The Indian brown mongoose,yet another invader in Fiji

A thriving population of the Indian brown mongoose (Herpestes fuscus), native to southwest India and Sri Lanka, has been discovered on the island of Viti Levu in Fiji. This is the first known introduction of this species and may derive from a pair brought from an unknown source to a private zoo in the late 1970s. They co-occur on Viti Levu with the much smaller small Indian mongoose (H. auropunctatus), and they are probably nocturnally active. No research has been conducted on their activity, diet, or impact on Fiji.     

Four new species of Rhodophyceae from Fiji,Polynesia and Vanuatu,South Pacific

Four new species of Rhodophyceae are described from the South Pacific, with type localities in Fiji, French Polynesia and Vanuatu. Chondria bullata from the Tuamotus (French Polynesia), Vanuatu, Palmerston Atoll (Cook Islands) and Fiji is unique owing to its non‐constricted axes with markedly protruding, bubble‐like cortical cells. Halymenia nukuhivensis, from the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia, is distinguished from others in the genus by its dichotomous, papery blades issued from a strap‐shaped basal region, and the equal proportion of anti‐clinal, periclinal and oblique filaments in its medullary layer. Jania articulata, so far known only from the Tuamotus in French Polynesia and Manihiki in the Northern Cook Islands, superficially resembles the genus Amphiroa with its articulated branches with numerous genicula between successive dichotomies, and its large axis diameter. Meristotheca peltata from the Fiji Islands is unique among the genus by its distinctly peltate, erect habit. The recent high number of newly described species from the South Pacific region emphasizes the need for more in‐depth surveys, particularly in deeper outer reef slope habitats, which remain for the most part unexplored and could yield particularly interesting new taxa or distributional records.     

Lack of genetic polymorphism among peregrine falcons Falco peregrinus of Fiji

We compared levels of genetic diversity and isolation among peregrine falcons Falco peregrinus from two South Pacific island complexes (Fiji and Vanuatu: F. p. nesiotes), relative to other island and mainland populations. Fragment data from 12 microsatellite loci and sequence information from the control region of the mitochondrial DNA indicated levels of genetic variation in the South Pacific populations were lower than other island and mainland populations. Indeed, diversity varied from extremely low (Vanuatu) to completely absent (Fiji). We find little support for a hypothesis that populations on Fiji or Vanuatu were colonized via Australia. The complete lack of polymorphism in peregrine falcons of Fiji is remarkable, and to our knowledge has not been observed in a natural avian population. This lack of polymorphism, and the inability to test for decrease in polymorphism using museum samples, precludes testing whether the lack of genetic diversity in the population on Fiji is due to a recent bottleneck, or sustained isolation over evolutionary time. Increased fertility in eggs of Fiji peregrines upon outbreeding with males from other areas is consistent with inbreeding depression within a population typified by heterozygote deficiency.     

First record of the genus Wilkinsonellus (Hymenoptera,Braconidae, Microgastrinae) from Fiji with description of three new species

Wilkinsonellus Mason is a relatively small Pantropical genus of braconid parasitoid wasps within the subfamily Microgastrinae. Most of the currently described species are from the Palaeotropics; however, previous records were absent from Fiji. Here, the first three Wilkinsonellus species from Fiji are described: Wilkinsonellus corpustriacolor sp. n., Wilkinsonellus fijienis sp. n. and Wilkinsonellus nescalpura sp. n. The material was collected by Malaise traps set up in a quite variety of ecosystems (wet zone, dry zone and coastal forests) throughout the archipelago. With these records, Fiji represents the easternmost known distribution of the genus in the Indo-Pacific Region. A key to all of the currently known Wilkinsonellus species is included to facilitate species identification.     

Synaptobothrioides sardinellae n. g., n. sp. (Digenea: Hemiuridae) from the blacktip sardinella Sardinella melanura (Clupeidae) off Fiji,and records of two other hemiuroids in Fijian waters

Synaptobothrioides sardinellae n. g., n. sp. is described from Sardinella melanura off Fiji. The new genus differs from other plerurine hemiurid genera in having entire or angular, rather than lobed to digitiform, vitelline masses. It appears closest to Synaptobothrium, but differs in the lack of a presomatic pit and the presence of tegumental plications. Lecithochirium kawakawa from Euthynnus affinis and Thulinia microrchis from Siganus spinus are reported from off Fiji.     

Scaphidiidae (Coleoptera) of Fiji

Abstract

This paper describes 12 new species of Scaphidiidae from Fiji based on a collection made in October 1977 on the two main islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu. Three genera and 23 species are now known from Fiji: Baeocera Erichson (parallela n.sp., vanuana n.sp., plana n.sp., ovalis n.sp., kuscheli n.sp., gnava n.sp., ignobilis n.sp., kuscheliana n.sp., reducta n.sp., plus two species left unnamed); Scaphisoma Leach (kuscheli n.sp., liliputanum Löbl, distans Löbl, aequatum Löbl, zimmermani Löbl, debile n.sp., mucronatum n.sp., fijianum Löbl, alienum Löbl); and Scaphoxium Löbl (ventrale Löbl, malekulense Löbl, vitianum Löbl). Keys are given to genera and species.     

Fiji disease resistance in sugarcane: Relationship to cultivar preference in field populations of the planthopper vector Perkinsiella saccharicida

Populations of the planthopper vector Perkinsiella saccharicida on sugarcane cultivars resistant (cvs QUO and Q87), moderately resistant (cvs Q90 and Q124) and susceptible (cvs NCo310 and Q102) to Fiji disease with known field resistance scores were monitored on the plant (2000–2001) and ratoon (2001–2002) crops. In both crops, the vector population remained very low, reaching its peak in the autumn. The vector population was significantly higher on cultivars susceptible to Fiji disease than on cultivars moderately resistant and resistant to Fiji disease. The number of P. saccharicida adults, nymphs and oviposition sites per plant increased with the increase in the Fiji disease susceptibility. The results suggest that under low vector density, cultivar preference by the planthopper vector mediates Fiji disease resistance in sugarcane. To obtain resistance ratings in the glasshouse that reflect field resistance, glasshouse‐screening trials should be conducted under both low and high vector densities, and the cultivar preference of the planthopper vector recorded along with Fiji disease incidence.     

A new species of the Fluviopupa group (Caenogastropoda: Tateidae) from north-east Queensland,Australia

Fluviopupa kessneri n. sp. is described from the Mulgrave River and one of its major tributaries, the Little Mulgrave River, in north-east Queensland. It is the first record of the Fluviopupa group from a continental area, other members of the genus being known only from Fiji, New Guinea and a few other Pacific Islands, including New Caledonia.     

Description of three new Triaenodes species from Fiji (Trichoptera,Leptoceridae)

The following three new species are illustrated and described from Fiji: Triaenodes rebellus Eriksson & Johanson, sp. n., Triaenodes oscitus Müller & Johanson, sp. n., and Triaenodes forcipatus Puranen Li & Johanson, sp. n. All species are endemic to Viti Levu. A key to the male Triaenodes species of Fiji is provided. With this report, the number of Triaenodes species known from Fiji is doubled.     

The Cost of Being Fijian in the United Kingdom

This paper is the first within Fijian migration studies to discuss why indigenous Fijians migrate to the United Kingdom (UK) and the socio-economic challenges they face. The majority of these Fijians form a well-organised community based on similar principles as in Fiji (kinship, church, and chieftainship) and do their utmost to live ‘in the Fijian way’ (na ivakarau ni bula vakaviti), a lifestyle also known as living ‘in the manner of the land’ (i tovo vakavanua). I argue this way of life is a central aspect of being a Fijian person, which is characterised, amongst other things, by supporting kin as part of one's kinship obligations in the form of exchange and tribute. The tributes Fijian migrants make are predominantly in the form of services, goods, and especially monetary contributions towards church, communal, and ritual events to both kin in Fiji and in the UK. These monetary contributions regularly interfere with payments, such as utility bills and car insurances. As a consequence, electricity and phone lines are cut or cars are towed away. In Fiji, migrated relatives and friends are thought of as being millionaires, but this article illustrates that the reality is very different. Living costs in the UK are high and prioritising which bills to pay, how much one should contribute to church, communal, and ceremonial events, and how much money to remit to kin in Fiji can be very stressful. I discuss the pressures and motivation for these decisions in this article.     

STUDIES OF PACIFIC ISLAND PLANTS. XXIX. BLEASDALEA AND RELATED GENERA OF PROTEACEAE

The genus Kermadecia (Proteaceae), originally described as endemic to New Caledonia, has been expanded in recent decades to include three species from the New Hebrides and Fiji. Specialists on the Proteaceae have suggested that the three Melanesian species were generically misplaced, and careful reexamination supports this viewpoint. It is now apparent that a distinct group within the subfamily Grevilleoideae is composed of the genera Euplassa (endemic to South America), Sleumerodendron (a monotypic New Caledonian genus), Gevuina (based on a single South American species but recently expanded to include two other species from Queensland and New Guinea), and the three questionable Melanesian species. A review of this cluster of taxa indicates that Gevuina should again be interpreted as restricted to South America and that the generic name Bleasdalea F. v. Muell. ex Domin should be adopted for a group of five species extending from Queensland and New Guinea to the New Hebrides and Fiji. The relationships of the four genera are discussed and within Bleasdalea four new combinations are proposed: B. bleasdalei (F. v. Muell.), B. ferruginea (A. C. Sm.), B. vitiensis (Turrill), and B. lutea (Guillaumin). Kermadecia, very distinct from the four genera under present consideration, is again interpreted as a New Caledonian endemic.     

High phylogenetic diversity of the cat flea (Ctenocephalides felis) at two mitochondrial DNA markers

The cat flea, Ctenocephalides felis (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae) (Bouché), is the most common flea species found on cats and dogs worldwide. We investigated the genetic identity of the cosmopolitan subspecies C. felis felis and evaluated diversity of cat fleas from Australia, Fiji, Thailand and Seychelles using mtDNA sequences from cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (cox1) and II (cox2) genes. Both cox1 and cox2 confirmed the high phylogenetic diversity and paraphyletic origin of C. felis felis. The African subspecies C. felis strongylus (Jordan) is nested within the paraphyletic C. felis felis. The south East Asian subspecies C. felis orientis (Jordan) is monophyletic and is supported by morphology. We confirm that Australian cat fleas belong to C. felis felis and show that in Australia they form two distinct phylogenetic clades, one common with fleas from Fiji. Using a barcoding approach, we recognize two putative species within C. felis (C. felis and C. orientis). Nucleotide diversity was higher in cox1 but COX2 outperformed COX1 in amino acid diversity. COX2 amino acid sequences resolve all phylogenetic clades and provide an additional phylogenetic signal. Both cox1 and cox2 resolved identical phylogeny and are suitable for population structure studies of Ctenocephalides species.     

The complete phylogeny of Pseudobulweria, the most endangered seabird genus: systematics, species status and conservation implications

Pseudobulweria is one of the least known and most endangered of all seabird genera. It comprises six taxa, of which two are extinct, three are critically endangered and one is near threatened. Phylogenetic relationships between these taxa and position of the genus in the Order Procellariiformes have never been studied, and the taxonomic status of several taxa remains unsettled. Conservation management of Pseudobulweria taxa will be enhanced if these uncertainties are resolved. We used a multilocus gene tree approach with two mitochondrial DNA markers (cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 and cytochrome b gene) and one nuclear intron (β Fibrinogen intron 7) to investigate phylogenetic relationships within the genus using sequences from all taxa. We combined gene trees to estimate a phylogeny of the genus using a multispecies coalescent methodology. We confirmed the link between Pseudobulweria and a clade comprising Puffinus and Bulweria genera. The Fiji petrel’s status, as belonging to the genus, is confirmed, as is the specific status of newly rediscovered Beck’s petrel. Maintenance of the two sub-species of Tahiti petrel as currently described is not supported. Discovering the breeding grounds of all taxa is the key for their conservation, which is vital to both the marine and fragile insular tropical ecosystems where Pseudobulweria are apical predators.     

Microfungi on the Pandanaceae:Polytretophora macrospora sp. nov.

Polytretophora macrospora is introduced based on specimens from two species ofPandanus in Seychelles. The new species is compared with currently accepted species. A key and a comparative synopsis toPolytetophora species are provided. Numerous specimens ofP. calcarata, collected on members of the Pandanaceae from Australia, Fiji, Hong Kong, Malaysia, New Caledonia, Palau, Philippines, Seychelles and Solomon Islands are also reported, along withP. dendroidea onPandanus sp. from Malaysia.     

Comparative phylogeography of the centipedes <Emphasis Type="Italic">Cryptops pictus</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">C. niuensis</Emphasis> (Chilopoda) in New Caledonia,Fiji and Vanuatu

The South Pacific is a biodiverse region of extreme evolutionary importance because it harbors ancient lineages and recent radiations. However, few population-level studies of genetic variation have been conducted in the land masses of this region. Likewise, the number of population-level studies using myriapods as models is extremely small. In this article, we compare the genetic structure of two species of centipedes in the genus Cryptops endemic to the South Pacific, one from a continental island, the other from oceanic islands. The level of genetic diversity and structure in C. pictus, a species endemic to New Caledonia, is much higher than in C. niuensis in Fiji and Vanuatu, despite the fact that C. niuensis is spread across two different archipelagos and several islands. The most likely explanation is the relatively young age of the remnants of the Vitiaz Arc (Fiji and Vanuatu) compared to New Caledonia. Using the emergence of Fiji-Vanuatu as a calibration point, C. pictus is estimated to have diverged by 23.4 Mya (upper 95% confidence interval) with a mean estimate of 11.7 Mya versus the 9.7 Mya of C. niuensis. Considering the absence of shared sequences between specimens from different sampling sites and the high genetic structuring within populations, C. pictus appears to be an ideal candidate to assess historical processes at a micro-evolutionary scale in New Caledonia.     

Occurrence and antagonistic potential of Stenotrophomonas strains isolated from deep-sea invertebrates

Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is known to be of significance as opportunistic pathogen as well as a source of biocontrol and bioremediation activities. S. maltophilia strains have been isolated from rhizospheres, soil, clinical material, aquatic habitats, but little is known about Stenotrophomonas strains recovered from marine environments. During a survey of the biodiversity of Pseudomonas-like bacteria associated with deep-sea invertebrates six Stenotrophomonas strains were isolated from sponge, sea urchin, and ophiura specimens collected from differing Pacific areas, including the Philippine Sea, the Fiji Sea and the Bering Sea. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis confirmed an assignment of marine isolates to the genus Stenotrophomonas as it placed four strains into the S. maltophilia CIP 60.77^T cluster and two related to the S. rhizophila DSM 14405^T. Together with a number of common characteristics typical of S. maltophilia and S. rhizophila marine isolates exhibited differences in pigmentation, a NaCl tolerance, a range of temperatures, which supported their growth, substrate utilization pattern, and antibiotics resistance. Strains displayed hemolytic and remarkable inhibitory activity against a number of fungal cultures and Gram-positive microorganisms, but very weak or none against Candida albicans. This is the first report on isolation, taxonomic characterization and antimicrobial activity of Stenotrophomonas strains isolated from deep-sea invertebrates.     

New insights into tateid gastropods and their radiation on Fiji based on anatomical and molecular methods (Caenogastropoda: Truncatelloidea)

The South Pacific archipelago of Fiji is characterized by a predominantly Indo‐Malesian flora and fauna. We provide a first systematic study on Fiji's tateid gastropods – previously classified as Hydrobiidae – describing 18 new species, combining morphological, anatomical, and molecular data. The molecular phylogeny of tateid gastropods based on 16S rRNA and cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) showed that the species from Fiji were closer related to New Zealand than to Australian or New Caledonian taxa, which is rather exceptional. Performing an ancestral range reconstruction we inferred the colonization history across the two main islands. The radiation had its origin in southern Viti Levu, with a subsequent dispersal over the western and central parts of the island. The chronology of the radiation over eastern Viti Levu and Vanua Levu remained unresolved because of incomplete lineage sorting, a phenomenon typical for young radiations. © 2014 The Linnean Society of London     

STUDIES OF PACIFIC ISLAND PLANTS. XXVI. METROSIDEROS COLLINA (MYRTACEAE) AND ITS RELATIVES IN THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC

The genus Metrosideros (Myrtaceae) is an abundant and taxonomically confusing component of the vegetation throughout much of its range. In the southern Pacific, from the New Hebrides eastward to the Society and Tuamotu Islands, the genus is represented by one variable species, M. collina (J. R. & G. Forst.) A. Gray, in which three widespread varieties seem to merit recognition. An attempt is here made to clarify the nomenclature and inter-relationships of these varieties. Additionally, two local endemics are related to the M. collina group—M. gregoryi Christophersen in Samoa and M. ochrantha A. C. Sm. (sp. nov.) in Fiji.