Atoll Research Bulletin最新文献

{"title":"Marine Benthic Macroalgae of a Small Uninhabited South Pacific Atoll (Rose Atoll, American Samoa)","authors":"M. Ruiz, P. Vroom, R. Tsuda","doi":"10.5479/SI.0077-5630.616","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5479/SI.0077-5630.616","url":null,"abstract":"Forty-five species of marine benthic macroalgae were identified from the coral reefs of Rose Atoll, American Samoa (Rose Atoll Marine National Monument). The algal collections were made during the February 2002, February 2004, March 2006, and March 2008 Pacific Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program (Pacific RAMP) under the auspices of the U.S. National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), Coral Reef Ecosystem Division (CRED). The collections included 6 species of Cyanobacteria, 14 species of red algae, 4 species of brown algae, and 21 species of green algae. Nine species represented new records for the Samoan Archipelago (American Samoa and Samoa). Based on their occurrences, eight species of green algae were considered most broadly distributed among the stations during all four expedition years. The top three broadly distributed species were Halimeda taenicola, Halimeda micronesica ,and Caulerpa cupressoides.","PeriodicalId":34898,"journal":{"name":"Atoll Research Bulletin","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-04-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46757939","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Flat Wasp Fauna from Cousine Island, Seychelles, with Description of a New Species of Holepyris (Hymenoptera, Bethylidae)","authors":"C. Azevedo, S. Noort","doi":"10.5479/si.0077-5630.615","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5479/si.0077-5630.615","url":null,"abstract":"The species richness of the flat wasp fauna from Cousine Island, Seychelles, is reported for the first time. Three species are represented on this island in the Seychelles archipelago. The male of the previously described Seychelles species, Goniozus kiefferi Gordh is redescribed and its genitalia described and illustrated for the first time; the Oriental species Megasprosternum cleonarovorum Gupta and Azevedo, previously known from India, is recorded for the first time from the Seychelles and the Afrotropical region; and Holepyris gaigherae  sp. nov. is described and illustrated. The Seychelles flat wasp fauna is now represented by nine species in total recorded from Cousine, Mahe and Silhouette islands.","PeriodicalId":34898,"journal":{"name":"Atoll Research Bulletin","volume":"1 1","pages":"1-12"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-03-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45309118","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Coral bleaching and mortality in the Chagos Archipelago","authors":"C. Sheppard, Anne L. S. Sheppard, A. Mogg, D. Bayley, A. Dempsey, R. Roche, J. Turner, S. Purkis","doi":"10.5479/SI.0077-5630.613","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5479/SI.0077-5630.613","url":null,"abstract":"The atolls and coral banks of the Chagos Archipelago (British Indian Ocean Territory) in the central Indian Ocean were badly affected by the warm water event that started in 2015 and lasted for nearly two years. On these reefs, coral mortality was very severe, reducing coral cover to <10% cover and usually about 5%, almost eliminating soft corals and reducing the 3-Dimensional structure of the reefs. Most atolls are not inhabited, so any changes are driven by climate changes rather than by any direct, local anthropogenic effect. Coral cover has been measured for 20 years using the same methods, while temperature loggers have recorded water temperature at various depths for over 10 years. Water temperatures have risen by one third of a degree on ocean reefs and over one half of a degree in lagoons over this period, causing the recent severe mortality. Juvenile corals have also been recorded at intervals during the last few years, and numbers severely declined following the mortality of the adults. Estimates of calcification suggest a marked reduction, from a state of vigorous reef growth that had not long recovered from the previous severe warming event of 1998, to one of net erosion. Predictions suggest that recurrences of mass mortalities will take place too frequently for any significant recovery of reef health in these atolls by the late 2020s.","PeriodicalId":34898,"journal":{"name":"Atoll Research Bulletin","volume":"613 1","pages":"613"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49304829","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Changes to the Natural History of Islands in the Chagos Atolls, Central Indian Ocean, during Human Settlement (1780–1969), and Prospects for Restoration","authors":"C. Sheppard","doi":"10.5479/si.0077-5630.612","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5479/si.0077-5630.612","url":null,"abstract":"The Chagos Archipelago (British Indian Ocean Territory, or BIOT) has 55 islands totalling approximately 5,000 ha spread over approximately 50,000 km 2 of the central Indian Ocean. From the first human settlements, which occurred in the late 1700s, and for the following century, all of the larger islands were converted into coconut plantations. During this period the disturbance to and elimination of the native flora and fauna in Chagos atolls was especially profound because these islands were used solely for the production of coconut and its products. Regarding vegetation, many times more species were introduced than were native, and several introduced species subsequently became invasive. The bird colonies, turtles and the land crabs were hugely reduced due to human consumption, land disturbance and the introduction of rats and other inappropriate and often free-ranging animals, such as pigs. The condition of the reefs, however, remains excellent, such that the area was declared a no-take marine reserve in 2010. For some years, BIOT was the world’s largest marine no-take conservation area. This status was achieved mainly because of its reefs; the islands are still heavily dominated by increasingly derelict, rat-infested coconut plantations and lack birds on most previously planted islands. However, on the smallest islands, many no larger than a few ha in size, there are both native plant communities and huge numbers of breeding seabirds. These relatively undisturbed fragments are acting as the core of current conservation efforts to restore some of the larger islands to their pre-plantation condition. This paper documents, as far as is possible from the relatively sparse archival documents, the course of events and extent of the terrestrial changes that took place in this archipelago before modern concepts of conservation emerged and remarks on the present, planned and funded restoration efforts that can be based on such knowledge.","PeriodicalId":34898,"journal":{"name":"Atoll Research Bulletin","volume":"1 1","pages":"1-15"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"70939875","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Flora of Tuvalu: Lakau Mo Mouku o Tuvalu","authors":"R. Thaman","doi":"10.5479/SI.0077-5630.611","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5479/SI.0077-5630.611","url":null,"abstract":"This paper is a compilation and analysis of vascular plants that have been reported present on the eight atolls of the independent nation of Tuvalu in the Central Pacific. It is based on field inventories conducted by the author and collaborators between 1991 and 2016 plus available published and unpublished records of vascular plant collections and observations made since the late 1800s. The indigenous vegetation and flora of Tuvalu are highly disturbed and the flora is now numerically dominated by introduced exotic species. This has been the result of a long post–European contact and British colonial heritage, including over a century of planting monocultural coconut plantations; extensive habitat destruction, excavation and conversion of much of the best cultivable land from “borrow pits” to build airstrips during World War II; rapid population growth, including the migration from outer atolls to, and the expansion of, the main settlement and government center on Funafuti Atoll; and increased shipping and air services and agricultural development projects that have facilitated the introduction of new plants. The total number of vascular plant species that have been recorded at some time on Tuvalu, including all indigenous and introduced species, is about 362 species or distinct varieties, of which only about 59 (16%) are possibly indigenous. The remaining 303 species (83% of the flora) are non-indigenous species that have been introduced by humans, some of which may have been at one time or another early aboriginal introductions. There are no endemic species that are unique to Tuvalu, with almost all of the indigenous plants being widespread, easily-dispersed coastal species that have the ability to cope successfully in the harsh atoll environment. The low number of indigenous species is an indication of the lack of habitat diversity on atolls compared with larger high islands, the difficulty of cross-ocean dispersal by plants, and the difficulty of long-term survival in the harsh atoll environment, which is dominated by poor soils, high salinity and physiological drought. Despite the degradation, the 362 or so plant species that still survive in Tuvalu are the only plants that the inhabitants have to satisfy many of their most important cultural, economic and environmental needs and to give them resilience against climate and global change.","PeriodicalId":34898,"journal":{"name":"Atoll Research Bulletin","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-10-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"70939867","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Atolls of the World: Revisiting the Original Checklist","authors":"W. Goldberg","doi":"10.5479/SI.0077-5630.610","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5479/SI.0077-5630.610","url":null,"abstract":"There is only one published list of atolls of the world (Bryan, 1953) and it is the source of the often-quoted figure that there are 425 or “more than 400” of them. However, the original compendiumincluded many banks and other reefs without lagoons. A re-examination of Bryan’s data, along with charts, satellite photographs and updated literature suggests that the number of atolls is indeed “more than 400,” despite the deletion of more than 100 of his entries. There are 439 atolls identified in the present summary, but the list is broadly constructed, inclusive, and not limited to those known to have formed on subsiding volcanic platforms. In addition , 171 of those listed (39%) are primarily subtidal atoll reefs with little or no island development. These particular atolls comprise 96% of those from Fiji, 94% of those in the South China Sea, and 62% of those in Indonesia. With few exceptions, all of these reef systems are specifically identified and verified using Google Earth, Landsat or other satellite imagery, making this group an important and under-appreciated element of atoll geomorphology. Eliminating atoll reefs from consideration reduces the list of atolls to 268. Of these, 104 are closed and lack a direct passage connecting the lagoon and the surrounding ocean. Closed lagoons are typical of atolls in French Polynesia (53 of 78 with lagoons), even though most of them are euhaline and are open to exchange of ocean water by indirect mechanisms. By contrast, many atolls in the central Pacific, including most of those in Tuvalu, the Phoenix Islands and the Line Islands, have developed isolated lagoons containing hypersaline, brackish, and even fresh water. The location and type of atoll (atoll reef, and atolls that are open, closed, or closed with altered lagoon salinity/oxygen) are specified on maps and tables appended to this work, and a photographic record of all but two of 439 atolls has been assembled as a supplement. This list is by no means complete. There are numerous atolls or atoll-like structures that do not have a satellite record or an adequate description on charts or in the literature. This is especially true of Indonesia, Fiji and islands east of Papua New Guinea where further exploration is likely to increase the number of entries.","PeriodicalId":34898,"journal":{"name":"Atoll Research Bulletin","volume":"20 1","pages":"1-47"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-06-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"70940194","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Vascular Plants, Vegetation and Ethnobotany of Banaba (Ocean Island), Republic of Kiribati","authors":"R. Thaman, Malosi Samuelu","doi":"10.5479/SI.0077-5630.609","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5479/SI.0077-5630.609","url":null,"abstract":"We present a compilation and analysis of the vascular plants, vegetation, and ethnobotany of Banaba (Ocean) Island in the Republic of Kiribati in the tropical Central Pacific Ocean. It is based on a 2005 field survey, plus analysis of available information in the literature. The flora of the small, raised phosphatic limestone island of Banaba is very limited compared to the floras of larger limestone and volcanic islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Isolation, small size, prolonged droughts and water scarcity, almost 80 years of open-cast phosphate mining, abandonment of the island by most people after cessation of mining in 1979, and widespread destruction, relocation and death of the Banaban people during and after World War II have led to serious degradation, disturbance, displacement and loss of the flora, vegetation, knowledge and ancient cultural traditions related to plants. This paper attempts for the first time to document the nature of Banaba’s flora and vegetation and provide background on the reasons for their impoverished and endangered state and the loss of Banaban ethnobotanical knowledge. The recorded flora of Banaba consists of approximately 205 species, of which only 50 are possibly native and none endemic. The balance of the flora is composed of ornamentals, weedy exotics, food plants, and a limited number of other useful cultigens. Although greatly outnumbered by exotics, indigenous species still dominate most areas including some of the most disturbed habitats, as well as constituting the most culturally and ecologically important resources on the island. Most plants had traditional native names and associated cultural knowledge, many serving as “trees of life.” It is argued that the protection and enhancement of the native and long-established non-indigenous flora and associated knowledge are crucial to the ecological integrity and survival of the people of Banaba and the culture and traditions of the Banaban people, most of who now live on Rabi Island in Fiji or elsewhere overseas.","PeriodicalId":34898,"journal":{"name":"Atoll Research Bulletin","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-04-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"70940134","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Flora of Kiritimati (Christmas) Atoll, Northern Line Islands, Republic of Kiribati.","authors":"R. Thaman, A. Tye","doi":"10.5479/SI.0077-5630.608","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5479/SI.0077-5630.608","url":null,"abstract":"This paper is a compilation and analysis of all vascular plants that have been reported on Kiritimati (Christmas) Atoll in the Northern Line Islands of the Republic of Kiribati. It is based on field inventories conducted by the authors on six field visits to the atoll between 1996 and 2012 plus available published and unpublished records of vascular plant collections and observations made on the atoll. The total number of vascular plant species that have been recorded at some time on Kiritimati, including all indigenous and introduced species (whether in cultivation or not) is 168, plus three hybrids and three additional varieties, making a total of 174 taxa. Of these, three records are doubtful, leaving a reliably reported total of 171 taxa in 166 species. Only 10 of the reported taxa were not seen by one or other of us in the period 1996–2012, and of these at least six have probably died out on the island, leaving an extant flora of around 165 reliably recorded taxa (including the hybrids and varieties) in 160 species. There have been no ferns or gymnosperms recorded on the island. Probably only 15 (9%) or perhaps up to 19 of the reliably reported species are native, and most of the present-day flora is made up of deliberate or unintentional introductions made since the date of European discovery of the atoll. Of these, at least 54 and perhaps up to 59 species have naturalized.","PeriodicalId":34898,"journal":{"name":"Atoll Research Bulletin","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-11-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"70940277","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Shallow Water Lagoon and Reef Fishes Observed at Nukunonu Atoll, Tokelau","authors":"H. Fergusson","doi":"10.5479/SI.0077-5630.607","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5479/SI.0077-5630.607","url":null,"abstract":"Tokelau comprises three small atolls in the central Pacific Ocean and is rarely visited by biologists due to its difficult access. Despite occasional visits by fisheries officers and some scientific collections made in the 1960s, very little has been recorded of the diversity of the fish fauna, and no checklist of the fishes of Tokelau has ever been published. In 2012 seven sites around Nukunonu atoll were snorkelled and the fish species recorded. A total of 143 species in 37 families were identified and the majority photographed, including four species with unusual or rare color forms and one hybrid. The species recorded indicate a diverse fish fauna comparable to those of Tokelau’s neighbors. Using the results of this study, the specimens held in the scientific collections, and species mentioned in the literature, a provisional checklist of the fishes of Tokelau has been developed.","PeriodicalId":34898,"journal":{"name":"Atoll Research Bulletin","volume":"1 1","pages":"2-34"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-08-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"70940267","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Are Lakshadweep Corals Heading Toward COT Outbreak","authors":"L. Senthilnathan, R. Ranith, M. Machendiranathan, T. Thangaradjou, Idrees Babu, S. Choudhury, I. V. Ramana, S. Sasamal","doi":"10.5479/SI.0077-5630.606","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5479/SI.0077-5630.606","url":null,"abstract":"Crown-of-Thorns (COT) predation off Kavaratti and Agatti islands in the Lakshadweep reef system has increased sporadically in recent years and appears to be approaching outbreak status, as indicated by a study of the starfish’s spatial progression along 16 transects off each island between 2010 and 2012. Infestation along one transect rose from 3 COTs in 2010 to 18 COTs in 2012. A threat susceptibility level for corals calculated as stressors/total live corals present along each transect averaged 38.9% to 52.5% in 2011 and 43.5 to 52.6% in 2012. Over much of the study period, COT exhibited selective feeding on branching corals but then shifted to Pavona sp. during 2012. High periodicity in COT prevalence was also observed, with a higher population during March–May (pre monsoon) and August–September (post monsoon), months when the corals were under severe environmental stress.","PeriodicalId":34898,"journal":{"name":"Atoll Research Bulletin","volume":"1 1","pages":"1-11"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-10-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"70940259","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}