is white and our Oliva
> paxillus sandwicensis is light colored.  On the Big Island of Hawaii,
> there are beaches of black volcanic sand and it is my small observation
> that the Oliva that live in that sand are much darker, but I do not have
> a study with significant numbers to prove that.  Aloha, Keith Zeilinger
>
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--
Martin H. Eastburn
@ home at Lions' Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net
"Our Republic and the Press will Rise or Fall Together": Joseph Pulitzer
TSRA: Endowed; NRA LOH&  Patron Member, Golden Eagle, Patriot's Medal.
NRA Second Amendment Task Force Originator&  Charter Founder
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