Losing the Bounty? Investigating Species Richness in Isolated Freshwater Ecosystems of Oceania
Robert Schabetsberger, Gabriele Drozdowski, Eugen Rott, Rupert Lenzenweger, Christian Calciferol Jersabek, Frank Fiers, Walter Traunspurger, Nicola Reiff, Fabio Stoch, Alexey A Kotov, Koen Martens, Heinrich Schatz, and Roland Kaiser, 153-179
The South Pacific freshwater ecosystems hold ne'er been investigated consistently. Although their ecologic value holds long been known and urged for protection, small action holds been taken so far. Here, we demonstrate upshot of 39 lentic H2O bodies on 18 islands belonging to seven lands. Temperature, conduction, and pH were mensurate and samples of aquatic beings were amassed. Freshwater algae, roundworms, rotifers, ostracods, copepods, cladocerans, and aquatic oribatid soupcon were placed to genus or species degree. Sixty-six percentage of all taxa entered hold a cosmopolitan distribution, 14 % are circumtropical/tropicopolitan species, and for 20 % a restricted distribution predominantly in Australasia holds antecedently been described. Eleven new copepod and three new ostracod taxa were noticed. Out of 39 H2O bodies we bumped at least 17 stockpile with nonindigenous fish species. Salinization and uncontrolled launching of foreign fish species may take to trimmed species cornucopia in these distant freshwater ecosystems. The highest species cornucopia was entered in old, shallow, fish-free softwater lakes at high height.
Dietary Shifts by Green Turtles (Chelonia mydas)
in the Kneohe Bay Region of the Hawaiian Islands: A 28-Year Study
Dennis J Russell and George Hydrogen Balazs, 181-192
The chelonia mydas, Green turtle,
holds modified its feeding behaviour to include the increasing copiousness of nonnative alga turning in the greater Kneohe Embayment country of Oahu in the Sandwich islands. Modifications in diet of the chelonia mydas are correlated with an gain in copiousness of seven species of nonnative alga between 1977 and 2005. Polo-necks were chance to be eating 130 species of marine flora, and the three most common were the nonnative species Acanthophora spicifera, Hypnea musciformis,
and Gracilaria Salicornia.
These three abundant and alimentary nutrient origins are now an important constituent of the polo-neck diet to boot to native species bumped in and near Kneohe Embayment. Green turtle
behaviour holds switched to include these new seaweeds within 10 ages of their unveiling to the part. The turtlenecks hold too gradually included an extra four less-prolific slow-growing nonnative algal species ( Eucheuma denticulatum, Gracilaria tikvahiae, Kappaphycus striatum,
and Kappaphycus alvarezii ),
but the clip it holds taken turtlenecks to include these species holds been longer, 20-30 ages, after the seaweeds were acquainted. During this same 28-year period Numbers of C. mydas
hold increased throughout the Sandwich islands.
Ciguatera in the Introduced Fish Cephalopholis argus
(Serranidae) in Hawaii and Implications for Fishery Management
Jan Dierking and Cara E Campora, 193-204
The Peacock gouper ( Cephalopholis Argus )
was presented to Hawaii in 1956 to launch a new piscary. It holds gotten abundant, but the piscary neglected referable concerns about ciguatera fish intoxication, a nervous disorder in homoes maked by intake of fish comprising ciguatoxin. The intention of this survey was to render better apprehension of geographical forms of ciguatoxicity in C. Argus
and of the correlativity of toxicity with morphometric characters of this species, with the end to measure the possibility of a safe piscary. Overall,18.2 % of C. Argus
specimens from sites around Oahu and Hawaii comprised ciguatoxin in concentrations potentially harmful to homoes. This was higher than the rate of occurrent in Hawaiian reef fishes in the main, and on the scale of ciguatoxicity in species banned from sale in fish marketplaces. Toxicity was high around both analyzed islands. Nevertheless, toxic somebodies were significantly less common around Oahu than around Hawaii ( 8 % versus 24 % ). Regular geographical shapes in toxicity within islands (e.g., gradients along coastlines ) were not present, and variableness in toxicity within each sample site was high. Toxicity was significantly but weakly positively correlate with C. Argus
length but not with fish status ( mensurate by length at weight ). Last, high prevalence of toxic somebodies, variance in toxicity on all examined spacial scales, and low explanatory powerfulness of morphometric characters do the dodging of ciguatoxic C. Argus
souls hard. A safe piscary for this species in HI thence makes not look viable now.
Distribution, Density, and Biomass of Introduced Small Mammals in the Southern Mariana Islands
Andrew Sec Wiewel, Amy A Yackel Adams, and Gordon H Rodda, 205-222
Although it is generally accepted that presented little mammalian hold prejudicial effects on island ecology, our discernment of these effects is frequently restrained by uncomplete cognition of little mammal distribution, denseness, and biomass. Such info is especially critical in the Marianas, where little mammal denseness is reciprocally linked to effectuality of Brownness Tree Ophidian ( Boiga irregularis )
control tools, such as mouse-attractant traps. We utilized mark-recapture tasting to ascertain acquainted little mammal distribution, denseness, and biomass in the major habitats of Guam, Rota, Saipan, and Tinian, including grassland, Leucaena wood, and native limestone wood. Of the five species captured, Rattus diardii
( sensu Robins etal. 2007 ) was most common across habitats and islands. In contrast, House mouse
was rarely captured at forested sites, Suncus murinus
was not captured on Rota, and R. exulans
and R. norvegicus
seizures were uncommon. Mould pointed that neophobia, island, sex, procreative position, and rainfall sum worked R. diardii
seizure chance, whereas clip, island, and seizure heterogeneousness worked Seconds. murinus
and Metre. muscles
seizure chance. Denseness and biomass were much greater on Rota, Saipan, and Tinian than on GU, most likely a issue of Brownness Tree Ophidian depredation pressure on the latter island. Rattus diardii
and Metre. muscles
denseness and biomass were greatest in grassland, whereas Seconds. murinus
denseness and biomass were greatest in Leucaena wood. The high densenesses documented during this research suggest that acquainted little mammalian ( especially R. diardii
) are impacting teemingness and multifariousness of the native zoology and botany of the Ladrone islands. Farther, Brownness Tree Serpent control and direction tools that depend on mouse attractants will be less efficacious on Rota, Saipan, and Tinian than on GU. If the Brownness Tree Ophidian goes launched on these islands, high-density presented little mammal populations will likely alleviate and support a high-density Brownness Tree Serpent population, just as native species are trimmed or uprooted.
Critically Endangered Fijian Crested Iguana (Brachylophus vitiensis)
Shows Habitat Preference for Globally Threatened Tropical Dry Forest
Clare Morrison, Gunnar Keppel, Nunia Thomas, Isaac Rounds, and Peter Second Harlow, 223-251
Tropic dry woodses are a unique and imperilled ecosystem in the Pacific and globally. In Fiji, the imperilled Fijian capped iguana ( Brachylophus vitiensis )
is endemical to tropic dry woodses. Yadua Taba Island incorporates one of the best staying bases of tropic dry wood in the Pacific along with the largest ( and but unafraid ) population of Bacillus. vitiensis
in Fiji and holds been advised as a translocation origin for iguana preservation. In that survey we ascertained the major botany types on Yadua Taba and placed wood habitat predilections of Bacillus. vitiensis
to ( 1 ) qualify the island 's habitats for tropic dry wood regeneration monitoring and ( 2 ) understand which wood types are preferred by iguanas for future translocation labor. Botany data were amassed applying reconnaissance, entitation, line transects, and aerial photos. Iguana teemingness data were accumulated by nocturnal studies of lasting transects. Six major botany types were placed of which tropic dry woods was the largest ( 46 % of the island ), followed by a combination of bouldery cliff-shrubland/grassland flora ( 26 % ). Our conservative approximation of Bacillus. vitiensis
population size on Yadua Taba is 12, 000 iguanas, the bulk of which happen in tropic dry woods. Overabundance of the dry wood understory tree Vavaea amicorum,
the favorite fruit species of iguanas, may aid account for the high denseness of iguanas detected. These effects foreground the ecologic nexus between tropic dry woods and B. vitiensis
and accent the importance of rehabilitation or preservation of tropic dry wood habitat in possible iguana translocation sites as constituent of the direction progrgram for B. vitiensis
throughout the Fijis.
Carlia ailanpalai
(Reptilia: Scincidae): An Invasive Species of Lizard in the Federated States of Micronesia
Donald W Buden, 243-251
Distribution of the presented scincid Carlia ailanpalai
Zug in the Micronesia ( FSM ) is reexamined. It is common in unfastened grassy countries but rarely passes in mature wood. Preliminary studies point that it is goodly founded in Gob, though less frequently seen at increasing distance from Colonia, the main colony, and it is unrecorded in the extreme northern and southern parts of Gob. It is the most common species of lizard in unfastened, grassy, ruderal habitats throughout Weno Island, Chuuk, being closely the only species seen in the commercial territory, but it is unknown elsewhere in Chuuk Province. The only record for Kosrae is a individual specimen accumulated in 1988 ( first record for the FSM ), but there is no grounds of an launched population. There are no records for Pohnpei Province. Guam is likely the primary rootage for the Cakehole and Chuuk populations ( and Kosrae specimen ), but the clip of initial entry is unknown. Carlia ailanpalai
looks to hold distributed rapidly, at least on Weno, Chuuk, where it holds gotten the prevalent lizard in unfastened habitats islandwide, peradventure since the late Sixtieses. How C. ailanpalai
interacts with other species in the FSM asks farther survey, but preliminary studies of distribution and comparative copiousness propose that it holds a negative impact on populations of Emoia jakati and, less, on other Emoia species likewise. Populations of C. ailanpalai
in the FSM see the touchstones for invasive species position as it is delineate by numerous U.s. authorities and international preservation groupings.
Evidence of a Possible Decline since 1989 in False Killer Whales (Pseudorca crassidens)
around the Main Hawaiian Islands
Randall Roentgen Reeves, Stephen Cyrilla, and Redbreast Tungsten Baird, 253-261
Recent grounds signals that there is a little, demographically stray, island-associated population of false sea wolf ( Pseudorca crassidens )
around the main Sandwich islands. Although it is cognized that false grampus in Hawaii are sometimes killed or seriously wounded in the Hawaii-based long-line piscary, it is not cognized whether such interactions hold ensued in a step-down in population size or whether other factors hold been negatively working population size. We describe the effects of an aerial study in June and July 1989, the intent of which was to obtain a minimal count of the figure of false grampus around the main Sandwich islands. The false orca was the tertiary most commonly seen species of odontocete off the island of Hawai'i during the study, corresponding 17 % of sightings. Groupings of more 300 mortals were seen on three different years, with minimal counts of 380, 460, and 470 somebodies in these groupings. The brush rate, comparative species ranking, and average grouping size from the 1989 study were completely substantially greater than those from more recent aerial and ship-based studies. The largest grouping detected in 1989 ( 470 ) comprised nearly fourfold as many heavyweights as guessed for the full main Hawaiian Islands from recent aerial studies ( 121 somebodies, CV =0.47 ) or mark-recapture analyses ( 123 souls, CV =0.72 ). So, the population of false killer around the main Sandwich islands may hold worsened substantially since 1989. The cause or causes of such a diminution are unsure.
Andvakia discipulorum,
A New Species of Burrowing Sea Anemone from Hawaii, with a Revision of Andvakia
Danielssen, 1890
Marymegan Daly and Roger H Goodwill, 263-275
We draw Andvakia discipulorum
Daly & Goodwill, Nsp., from an intertidal mudflat of Kneohe Embayment, Oahu, Hawai'i. Members of this species are invisible, being little and holding a column covered with sand. In comparing with other species of the genus, Andvakia discipulorum,
nitrogensp., shows distinguishable agreement of mesenteries, sizes of nematocysts, and musculature. We too furnish a redescription of Andvakia boninensis
based on specimens amassed from Saipan, Ladrone islands. These descriptions supply an chance to revise and update the taxonomy of Andvakia
and to address the systematics of menage Andvakiidae. We ascertain that Andvakia
is the senior synonym of Decaphellia
and reject earlier hypotheses of synonymity between Andvakia
and Capneopsis, Ilyactis,
and Octophellia.
A tabular key to the species of Andvakia
is furnished.
A New Name for the Hawaiian Antipatharian Coral Formerly Known as Antipathes dichotoma
(Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Antipatharia)
Dennis M Opresko, 277-291
A Hawaiian species of antipatharian coral antecedently placed as Antipathes dichotoma
Pallas, 1766, is depicted as Antipathes griggi
Opresko, N sp. The species descriptor tall, shaggy settlements with elongate, unsloped terminal arms, frequently arranged uniserially. Rachises are conelike, mostly0.20 to0.26 millimeter tall, apically bifurcated, multilobed to jagged in appearance, and covered over most of their surface with little roundish to stretch papillae. Infinitesimal secondary backbones may happen on some of the thicker arms. Polypuses are 1 to1.6 millimeter in transversal diam. The species resembles A. fruticosa
Grayness in ramifying shape, size of backbones, and presence of secondary rachises but differs in morphology and denseness of the rachises ( thicker, more crowded primary backbones and fewer secondary backs in A. griggi
Other linked species differ from A griggi in holding more widely distributing and irregularly arranged subdivisions, no secondary rachises, and either littleer rachises with fewer apical lobes ( A. curvata
van Pesch, A. arborea
Dana, and A. galapagensis
Deichmann ) or biggerer backbones with the apical lobes arranged in a slightly coronate shape [ A. spinulosa
( Schultze ) and A. lentipinna
Creek ].
Association Affairs, 293