Contributions to the Cladocera fauna from Papua New Guinea

Twenty-eight taxa of the Cladocera are identified in collections from Papua New Guinea, 17 being new records for New Guinea, bringing the total number of Cladocera taxa reported for this region to 39. Most of the taxa are circumtropical. One species (Sarsilatona papuana) is endemic to Papua New Guinea and northern Australia. The species list includes two species that are normally listed as Holarctic:Alonella nana andAlona rustica. Widespread genera such asDaphnia, Pleuroxus, Disparalona, Acroperus were strikingly absent from the Papua New Guinean material.     

Further evidence for heterogeneity of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency in Papua New Guinea

Summary Four new G6PD variants have been characterized in individuals from Papua New Guinea. This study demonstrates that the previously reported Markham variant and the newly characterized Salata variant may be widely distributed in Papua New Guinea. The data presented here together with those of previously published studies demonstrate a degree of heterogeneity of G6PD deficiency that is much higher than that in other regions of the world where G6PD deficiency is common.     

Forest Conversion and Degradation in Papua New Guinea 1972–2002

Quantifying forest change in the tropics is important because of the role these forests play in the conservation of biodiversity and the global carbon cycle. One of the world's largest remaining areas of tropical forest is located in Papua New Guinea. Here we show that change in its extent and condition has occurred to a greater extent than previously recorded. We assessed deforestation and forest degradation in Papua New Guinea by comparing a land-cover map from 1972 with a land-cover map created from nationwide high-resolution satellite imagery recorded since 2002. In 2002 there were 28,251,967 ha of tropical rain forest. Between 1972 and 2002, a net 15 percent of Papua New Guinea's tropical forests were cleared and 8.8 percent were degraded through logging. The drivers of forest change have been concentrated within the accessible forest estate where a net 36 percent were degraded or deforested through both forestry and nonforestry processes. Since 1972, 13 percent of upper montane forests have also been lost. We estimate that over the period 1990–2002, overall rates of change generally increased and varied between 0.8 and 1.8 percent/yr, while rates in commercially accessible forest have been far higher—having varied between 1.1 and 3.4 percent/yr. These rates are far higher than those reported by the FAO over the same period. We conclude that rapid and substantial forest change has occurred in Papua New Guinea, with the major drivers being logging in the lowland forests and subsistence agriculture throughout the country with comparatively minor contributions from forest fires, plantation establishment, and mining.     

Characterization of population structure from the mitochondrial DNA vis‐à‐vis language and geography in Papua New Guinea

Situated along a corridor linking the Asian continent with the outer islands of the Pacific, Papua New Guinea has long played a key role in understanding the initial peopling of Oceania. The vast diversity in languages and unique geographical environments in the region have been central to the debates on human migration and the degree of interaction between the Pleistocene settlers and newer migrants. To better understand the role of Papua New Guinea in shaping the region's prehistory, we sequenced the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region of three populations, a total of 94 individuals, located in the East Sepik Province of Papua New Guinea. We analyzed these samples with a large data set of Oceania populations to examine the role of geography and language in shaping population structure within New Guinea and between the region and Island Melanesia. Our results from median‐joining networks, star‐cluster age estimates, and population genetic analyses show that while highland New Guinea populations seem to be the oldest settlers, there has been significant gene flow within New Guinea with little influence from geography or language. The highest genetic division is between Papuan speakers of New Guinea versus East Papuan speakers located outside of mainland New Guinea. Our study supports the weak language barriers to genetic structuring among populations in close contact and highlights the complexity of understanding the genetic histories of Papua New Guinea in association with language and geography. Am J Phys Anthropol 142:613–624, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Fertility-related changes in maternal body composition among the Au of Papua New Guinea

Evolutionary theory predicts that organisms make trade-offs between their somatic and reproductive energy budgets. Thus every round of reproduction should result in a concomitant decline in the parents' total energy reserves. Among humans this prediction was corroborated more than 25 years ago when fertility-related nutritional depletion was reported among mothers in the Highlands of New Guinea (Jelliffe and Maddocks, 1964). More recently, however, a number of studies of fertility and maternal nutritional status in both developed and developing nations have reported fertility-related increases in various indices of adiposity and lean body mass. Such findings have called the so-called "maternal depletion syndrome" into question, and have raised serious doubts as to whether the phenomenon is widely generalizable to all populations. In light of this recent controversy, data are presented here on fertility-related changes in maternal adiposity and lean body mass among the Au, a lowland forager-horticulturalist population in Papua New Guinea. While both a short-term decline in adiposity following childbirth, and a long-term fertility-related decline are seen among more traditional Au, individuals with a regular source of wage-income show only the former. There are no significant changes in lean body mass with increasing fertility in either group. The finding of significant socioeconomic variation in the capacity to withstand the stress of repeated reproduction even within this one extremely rural area of Papua New Guinea may lend insight into why previous studies have been unable to find evidence of maternal depletion. The fertility-related decline in adiposity that is reported for the more traditional Au is consistent with the predictions of evolutionary theory.     

A new species of hagfish (Myxinidae: Eptatretus) from Papua New Guinea

A new species of seven‐gilled hagfish Eptatretus astrolabium (Myxinidae) is described from a 400 mm total length female trapped 1 km east from Planet Rock, Astrolabe Bay, Papua New Guinea, at c. 500 m depth. This is the first hagfish species reported from the waters around New Guinea. It can be distinguished from other hagfishes by a combination of characters including seven pairs of gill apertures, three‐cusp multicusps on the anterior and posterior rows of cusps, 10 posterior unicusps, 52 total cusps, 18–19 prebranchial pores, five branchial pores, 48–49 trunk pores, 83–84 total pores and no nasal‐sinus papillae.     

Intersterility between populations of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Lentinula edodes</Emphasis> from Papua New Guinea

Mating tests among strains of Lentinula edodes distributed in Asia-Australasia were conducted. As a result, 26 strains were classified into three groups: 2 strains from Mt. Wilhelm in Papua New Guinea (PN1 group) showed intersterility with 7 strains from Mt. Albert Edward and Mt. Kaisenik in Papua New Guinea (PN2 group) and semicompatibility (clamp formation restricted to contact zone between paired monokaryons) with 17 strains from Asia-Australasia (AA group), whereas the strains of the PN2 group showed compatibility with the AA group. These results suggest that the shiitake populations distributed in Asia-Australasia including Papua New Guinea are in the process of speciation. Contribution no. 391 from the Tottori Mycological Institute     

Population structure of Lankatrematoides gardneri (Digenea: Opisthotrematidae) in the pancreas of the dugong (Dugong dugon) (Mammalia: Sirenia).

The distribution among size and reproductive classes of the digenean Lankatrematoides gardneri was recorded from the pancreatic ducts of 41 dugongs from the Gulf of Papua, Papua New Guinea. Infrapopulation sizes ranged from 5 to 921 worms and showed no correlation with host age, sex, or month of capture. Immature worms tended to be concentrated in intermediate size classes, the largest immatures being no more numerous than matures. The mean proportion of mature worms in the 29 infrapopulations containing them was small (9.8%). Mature worms were significantly greater in mass than the largest immatures. There is evidence of an interaction between the presence or absence of mature worms and the distribution of immatures among classes.     

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency in Papua New Guinea

Summary A total of 362 males from various regions of Papua New Guinea were screened for red cell glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) activity. Twenty-six G6PD deficient individuals were identified. Biochemical characterization of G6PD purified from these subjects has revealed 13 new variants and several copies of previously described forms of G6PD. This study illustrates the extreme heterogeneity of G6PD deficiency among the people of Papua New Guinea.     

Evolutionary origins of taro (Colocasia esculenta) in Southeast Asia

As an ancient clonal root and leaf crop, taro (Colocasia esculenta, Araceae) is highly polymorphic with uncertain genetic and geographic origins. We explored chloroplast DNA diversity in cultivated and wild taros, and closely related wild taxa, and found cultivated taro to be polyphyletic, with tropical and temperate clades that appear to originate in Southeast Asia sensu lato. A third clade was found exclusively in wild populations from Southeast Asia to Australia and Papua New Guinea. Our findings do not support the hypothesis of taro domestication in Papua New Guinea, despite archaeological evidence for early use or cultivation there, and the presence of apparently natural wild populations in the region (Australia and Papua New Guinea).     

The Strongylophthalmyiidae (Diptera) of Papua New Guinea,with descriptions of five new species and a world checklist

Eight species of the Strongylophthalmyiidae are reported from Papua New Guinea. Of these, five species (Strongylophthalmyia gigantica sp. nov., S. papuana sp. nov., S. rubella sp. nov., S. sedlaceki sp. nov. and S. shatalkini sp. nov.) are described as new to science. Strongylophthalmyia puncticollis Frey is recorded for the first time from Papua New Guinea. Faunistic remarks, a key to the species of the Strongylophthalmyia in Papua New Guinea and a world checklist are provided.     

A possible role for rusa deer (Cervus timorensis russa) and wild pigs in spread of Trypanosoma evansi from Indonesia to Papua New Guinea

Movement of transmigrants and livestock from western Indonesia to southeastern areas of Irian Jaya near the border with Papua New Guinea may pose a risk of introducing Trypanosoma evansi into Papua New Guinea via feral Rusa deer (Cervus timorensis russa) and wild pigs which inhabit these areas in large numbers. Pilot experimental studies were conducted to observe infection in pigs and Rusa deer with a strain of T. evansi isolated in Indonesia. Parasitaemia and signs of clinical disease were monitored each second day for 120 days. Trypanosomes were observed in haematocrit tubes at the plasma-buffy coat interface of jugular blood of deer and pigs on 86% and 37% of sampling occasions respectively. Parasitaemia was at a high level in deer for 35% of the time but for only 11.5% of the time in pigs. Results indicate that both Rusa deer and pigs have a high tolerance for infection with T. evansi. The deer suffered mild anaemia evidenced by a 25% reduction in packed cell volume (PCV) 14 days after infection which coincided with the initial peak in parasitaemia. However, PCV had returned to pre infection values by the end of the experiment. The pigs showed no change in PCV. There were no visual indications of disease in either species and appetite was not noticeably affected. It was concluded that both Rusa deer and pigs were capable reservoir hosts for T. evansi but that Rusa deer, with their more persistent higher levels of parasitaemia, have more potential to spread T. evansi into Papua New Guinea from West Irian than pigs.     

Musaespora,a genus of pyrenocarpous lichens with campylidia,and other additions to the foliicolous lichen flora of New Guinea

Abstract: The new lichen genus Musaespora is described from Java and Papua New Guinea. It is the first known pyrenocarpous lichen genus with campylidia, and appears to belong to the Aspidotheliaceae. Three species are described, two foliicolous species from Papua New Guinea and one corticolous species from Java. In addition, a list is given of the foliicolous lichen flora of the site in Papua New Guinea, where the foliicolous Musaespora species have been found, two more new foliicolous species are described, Echinoplaca hispida and Sporopodium lucidum, and 19 species are recorded for the first time form Papua New Guinea.     

The Incorporated What Group: Ethnographic,Economic and Ideological Perspectives on Customary Land Ownership in Contemporary Papua New Guinea

Land law and economic development in Papua New Guinea, by David Lea and Timothy Curtin. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Newcastle, UK, 2011, 207pp. ISBN: 9-781443-826518.

The incorporated land group (ILG), created by the Land Group Incorporation Act (1974) in Papua New Guinea, was one of a number of results of the 1971 Committee of Inquiry into Land Matters that convened in Papua New Guinea just before Papua New Guinea independence in 1975. It allowed for the legal incorporation of customary land-holding groups and was designed to promote business and cash-earning opportunities in rural Papua New Guinea in the post-independence period of nation- and citizen-building.

In more recent times, the ILG however has been put under considerably more strain by being forced to acquire functions that were not envisioned by its architects in 1971—namely the receipt, distribution and investment of incomes from resource extraction projects. The ILGs set up by various resource projects (most significantly in the petroleum project areas of PNG) have all run into various and severe difficulties in meeting these requirements of resource income management and business development on a scale not ever anticipated in 1971. Using examples from Papua New Guinea's petroleum project area and elsewhere, I cast doubts on the capacities of contemporary indigenous landowning units to make incorporation work for them in the face of current organization and financial challenges.     

Altitude,language, and class I HLA allele frequencies in Papua New Guinea

Class I HLA gene frequencies show considerable variation over short geographical distances in Papua New Guinea. Hypotheses to account for this invoke natural selection, population structure, the pattern of population movement, or past demographic changes. To determine the role of the various factors in shaping this distribution, we have studied correlations between HLA-based genetic distances, geographical distances, altitude, and linguistic differences in Papua New Guinea. Linguistic differences at the family or stock level within the Trans-New Guinea Phylum generally correspond to genetic differences. However, on the basis of their HLA gene frequencies, speakers of Austronesian (AN) languages do not form a distinct group of populations. Linguistic variation and spatial autocorrelation do not fully account for the altitudinal cline differences noted in gene frequencies, particularly at the HLA-A locus. We propose that the distribution of HLA gene frequencies in Papua New Guinea is partially under the control of selection operating differentially along the altitude gradient. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Frequency of private electrophoretic variants and indirect estimates of mutation rate in Papua New Guinea.

Data on rare and private electrophoretic variants have been used to estimate mutation rates for populations belonging to 55 language groups in Papua New Guinea. Three different methods yield values of 1.42 x 10(-6), 1.40 x 10(-6), and 5.58 x 10(-6)/locus per generation. The estimates for three islands populations off the north coast of New Guinea--Manus, Karkar, and Siassi--are much lower. The variability in mutation rates estimated from rare electrophoretic variants as a function of population size is discussed. The mean mutation rate in Papua New Guinea is less than half the estimates obtained for Australian Aborigines and Amerindians.     

Three new Indo-Australian species of the sciaenid genusAtrobucca,with a reevaluation of generic limit

Three new species of the sciaenid genusAtrobucca are described:A. kyushini from off Borneo, differs from all known congeners in having no swimbladder appendages enveloplng the bladder, no forward directed branches from the ventral limbs of the appendages, a long tube-like last appendage parallel to the bladder wall and a pale mouth lining;A. brevis from off northern Australia and Papua New Guinea, is distinguished by its short pectoral fin (less than 23% SL) and pleural rib on the 11th vertebra;A. adusta from Papua New Guinea, is distinctive in having a low dorsal soft ray number (23–24) and long caudal peduncle (27–30% SL).Atrobucca Chu, Lo et Wu is redefined to accommodate the new species: the genus is principally characterized by the swimbladder appendages divided into developed dorsal and ventral limbs, and the only slightly curved sulcus tail of the sagitta. A key and diagnoses are provided for all known species ofAtrobucca.     

Reduced Y-chromosome,but not mitochondrial DNA,diversity in human populations from West New Guinea

To investigate the paternal population history of New Guinea, 183 individuals from 11 regional populations of West New Guinea (WNG) and 131 individuals from Papua New Guinea (PNG) were analyzed at 26 binary markers and seven short-tandem-repeat loci from the nonrecombining part of the human Y chromosome and were compared with 14 populations of eastern and southeastern Asia, Polynesia, and Australia. Y-chromosomal diversity was low in WNG compared with PNG and with most other populations from Asia/Oceania; a single haplogroup (M-M4) accounts for 75% of WNG Y chromosomes, and many WNG populations have just one Y haplogroup. Four Y-chromosomal lineages (haplogroups M-M4, C-M208, C-M38, and K-M230) account for 94% of WNG Y chromosomes and 78% of all Melanesian Y chromosomes and were identified to have most likely arisen in Melanesia. Haplogroup C-M208, which in WNG is restricted to the Dani and Lani, two linguistically closely related populations from the central and western highlands of WNG, was identified as the major Polynesian Y-chromosome lineage. A network analysis of associated Y-chromosomal short-tandem-repeat haplotypes suggests two distinct population expansions involving C-M208--one in New Guinea and one in Polynesia. The observed low levels of Y-chromosome diversity in WNG contrast with high levels of mtDNA diversity reported for the same populations. This most likely reflects extreme patrilocality and/or biased male reproductive success (polygyny). Our data further provide evidence for primarily female-mediated gene flow within the highlands of New Guinea but primarily male-mediated gene flow between highland and lowland/coastal regions.     

印尼新几内亚巴布亚省豕蛙属4新种(两栖纲:姬蛙科)(英文)

姬蛙科豕蛙属(Choerophryne)已知5种,几乎都分布于新几内亚岛东部地区,已有物种的描述多基于较少数量的标本,由于标本贫乏,迄今无 后续研究.本文针对采集于1998-2003年的50号标本,对该属进行了再研究,并描述了分布 于新几内亚岛的巴布亚西北地区鲜为人知的4新种.与同属已知物种比较,新种的有效性得 到来自形态、声谱以及分子数据的综合分析结果的支持.在新几内亚岛西部地区豕蛙属4新 种中,至少有3种的种群密度很高,从而极大增加了对该属的了解     

Allelic dimorphism in a surface antigen gene of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum

Merozoites of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum carry surface proteins processed from a precursor termed p190 or p195. Polymorphism has been reported in this protein. Since the protein is a candidate for a malaria vaccine, it is important to understand the nature of this polymorphism. We have determined the complete nucleotide sequence of the p190 gene from the MAD20 strain (a Papua New Guinea isolate). Comparisons of the gene with that from other strains of P. falciparum allowed us to study the genetic basis of the antigen's polymorphism. The gene consists of sequences distributed in variable blocks, which are separated by conserved or semi-conserved sequences. Variable sequences occur both in regions that code for tripeptide repeats and in regions with no apparent repeats. Interestingly, according to the present data, variable sequences are not widely polymorphic but fall into two distinct types. We argue that the p190 protein is encoded by dimorphic alleles capable of limited genetic exchange and present evidence at the nucleotide level documenting intragenic recombination in Plasmodium.