Some mosses of Rarotonga,Cook Island Group

Abstract

Approximately fifty mosses collected are reported from Rarotonga, the largest island of the Cook Archipelago. A very low level of endemism is apparent and the dominating phytogeographic component is Oceanic with secondary Austral and Indomalayan-Asian elements.     

Neoliberalism,Mobility and Cook Islands Men in Transit

From the 1990s, neoliberalism has been vigorously promoted by aid agencies operating in the Cook Islands. The solution to the country's economic problems has been sought in the privatisation of government assets and services and the development of free‐market principles. Social Impact Assessment reports of these reforms have included information on their effect on women and children under the heading of ‘gender’; men, however, are notably absent as a category of analysis. Building on recent work about men, masculinities and development, this paper begins to address this imbalance by examining how Cook Islands men have been effected by, and how they react to, neoliberalism in a series of gender specific ways. In particular, it explores the relationship between masculinity, class, status, and migration.     

Holocene emergence in the Cook Islands,South Pacific

There is evidence of Holocene emergence on several of the Cook Islands. On Suwarrow Atoll there are extensive outcrops of emergent, but truncated, reef on the northern atoll rim, radiocarbon-dated 4680–4310 years B. P., overlain by younger cemented boulder conglomerates. On the northeast of the atoll there are fossil algal ridges indicating up to 1 m of emergence; the landwardmost has been dated 4220 years B. P., the intermediate one 3420 years B. P. and the present one 1250 years B. P. On Mitiaro, a makatea island in the Southern Cooks, there are emergent reefal deposits in the centre of the reef flat dated 5140–3620 years B. P. Similar thought poorly preserved deposits occur on Mauke, and an erosional bench and notch occurs on Atiu. Emergence on all islands appears synchronous with that reported on Mangaia, where a relative fall of sea level of at least 1.7 m in the last 3400 years has been reported. The evidence for emergence is broadly similar to that described from French Polynesia, though timing of emergence appears to differ.     

Polychaete annelids from the Cook Islands

A systematic account of a collection of polychaetes from the Cook Islands, central Pacific, is given together with ecological and zoogeographical notes. New species of the genera Ceratonereis, Perinereis, Scolelepis and Myriochele are described.     

The Role of Barrier Islands in Subsistence of the Inhabitants of Roviana Lagoon,Solomon Islands

This multidisciplinary study examines the strategy adopted by villagers in the Roviana Lagoon, South New Georgia, Solomon Islands, to cope with changing socioeconomic and demographic conditions. The study addresses land use, shifting cycles, land tenure, soil nutrients, subsistence production, vegetation, land cover change, and carrying capacity. The results suggested that even if a society had been integrated into the market economy and introduced cash cropping, they used a small island, which was fertile, mainly for traditional shifting cultivation under customary management. However, they used a large area of the main island for cultivation of potentially risky perennial cash crops for private income. This case suggests that a local society is able to develop a harmonized way of rural development, community welfare, and environmental preservation.     

Cross-sectional geometric analysis of a foot bone assemblage from Mangaia, Cook Islands

This study describes a human foot bone assemblage from prehistoric Mangaia, Cook Islands in the context of diaphyseal cross-sectional strength measures. We use this sample to test the hypothesis that habitually unshod individuals who walk over rugged terrain will have stronger foot bones than a sample of habitually shod industrialized people. Specifically, we examine whether the Mangaian sample has a stronger size-adjusted metatarsal (MT) and phalangeal cross-sectional properties than the industrial sample, drawn from the Terry Collection. Contrary to expectations, residual analyses showed that most values of cross-sectional area (CA) and torsional resistance (J) of MTs 1-4 and the hallucal proximal phalanx (HPP) of the Mangaians are among those in the lower range of the Terry Collection sample. However, the bending strength ratios (Zy/Zx) of the Mangaian HPP are significantly greater than those of the Terry Collection. While characteristics such as forefoot shape variation between the sexes and among geographic populations cannot be ruled out as influential factors, cross-sectional properties of the hallucal proximal phalanges, but not the MTs, indicate terrain complexity in prehistoric populations.     

Love Food: Exchange and Sustenance in the Cook Islands Diaspora

This paper analyses the dynamics of food exchange among Cook Islanders. The majority of Cook Islanders live abroad (primarily in New Zealand and Australia), familial and community relationships are maintained by frequent visits to and from the Cook Islands. For many Cook Islanders, the difference between home and abroad is signified through food. Its lack in New Zealand is contrasted with the bounty of home, bounty of food, and the bounty of sustaining caring relationships. As a result, when Cook Islanders from home visit family abroad, they take large quantities of local food with them. This paper explores the affective materiality of food that travels between Cook Islands     

Dragging Drag: The Performance of Gender and Sexuality in the Cook Islands

Kia Orana day is an annual event on the island of Aitutaki. It consists of performances from a number of government departments to an audience of locals and the occasional tourist. The Kia Orana day described here featured a drag show by the Ministry of Outer Islands Development. Drag shows are prevalent in the Cook Islands and they are performed by both ‘heterosexual’ and ‘homosexual’ men. This paper explores some of the reasons for their popularity through an examination of gendered ideologies that structure Cook Islands social life—in particular the ways in which gender is embodied in everyday movement and dance. The examination of forms of sexuality and gender presented in public life are used to explain the comic currency of drag. I present a number of different interpretations of the Kia Orana performance and suggest that although it may have a similar appearance to Western drag, it has different meanings in the Cook Islands. These meanings suggest drag revolves around notions of gender which are not necessarily defined by sexuality. Cook Islands drag, I propose, must be contextualised in terms of Cook Islands notions of personhood.     

Quantitative morphological variation inTetramolopium (Asteraceae) in Hawaii and the Cook Islands

Multivariate analyses of quantitative characters were undertaken to examine the pattern of variation resulting from adaptive radiation ofTetramolopium in Hawaii and to investigate the systematics of an undescribed species in the Cook Islands and a group of populations of uncertain affinity on Kalaupapa Peninsula in Hawaii. Taxa differentiated on quantitative characters in the absence of qualitative characters. Differentiation was observed in multiple characters which could be organized into a few principal components. The analyses supported the species rank of the Cook Islands plants. The relationship of the Kalaupapa Peninsula populations to the rest of the taxa needs further study.     

Community-based management fails to halt declines of bumphead parrotfish and humphead wrasse in Roviana Lagoon,Solomon Islands

Coral Reefs - Community-based fisheries management that integrates local knowledge and existing user rights is often seen as a solution to the failures of top-down fisheries management in the...     

Some Characteristics of Potyvirus Isolates from Vanilla tahitensis in French Polynesia and the Cook Islands

Further characterization of vanilla mosaic potyvirus (VaMV) confirmed that it is quite distinct from vanilla necrosis potyvirus (VNV). In immuno-blot ELISA, a polyclonal antiserum to vanilla mosaic virus from Vanilla tahitensis in French Polynesia did not react with vanilla necrosis potyvirus infected V. fragrans from Tonga. However, samples of V. tahitensis with leaf distortion and mosaic from the Cook Islands reacted strongly with the VaMV antiserum. Host range studies involving 20 plant species failed to find a host for VaMV outside the genus Vanilla, confirming that VaMV has a much more restricted host range than VNV. The mean particle length of V_aMV from purified preparations was 763 nm (Std. Dev. 48) and SDS-polyacrylamide electrophoresis indicates a single coat polypeptide of M_r 34 × lO³.     

Trends in body size, diet and food availability in the Cook Islands in the second half of the 20th century

The body size of adult Cook Islanders on Rarotonga for the years 1952, 1966 and 1996 has been increasing. The rate of increase in stature of women aged 20-39 years was 0.5cm per decade across the period 1952-1966, and 0.8cm per decade for the period 1966-1996. The rate of increase of weight in the 20-29 years age group was 0.6kg per decade in period 1, and 7.3kg per decade in period 2. In the age group 30-39 years, the rates were 3.2kg per decade and 5.1kg per decade respectively. Changing food availability for the period 1961-2000 is used to compare estimates of dietary energy availability with estimates of physiological energy requirements. There has been reduced availability of traditional staples, a likely reduction in consumption of fish, increased consumption of meat, and a decline in the availability of dietary fats and oils. Daily per capita energy intakes in 1952 and 1966 greatly exceed an hypothetical physiological maximum value for energy expenditure, suggesting a large positive energy balance in 1952 and an even greater one in 1966, both predisposing to weight gain. Although daily per capita energy availability in 1996 is similar to the hypothetical physiological maximum value for energy expenditure, it exceeds the measured level of energy expenditure at that time. It is speculated that excessive energy intake relative to requirement is more likely to predispose to positive energy balance and weight gain than decline in energy expenditure, although to a lower extent than in 1966 and 1952.     

Dispersal of fig seeds in the Cook Islands: introduced frugivores are no substitutes for natives

Across the Pacific, island vegetation is altering in response to changes in seed disperser assemblages brought about by extinctions and introductions of birds and other animals. On the Cook Islands in the South Pacific, the Pacific Banyan (Ficus prolixa, Moraceae) is undergoing little if any recruitment, possibly linked to a lack of dispersal agents. On Rarotonga, where F. prolixa is found in semi-urban and agricultural environments, there is no recent recruitment in contrast to the situation on Atiu where the tree is common in native forest. We examined the quality and quantity of seed dispersal offered to F. prolixa by the available frugivores on these islands, comparing the effectiveness of extant native and introduced species. The native Cook Islands fauna, particularly birds and bats, appear to be the most effective seed dispersers of F. prolixa, both in terms of quantity and quality. Whilst these are relatively numerous on Atiu, they rarely visit F. prolixa on Rarotonga. The native Chocolate hermit crab Coenobita cavipes is a previously unreported additional native seed disperser, conferring low quantity, but high quality dispersal. Introduced birds and mammals are the most numerous F. prolixa frugivores on Rarotonga and in non-forest environments on Atiu, but they act mainly as seed predators. Consequently, the losses and rarity of remaining native frugivores have not been compensated for by introduced species on Rarotonga which may be contributing to the absence of recruitment there.     

Cook: The Extraordinary Voyages of Captain James Cook

Cook: The Extraordinary Voyages of Captain James Cook . Nicholas Thomas. New York: Walker and Co., 2003. 467 pp.     

Genetic variation in the kakerori (Pomarea dimidiata), an endangered endemic bird successfully recovering in the Cook Islands

The Cook Islands endemic kakerori (Pomarea dimidiata) underwent a severe population decline following the introduction of ship rats (Rattus rattus) in the late 1800s. By 1989, the sole population on Rarotonga consisted of 29 known birds. Subsequent intensive management efforts enabled this population to recover to around 250?C300 birds in recent years. This study, using microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA markers, assesses the level of genetic diversity and the genetic structure of the contemporary kakerori population on Rarotonga. No mitochondrial control region and cytochrome b haplotype diversity was found in the 11 samples examined at each locus. In 81 samples genotyped at 7 polymorphic microsatellite loci, an average of 4 alleles per locus were found, with an average observed heterozygosity of 0.65. No subpopulation division was found in this population. There was no evidence of inbreeding, but genetic bottleneck tests showed that the population had indeed experienced a significant genetic bottleneck. Recovery of the kakerori was successful in the past two decades despite low genetic diversity in terms of allelic diversity. Our data suggested that low allelic diversity did not hamper population expansion and the continued survival of this species, however, longer-term effects are still possible.     

Genetics of adaptive radiation in Hawaiian and Cook Islands species of Tetramolopium (Asteraceae; Astereae). I. Nuclear RFLP marker diversity

Thirty-three nuclear RFLP (restriction fragment length polymorphism) probes were used to study genetic diversity in Hawaiian and Cook Islands species of Tetramolopium for comparison with previous morphological and isozyme studies and to provide greater resolution of the events associated with adaptive radiation in the genus. Levels of RFLP diversity are greater than those reported for isozymes, yet are still low in comparison to continental species. Genetic differentiation is greatest among species in sections rather than among sections and is concordant with the hypothesis of phyletic sorting of initial variability as suggested for morphological traits. Hypothesized introgression between T. lepidotum and T. filiforme is supported, but the evidence suggests bidirectional gene flow. Systematic relationships derived from the data agree with hypotheses based on morphology in the placement of populations within their respective species and the recognition of three main lineages within Hawaii. Inclusion of the Cook Islands species, however, renders section Tetramolopium paraphyletic, contradicting morphological, ecological, and crossing evidence. Interpreting these results in light of evidence from previous studies, the genetic diversity and relationships seen among species and sections of Hawaiian and Cook Islands Tetramolopium reflect the recent and rapid evolution of this group, limited addition of new variability, and phyletic sorting.     

Hedruris hanleyae n. sp. (Nematoda: Hedruridae) from Hemidactylus garnotii (Sauria: Gekkonidae) from the Cook Islands, Oceania

Hedruris hanleyae n. sp. (Nematoda: Hedruridae) from the stomach of Hemidactylus garnotii collected in 1989 on Atiu, Cook Islands is described and illustrated. Hedruris hanleyae n. sp. represents the 21st species to be assigned to the genus and is distinguished from other oriental species by the distribution pattern of caudal papillae of the male: 10 pairs posterior subventral papillae; 2 pairs precloacal and 8 pairs postcloacal.     

Foraminiferal distribution and diversity,Madang Reef and Lagoon,Papua New Guinea

In the Madang Lagoon, on the northern coast of Papua New Guinea (PNG), distinct groups of foraminifera, defined by numerical Q-mode cluster analysis of foraminiferal species occurrences, occupy four major environments and sedimentary regimes, generally aligned parallel to the coast: (1) the harbor and bay inlets, which have large fresh-water runoff and organic detrital inputs; (2) the fringing reefs along the west side of the lagoon which are influenced by coastal factors such as overhanging mangroves or fresh-water runoff; (3) the central lagoon floor which is over 50 m deep and covered with fine sand and patch reefs rising from it; and (4) the reef barrier with adjacent live coral-covered fore-reef slope and generally sandy back-reef slope. The four clusters are also mirrored in both species richness and Fisher alpha diversity analysis. Cluster 4 includes 79 species of large, thick-shelled miliolids, robust agglutinated species, calcarinids, and amphisteginids (Fisher α ≥20) that occur on the coral-rich barrier reef and back-reef. Cluster 3 has 50 species (Fisher α=8–20) and occupies the central lagoon floor. Cluster 2 has 25 or fewer species (Fisher α=2–6) and occurs on the shallow fringing reefs. Cluster 1 is the least diverse (≤7 species, Fisher α ≤2) and occurs in the harbors and bays in the mouths of larger rivers and streams. The larger, endosymbiont-bearing foraminifera (alveolinellids, soritids, amphisteginids, nummulitids, and calcarinids) generally live on the back- and fore-reef slopes and in the lagoon, avoid the organic-rich coastal and harbor habitats, and preferentially dwell in well-lit environments to the bottom of the lagoon. The river mouths and bays are unusual for reef systems because of their high organic content, which creates low-oxygen and nutrient-rich conditions. Here the foraminiferal fauna is dominated by only a few and, for the most part, particularly thin-shelled and highly fragile species. Each faunal group contains a number of numerically abundant indicator species that do not occur in other faunal clusters. This implies low horizontal transport rates within the reef and lagoon complex and signifies that faunal mixing among the cluster groups is limited. Foraminiferal death assemblages may thus be autochthonous and retain information regarding the original community structure. They may also preserve environmental information useful in paleoecological studies and they are good ecological indicators of reef and lagoon habitats.