Search the SPREP Catalogue

We assessed the distribution, relative abundance, and habitat preferences of the 12 indigenous, resident species of landbirds that survive in the Vava‘u Group, Kingdom of Tonga. We surveyed 16 islands, 10 of which are previously unmentioned in ornithological literature. The islands vary in land area (0.02-96 kn?), habitat composition, elevation (20- 215 m), and distance (O-lo.1 km) from the largest island of ‘Uta Vavdu. We conducted point counts along transects on 14 of the islands, and placed each count location into one of five habitat categories. Of the 11 species of landbirds that are widespread and at least locally common, 7 (Purple-capped Fruit-Dove Ptilinopus porphyraceus, Pacific Pigeon Ducula pacijca, Common Barn-Owl Tyto alba, White-rumped Swiftlet Collocalia spodiopygia, Collared Kingfisher Halcyon chloris, Polynesian Tiiller Lalage maculosa, Polynesian Starling Aplonis tabuensis) certainly or probably occur on each of the 16 islands. One species (West Polynesian Ground-Dove Gallicolumba stairii) is extremely rare (one small population on one island). Three species that we did not record (Many-colored Fruit-Dove Ptilinopus perousii, Blue-crowned Lorikeet Vini australis, Fiji Shrikebill Clytorhynchus vitiensis) probably have been extirpated from Vava‘u. The species richness and relative abundance of landbirds on islands in Vava‘u are affected more by deforestation and other human activities than by island area, elevation, or isolation.

The archaeological and fossil avifauna of Niue Island in the southwest Pacific is described from ten sites. Fourteen species of birds, including an extinct species each of Gallirallus and Nydicorm, and an extirpated megapode (Megapodiuspritchardii) were found. This increases the number of taxa known for the Niue fauna to 15 resident species, but faunas from surrounding islands indicate this is almost certainly an underestimate of original diversity

Rapid growth in both urbanisation and population contributes to solid waste management problems in all eight Pacific ACP countries. Much solid waste is generated because of rapid urbanisation, an equally rapid rise in 'standard of living' expectations and the related demand for imported canned, plastic-wrapped, or bottled goods. With limited land areas around many urban centres, and with local reefs, lagoons or inshore fisheries particularly vulnerable to pollution, all the Pacific ACP countries have serious disposal problems, few disposal sites being acceptable socially, economically, or from the viewpoint of human health.

Since Elton highlighted the problem of biological invasions, numerous studies have established their importance in the structural evolution of natural communities, in particular insular communities. Because of their isolation, islands are regarded as natural evolution laboratories which are characteristically very fragile once the boundary is disturbed. This fragility is illustrated by the high proportion of species extinctions observed in islands: since 1600, more than 75% of monitored disappearances have been registered in islands. Invasions are not an abnormality in the evolutionary process, but an increase in their rate could lead to a dramatic homogenization of fauna and flora.

The Hanamiai archaeological site (Tahuata, Marquesas Islands) has yielded a strati ed assemblage of bird bones associated with prehistoric Polynesian artefacts, cultural features, and other faunal materials spanning an 800-year period beginning at c.ad1025–1100. The majority of the c.650 identi able bird bones are from seabirds, most species of which are extirpated on Tahuata. Indigenous landbirds (rails, pigeons, doves, parrots, king shers, warblers) are represented by 70 bones of 10 species, among which two rails, a pigeon, a dove, and three parrots no longer occur on Tahuata. The stratigraphic distribution of bird bones suggests that exploitation of indigenous species was most intense earlyintheHanamiaiculturalsequence(PhaseI;c.ad1025–1300).Byc.ad1450orbefore,thesevenextirpatedspecies of landbirds (and probably other species not recorded in the small bone sample) either had been eliminated or had become uncommon enough to elude archaeological sampling. A similar chronostratigraphic pattern of prehistoric landbird extinction has been documented for Mangaia, Cook Islands. While details of timing and taxonomy vary from island to island, an overall trend of early prehistoric depletion of birds is the rule across East Polynesia and all of Oceania.

The land snails (and semi-terrestrial molluscs) of the four islands that comprise the Pitcairn group are reviewed and the indigenous species illustrated. The strictly terrestrial molluscan faunas from the two atolls (Oeno and Ducie) are poor, like many other atolls in the Paci c. Each supports less than six species with wide geographical ranges. In contrast, the terrestrial molluscan fauna from Henderson Island, an uplifted atoll, is more diverse with at least 16 species belonging to seven families. Over half these taxa appear to be endemic, at least at the level of sub-species. Two species of semi-terrestrial molluscs have also been found on Henderson. Analyses of archaeological deposits in caves near the North Beach have revealed that at least a further six species of land snail formerly occurred on Henderson. The volcanic island of Pitcairn, the only island in the group still inhabited, supports the greatest number of terrestrial molluscs. Twenty-six species of land snail (and one semi-terrestrial pulmonate) were found living there during the recent expedition and a further three taxa were recognized amongst museum material. At least seven of these species are thought to be recent adventives and a further three are likely to have been prehistoric introductions. One Henderson (Georissa hendersoni) and three Pitcairn endemics (Paci cella lica, Sinployea pitcairnensis and Diastole tenuistriata) are formally described as new species. Some of the Pitcairn endemics occur in very restricted areas (less than a hectare) and it is important that measures should be taken to prevent the spread of invasive plants, such as rose-apple, that would threaten their survival.

The fish of the Chesterfield islands, a region midway between the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) and New Caledonia, have been sampled during several cruises by ORTSTOM between 1984 and 1989. Information from these cruises and other sources are compiled into the first fish checklist of this region. A total of 866 taxa, representing 134 families, are recorded. 134 taxa are identified to the genus level, of which 58 could be new to science. This fish fauna of the Chesterfield islands has closer affinities with that of New Caledonia than to the GBR. One notices also the low representation of several genera (Neopomacentrus, Colopsis, Siganus, Abudefduf) which are abundant in both New Caledonia and on the GBR.