Category: Pacific Science

Over a Decade of Change in Spatial and Temporal Dynamics of Hawaiian Coral Reef Communities
Ku’ulei S. Rodgers, Paul L. Jokiel, Eric K. Brown, Skippy Hau, and Russell Sparks, 1

Abstract: The Hawai‘i Coral Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program (CRAMP) was established in 1999 to describe spatial and temporal variation in Hawaiian coral reef communities in relation to natural and anthropogenic factors. In this study, we analyzed changes over a 14-yr period (1999 to 2012) based on data from 60 permanent reef stations at 30 sites in the main Hawaiian Islands. Overall mean statewide coral cover, richness, and diversity did not vary significantly since the initial surveys, although local variations in coral cover trends were detected. The greatest proportion of stations with significant declines in coral cover was found on the island of Maui (0.4), and Hawai‘i Island had the highest proportion of stations with significant increases (0.67). Trends in coral cover at some stations varied over time due to acute (e.g., crown of thorns outbreak) and chronic (e.g., sedimentation) disturbances. Stations with increasing coral cover with the potential for recovery from disturbances were identified for possible management actions in the face of future climate change. The Hawaiian archipelago, located in the center of the subtropical Pacific, has experienced a temporary reprieve from steadily increasing temperatures over the past several decades due to a downturn of temperatures at the end of the last cycle of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) in 1998. In 2014, however, temperatures increased dramatically in Hawai‘i, resulting in a major coral bleaching event with associated mortality. Temperature models predict severe bleaching events to increase in frequency and intensity in coming decades with concomitant decline in Hawaiian corals. Trends reported in this study provide a baseline that can later be used to test this predicted decline associated with future warming.

Continue reading “Pacific Science, vol. 69, no. 1 (2015)”

Genetic Stock Structure of Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas) Nesting Populations Across the Pacific Islands
Peter H. Dutton, Michael P. Jensen, Karen Frutchey, Amy Frey, Erin LaCasella, George H. Balazs, Jennifer Cruce, Alden Tagarino, Richard Farman, and Miri Tatarata, 451

Abstract: More than two decades have passed since the first studies documenting genetic population structure of green turtles (Chelonia mydas) were published. Since then many more have followed and characterization of the genetic structure of green turtle rookeries now covers most of the global distribution of the species, benefitting conservation of this threatened species worldwide. However, important data gaps still exist across a large part of the western and central Pacific Ocean (WCPO). This large area is made up of hundreds of scattered islands and atolls of Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia, most of which are remote and difficult to access. In this study, we assessed stock structure of green turtles throughout the WCPO using mitochondrial (mt) DNA from 805 turtles sampled across 25 nesting locations. We examined whether sequencing longer fragments (770 bp) of the control region increases resolution of stock structure and used genetic analysis to evaluate level of demographic connectivity among island nesting populations in the WCPO. We identified a total of 25 haplotypes characterized by polymorphism within the 770 bp sequences, including five new variants of haplotypes that were indistinguishable with shorter 384 bp reads from previous studies. Stock structure analysis indicated that rookeries separated by more than 1,000 km were significantly differentiated from each other, but neighboring rookeries within 500 km showed no genetic differentiation. Results presented in this paper establish that sequencing of longer fragments (770 bp) of the control region does in some cases increase resolution and that there are at least seven independent stocks in the region.
Continue reading “Pacific Science, vol. 68, no. 4 (2014)”

Predominance of Unbalanced Gene Flow from Western to Central North Pacific Colonies of the Black-Footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes)
Haruko Ando, Lindsay Young, Maura Naughton, Hajime Suzuki, Tomohiro Deguchi and Yuji Isagi, 309

Abstract: The Black-Footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes) breeds in two remote regions, approximately 4,000 km apart, in the North Pacific. The population in the central North Pacific region (Northwestern Hawaiian Islands), which contains >95% of the total population, is currently stable, although concerns exist about future declines. In contrast, the population in the western North Pacific (Izu and Ogasawara Islands in Japan) is rapidly increasing, and the breeding areas are expanding. To estimate possible gene flow caused by dispersal between populations, we performed genetic analysis on six colonies of Black-Footed Albatross using 10 microsatellite markers. The central and western North Pacific populations were genetically differentiated. However, an estimation of migrants per generation indicated directional dispersal from the western to the central North Pacific. In particular, the population on Kure Atoll, the westernmost atoll in the Hawaiian Islands in the central North Pacific, exhibited weak genetic differentiation from the western North Pacific populations, suggesting frequent immigration from the western North Pacific. The recent expansion of the western North Pacific population may be due to an increase in returning individuals, which may be caused by increased breeding success rates and/or survival rates. Range-wide and long-term monitoring of the Black-Footed Albatross population using genetic markers may help to uncover dispersal dynamics of this highly mobile but philopatric albatross species and to make appropriate conservation decisions in light of environmental changes.

Continue reading “Pacific Science, vol. 68, no. 3 (2014)”

Biology and Impacts of Pacific Island Invasive Species. 11. Rattus rattus, the Black Rat (Rodentia: Muridae)
Aaron B. Shiels, William C. Pitt, Robert T. Sugihara, and Gary W. Witmer, 145

Abstract: The black rat, roof rat, or ship rat (Rattus rattus L.) is among the most widespread invasive vertebrates on islands and continents, and it is nearly ubiquitous on Pacific islands from the equatorial tropics to approximately 55 degrees latitude north and south. Continue reading “Pacific Science, vol. 68, no. 2 (2014)”

Soils and Paleosoils of the Galápagos Islands: What We Know and What We Don’t Know, A Meta-Analysis
Georges Stoops, 1

Abstract: Accessible information on Galápagos soils is very limited. Much of the existing, although still scarce, information is several decades old and not easily retrieved. The aim of this paper is to present a critical synthesis. Continue reading “Pacific Science, vol. 68, no. 1 (2014)”

Affinities of Sponges (Porifera) of the Marquesas and Society Islands, French Polynesia
Kathryn A. Hall, Patricia R. Sutcliffe, John N. A. Hooper, Aline Alencar, Jean Vacelet, Andrzej Pisera, Sylvain Petek, Eric Folcher, John Butscher, Joel Orempuller, Nicolas Maihota, and Cécile Debitus, 493

Abstract: This article reports on a survey of sponges from the higher-island reefs and slopes of the Marquesas and Society Islands archipelagos, French Polynesia, recording presence/absence and an estimate of local abundance at 109 sites from six and eight islands within each archipelago, respectively. Continue reading “Pacific Science, vol. 67, no. 4 (2013)”

Guest editors: John N. Kittinger and Edward W. Glazier

Human Dimensions of Small-Scale and Traditional Fisheries in the Asia-Pacific Region
John N. Kittinger, 315

Abstract: The Asia-Pacific region is home to a diversity of coastal cultures that are highly reliant on the ocean and its resources for sustenance, livelihoods, and cultural continuity. Small-scale fisheries account for most of the livelihoods associated with fisheries, produce about as much fish as industrialized fisheries, and contribute substantially to the economies of countries and territories in the Asia-Pacific region. Yet these resource systems and their human communities face numerous local and global threats, and social vulnerability to these pressures places at risk the livelihoods, food security, well-being, and traditional lifestyles of coastal communities and cultures of the Asia-Pacific region. This article and special issue provide an overview of the challenges and opportunities for small-scale and traditional fisheries and the role of human dimensions research in the sustainable governance of these resource systems. It is increasingly clear that sufficient understanding of the social, economic, and cultural aspects of these linked social-ecological systems is critical in determining pathways toward sustainability.

Editorial: The Pacific Science Association and Human Dimensions Research in the Asia-Pacific Region
Nancy Davis Lewis, 327

Continue reading “Pacific Science, vol. 67, no. 3 (2013): Human Dimensions of Small-Scale and Traditional Fisheries in the Asia-Pacific Region”

Biology and Impacts of Pacific Island Invasive Species. 9. Capra hircus, the Feral Goat (Mammalia: Bovidae)
Mark W. Chynoweth, Creighton M. Litton, Christopher A. Lepczyk, Steve C. Hess, and Susan Cordell, 141–156

Domestic goats, Capra hircus, were intentionally introduced to numerous oceanic islands beginning in the sixteenth century. Continue reading “Pacific Science, vol. 67, no. 2 (2013)”

Consuming Diversity: Analysis of Seasonal Catch Patterns in Multispecies Artisanal Reef Fisheries in North Sulawesi, Eastern Indonesia
M. Tokeshi, S. Arakaki, and J. R. P. Daud, 1–13

Despite the socioeconomic as well as ecological importance of smallscale fisheries in developing countries, there is a dearth of information on the state of artisanal fisheries in different regions of the tropical Indo-Pacific. Continue reading “Pacific Science, vol. 67, no. 1 (2013)”

Introducing a New Series: History, Biology, and Conservation of Pacific Endemics
Edward Webb and Curtis C. Daehler, 411

History, Biology, and Conservation of Pacific Endemics. 1. The Royal Creeper, Oxera pulchella (Lamiaceae), a New Caledonian Ornamental Plant
Gildas Gâteblé, 413–433

A thorough review of Oxera pulchella Labill., also called the “royal creeper,” was carried out to better understand the amazing story of this almost forgotten New Caledonian ornamental species. Continue reading “Pacific Science, vol. 66, no. 4 (2012)”

Biology and Impacts of Pacific Island Invasive Species. 8. Eleutherodactylus planirostris, the Greenhouse Frog (Anura: Eleutherodactylidae)
Christina A. Olson, Karen H. Beard, and William C. Pitt, 255–270

The greenhouse frog, Eleutherodactylus planirostris, is a direct-developing (i.e., no aquatic stage) frog native to Cuba and the Bahamas. Continue reading “Pacific Science, vol. 66, no. 3 (2012)”

In Appreciation of Professor Dieter Mueller-Dombois
Peter Vitousek and Donald Drake, 117-118

Plant Introductions: Historical Sketches
Michael Kiehn, 119-125

Plant species, their parts, and derivatives have been transferred by humans since the beginning of history: unintentionally (e.g., with propagules adhering to clothes) or intentionally (e.g., when species or parts of them were used for food or as sources of tools). Continue reading “Pacific Science, vol. 66, no. 2 (2012)”