Tahiti's native flora endangered by the invasion of Miconia calvescens DC. (Melastomataceae)

Abstract. The native flora of tropical oceanic islands is known to be particularly susceptible both to displacement and extinction, following the invasion of alien organisms. Miconia calvescens DC. (Melastomataceae), first introduced to Tahiti (French Polynesia, South Pacific Ocean) in 1937 as an ornamental plant, now covers over two-thirds of the Island. As it forms dense monotypic stands which have progressively overwhelmed the native forests, this plant pest is a direct threat to the rich Tahitian indigenous flora. Between 40 and 50 species of the 107 species endemic to Tahiti are thought to be on the verge of extinction. M. calvescens was finally declared a'noxious species in French Polynesia'in 1990. Without efficient control efforts and effective endangered plant conservation and protection legislation, M. calvescens could cause Tahiti and all the high islands of French Polynesia to become ecological deserts.     

Classical biological control of the glassy-winged sharpshooter,Homalodisca vitripennis,by the egg parasitoid Gonatocerus ashmeadi in the Society,Marquesas and Austral archipelagos of French Polynesia

The glassy-winged sharpshooter, Homalodisca vitripennis (Germar) (= H. coagulata [Say]) (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), was a major exotic pest in French Polynesia until a classical biological control program against this pest was conducted using the host-specific egg parasitoid Gonatocerus ashmeadi Girault (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae). After risk assessment studies indicated an acceptably low potential threat to non-target species, parasitoids were released on Tahiti in May 2005. One year after release, populations of H. vitripennis had decreased by more than 90% in Tahiti and nearby Moorea. Here we present results of impact studies obtained during the second post-release year for G. ashmeadi in Tahiti and Moorea; we also report for the first time on results for eight other H. vitripennis infested islands located in three different archipelagos (Society, Marquesas, and Austral) of French Polynesia. On all infested islands across the three archipelagos, arrival of G. ashmeadi slashed H. vitripennis densities by more than 95%. In Tahiti and Moorea, H. vitripennis populations were maintained at very low densities during the second post-release year. Seasonal fluctuations of H. vitripennis abundance were observed in Tahiti with pest populations being more abundant during the cooler dry season than during the warmer wet season because of lower parasitism rates. Hence, similar seasonal fluctuations of H. vitripennis abundance are expected across all infested archipelagos in French Polynesia.     

Engineering an invasion: classical biological control of the glassy-winged sharpshooter, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Homalodisca vitripennis</Emphasis>, by the egg parasitoid <Emphasis Type="Italic">Gonatocerus ashmeadi</Emphasis> in Tahiti and Moorea,French Polynesia

The glassy-winged sharpshooter, Homalodisca vitripennis Germar (=H. coagulata Say) (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), invaded Tahiti in 1999 and spread rapidly to the main island groups of French Polynesia becoming an important pest. It threatened agriculture, native biodiversity, and created serious social and recreational problems. Further, massive uncontrolled populations on Tahiti presented an elevated invasion threat to other South Pacific nations. In 2004, a classical biological control program against H. vitripennis was initiated in French Polynesia using the highly host-specific egg parasitoid Gonatocerus ashmeadi Girault (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae). After risk assessment studies indicated an acceptably low level of risk to non-target species, 13,786 parasitoids were released at 27 sites in Tahiti between May and October 2005. Here we present the results of G. ashmeadi and H. vitripennis population surveys during the first year of their interaction in French Polynesia (until mid-May 2006). The impact of G. ashmeadi on H. vitripennis was extremely rapid and high. Parasitism of H. vitripennis egg masses by G. ashmeadi has averaged 80–100% in Tahiti since the introduction of the parasitoid, and populations of H. vitripennis nymphs and adults have decreased by more than 90% since December 2005. Populations of H. vitripennis have been successfully maintained at this low level for more than 1 year. The same results were obtained in nearby Moorea where the parasitoid was probably spread by the unregulated transport of plants infested with parasitized H. vitripennis eggs. Population monitoring continues in order to determine if a stable equilibrium between the pest and the parasitoid has been reached.     

The scientific names in the German edition of Parkinson's plants of use for food, medicine etc., in Otaheite

Sydney Parkinson, aged 18, was Sir Joseph Banks' private assistant and artist on Captain Cook's first voyage around the world. Parkinson died on the voyage. Among his effects delivered to his brother Stanfield were drawings and notes which the latter published as a journal. Included in it is a chapter on the economic plants of Tahiti, and most of them are given scientific names, some of which were new. In 1941 Fosberg adopted two of them to form names which were new combinations under Artocarpus , and Inocarpus . The writer now indicates that Parkinson's names of 1773 were mononomials, hence invalid, but that in the German edition of 1774, edited by Herr "Z", the names are valid binomials. For the two plants mentioned, the authorship of the combinations is revised.     

Systematics of the extinct reed warblers Acrocephalus of the Society Islands of eastern Polynesia

In the Society archipelago (French Polynesia), Acrocephalus reed warblers are known only from four islands: Tahiti, Mo'orea, Huahine and Raiatea. All populations are now extinct except on Tahiti. Our knowledge of these birds is based on a small number of specimens preserved in museums, collected mostly during the 19th century. We present here a review of the past and present distribution, habitat and threats to the Society Islands reed warblers, including details on the specimens in museum collections. We compare the external morphology of the different populations, and use samples from museum specimens to propose a molecular phylogeny of all taxa based on partial cytochrome b gene sequences. The genetic data do not support the monophyly of the Society Islands reed warblers, which probably derived from three different lineages, found in Tahiti, Mo'orea and in the cluster Raiatea–Huahine. We outline the taxonomic consequences of this phylogeny. Our results support the hypothesis that evolutionary pattern, not distance between islands, shaped the long-distance colonization of oceanic islands by reed warblers.     

The Taste of Public Places: Terroir in Papua New Guinea's Emerging Nation

This paper considers the relationship between persons, land and food as seen in the sociality of public gatherings and gardening spaces. For Biangai speakers in the Upper Bulolo Valley of Morobe Province (Papua New Guinea), intimacies of place are often read through the work of tending to the land, the symbolic association of crops and people as well as rituals where male and female persons are made. By examining the intersection of taste and place in a public multi-language gathering, the paper offers a critical assessment of the French concept of le goût du terroir, or the taste of place, suggesting that tastes matter substantially in defining intergroup sociality. The paper reveals the significance of terroir for organising and strengthening group identity in Papua New Guinea, and its problematic extension to ideas of national foodviews. Ultimately, it is argued that such grounding informs how Biangai imagine the nation and its public places.     

The molecular basis of the plumage colour polymorphism in the Tahiti reed‐warbler Acrocephalus caffer

The endemic Tahiti reed‐warbler Acrocephalus caffer occurs in two distinct morphs, a typical or ‘yellow’ morph and a melanic or ‘dark’ morph, which are found together in the valleys of the eastern and central parts of the island of Tahiti (Society Islands, French Polynesia). We investigated the molecular basis of the plumage colour polymorphism in this species using sequences of the melanocortin‐1 receptor (MC1R), a gene often found associated to melanism in birds. We found that the MC1R genotype was perfectly associated with plumage colour in the Tahiti reed‐warbler, with the same nonsynonymous substitution that showed a correlation with phenotype in the Caribbean bananaquit Coereba flaveola. An heterozygous reed‐warbler at this site presented a melanic phenotype, suggesting that the melanic allele is dominant. All other Polynesian reed‐warbler species, which do not have a melanic morph, shared the ‘yellow’ nucleotide at this position. These results suggested that the same mutation point was linked to a melanic polymorphism in two unrelated passerine birds.     

Prehistoric inter-archipelago trading of Polynesian tree snails leaves a conservation legacy

Inter-archipelago exchange networks were an important aspect of prehistoric Polynesian societies. We report here a novel genetic characterization of a prehistoric exchange network involving an endemic Pacific island tree snail, Partula hyalina. It occurs in the Society (Tahiti only), Austral and Southern Cook Islands. Our genetic data, based on museum, captive and wild-caught samples, establish Tahiti as the source island. The source lineage is polymorphic in shell coloration and contains a second nominal species, the dark-shelled Partula clara, in addition to the white-shelled P. hyalina. Prehistoric inter-island introductions were non-random: they involved white-shelled snails only and were exclusively inter-archipelago in scope. Partulid shells were commonly used in regional Polynesian jewellery, and we propose that the white-shelled P. hyalina, originally restricted to Tahiti, had aesthetic value throughout these archipelagoes. Demand within the Society Islands could be best met by trading dead shells, but a low rate of inter-archipelago exchange may have prompted the establishment of multiple founder populations in the Australs and Southern Cooks. The alien carnivorous land snail Euglandina rosea has recently devastated populations of all 61 endemic species of Society Island partulid snails. Southern Cooks and Australs P. hyalina now represent the only unscathed wild populations remaining of this once spectacular land snail radiation.     

Impact of introduction of Bactrocera dorsalis (Diptera: Tephritidae) and classical biological control releases of Fopius arisanus (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) on economically important fruit flies in French Polynesia

Oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) (Diptera: Tephritidae), was discovered on Tahiti Island in July 1996. Eradication programs were conducted from 1997 to 2001, but failed. From 1998 to 2006, B. dorsalis was recovered from 29 different host fruit from the five Society Islands: Tahiti, Moorea, Raiatea, Tahaa, and Huahine. Analysis of coinfestation patterns by B. dorsalis, Bactrocera tryoni (Froggatt), and Bactrocera kirki (Froggatt) suggested B. dorsalis had displaced these two species and become the most abundant fruit fly in coastal areas. To suppress B. dorsalis populations, a classical biological control program was initiated to introduce the natural enemy Fopius arisanus (Sonan) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) into French Polynesia from Hawaii. Wasps were released and established on Tahiti, Moorea, Raiatea, Tahaa, and Huahine Islands. In guava, Psidium guajava L., collections for Tahiti, F. arisanus parasitism of fruit flies was 2.1, 31.8, 37.5, and 51.9% for fruit collected for 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006, respectively. Based on guava collections in 2002 (before releases) and 2006 (after releases), there was a subsequent decrease in numbers of B. dorsalis, B. tryoni, and B. kirki fruit flies emerging (per kilogram of fruit) by 75.6, 79.3, and 97.9%, respectively. These increases in F. arisanus parasitism and decreases in infestation were similar for other host fruit. Establishment of F. arisanus is the most successful example of classical biological control of fruit flies in the Pacific area outside of Hawaii and serves as a model for introduction into South America, Africa, and China where species of the B. dorsalis complex are established.     

Observations on the Reproductive Biology of Miconia calvescens DC (Melastomataceae), an Alien Invasive Tree on the Island of Tahiti (South Pacific Ocean)1

Miconia calvescens DC (Melastomataceae) is a dominant invasive species in the tropical oceanic island of Tahiti (French Polynesia, South Pacific Ocean), where it was introduced as an ornamental plant. Whereas this small tree is sparse in its native range of Central America, it has spread in Tahiti into a wide variety of habitats including native wet forests. The remarkable success of this invasion is due in great part to prolific reproduction: a mature tree can bear up to 220 inflorescences with an average of 1330 flowers/inflorescence, 208 fruits/infructescence and 195 seeds/fruit. Two and a half years of phenological observations in a highly invaded site indicated that three major peaks of flowering occur/year over brief periods: flower anthesis lasted a few days and pollen grain germination suggested a short stigmatic receptivity of only a few hours; no pollinators were observed foraging on flowers during our survey; the production of fruits containing viable seeds in bagged inflorescences showed that self-fertilization can occur; pollen-ovule ratio (log P/O = 2.68) suggested facultative xenogamy; bagged isolated flowers to test for autogamy and style cutting to learn whether apomixis occured or not were not conclusive. The flowering phenology and the breeding system of M. calvescens enable this plant to build up rapidly successful populations from even a single propagule on the island of Tahiti and on other sites of introduction. The vegetation structure of Polynesian native forests compared to Neotropical rain forests probably plays an important role in determining the reproductive success of M. calvescens and could provide a complementary explanation of the biological invasion processes in tropical oceanic islands.     

Photographing Spirits: Biangai Photography,Ancestors, and the Environment in Morobe Province,Papua New Guinea

In this article, I examine the intertwined meaning of photographs as image, object, and expression of the relationship created between photographer and subject among the Biangai, a people of Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea. These relations are highlighted through the method of indigenous photography, in which photographic authority is relinquished and the resulting images are discussed. It is argued that the camera becomes the lens through which the past interrogates the present, and the photograph as object and image circulates in networks for which these ancestral persons remain powerful and emotive.     

A new photobioreactor for continuous microalgal production in hatcheries based on external-loop airlift and swirling flow

This study deals with the scale of a new photobioreactor for continuous microalgal production in hatcheries. The combination of the state-of-art with the constraints inherent to hatcheries has turned the design into a closed, artificially illuminated and external-loop airlift configuration based on a succession of elementary modules, each one being composed of two transparent vertical interconnected columns. The liquid circulation is ensured pneumatically (air injections) with respect to a swirling motion (tangential inlets). A single module of the whole photobioreactor was built-up to scale its geometry (diameter and length) and to optimize its design (air sparger, tangential inlets). The volumetric productivities were predicted by modeling radiative transfer and growth of Isochrysis affinis galbana (clone Tahiti). The hydrodynamics of the liquid phase was modeled in terms of global flow behavior (circulation and mixing times, Péclet number) and of swirling motion decay along the column (Particle Image Velocimetry). The aeration performances were determined by overall volumetric mass transfer measurements. Continuous cultures of Isochrysis affinis galbana (clone Tahiti) were run in two geometrical configurations, generating either an axial or a swirling flow. Lastly, the definitive options of design are presented as well as a 120-L prototype, currently implemented in a French mollusk hatchery and commercialized.     

Myth, Experiment, and the Reinvention of Polynesian Voyaging

Experimental canoe voyages between Hawai'i, Tahiti, and Aotearoa (New Zealand) indicate that proponents of the "mythical" view of voyaging traditions cannot casually dismiss their historical basis because they believe it impossible for canoes navigated without instruments to have been intentionally sailed over such long distances. Furthermore, the key role of Hawaiians in this reinvention of Polynesian voyaging, and in particular their efforts to extend the sailing and navigational trials far beyond the original experimental plan, point toward a more Polynesian interpretation of voyaging traditions than one developed solely through Western analytical approaches.     

Moral Horizons of Land and Place

ABSTRACT

A recent ‘moral turn’ in anthropology has cast new light on morality as a subject of ethnographic inquiry, and on the making of moral meaning and judgment. This article, and the special issue it prefaces, contribute to this emergent literature through foregrounding and examining the moral dimensions of land and place. Taking up Didier Fassin’s injunction for a critical moral anthropology – rather than an anthropology of morality – we look to land and place as groundings for moral challenges and practices that are nevertheless not place-bound. A critical moral anthropology of land and place should be directed, we argue, to the interplay of mobility and emplacement, to the dynamics of landscape and ‘dwelling’, and to the multiplicities of expectation and meaning that surround the making and exploitation of resources. In contexts of global and local change, land and place offer productive grounds from which to consider the moral horizons – both spatial and temporal – of our world and our discipline.     

Globality and Constructions of World Health

Explorations of the social construction of health and illness reveal that popular and professional discourses on health and disease implicitly contain underlying images of how societies can or should be structured. Globality, which is a notion that refers to the consciousness of the world as a single place, suggests that these images of world structure are now salient. This article describes four current discourses of "world health" and discusses them in terms of their underlying ideal images of world order. The four images of the world are defined in terms of four elemental points of reference: individuals, societies, the system of societies, and humankind. These ideal images have either a gemeinschaft (community) or gesellschaft (society) orientation. An anthropology of globality can refine and extend our understandings of discourses of world health. Sensitivity to these discourses and their world-oriented ideological roots should help to demystify the notion of world health. [world health, globality, global culture]     

Effects of landscape changes on mammalian assemblages at Izta-Popo Volcanoes, Mexico

Rapid habitat transformation calls for efficient methods to lead conservation efforts. For this reason, landscape analysis is becoming a major issue in biodiversity conservation. In Mexico, as in many parts of the world, management strategies are scarce so that biodiversity depletion processes continue. This is the case on the Izta-Popo volcanoes, which harbour over 10% of the total Mexican mammalian species within ca. 0.02% of the surface of Mexico. The present paper aims at assessing the effect of landscape dynamics on mammalian assemblages through a RS/GIS modelling approach. A database including all mammalian species recorded in the region from 1839 up to 1997 was compiled. The records, at genus level, were linked to land cover classes obtained from TM Landsat satellite images taken in 1986 and 1997. Land cover and habitat changes were analysed through a statistical analysis by crossing land cover maps of 1986 and 1997 which were transformed into habitat richness types. Major changes from high to medium and medium to low habitat richness classes prevail in the area. This reduces the resilience of the natural landscapes and increases the threats for most mammalian species. From a landscape ecological perspective, the present paper demonstrates the importance of the area as a unique mosaic of mammalian assemblages.     

Successful spread of a biocontrol agent reveals a biosecurity failure: elucidating long distance invasion pathways for <Emphasis Type="Italic">Gonatocerus ashmeadi</Emphasis> in French Polynesia

Invasive species are generally detected in new ecosystems long after their first arrival, making it difficult to elucidate pathways leading to successful invasion. In this study, the dispersal of a classical biological control agent, the mymarid egg parasitoid Gonatocerus ashmeadi, was monitored across ten islands in three major island groups in French Polynesia from the exact moment of its introduction into Tahiti to combat the invasive pest Homalodisca vitripennis. Within 10 months, the parasitoid spread quickly from Tahiti to widely separated islands (up to 1,400 km from Tahiti); presumably through the transportation of plant material containing parasitized H. vitripennis eggs. Gonatocerus ashmeadi thus functioned as a “biomarker”, providing an informal audit of the effectiveness of inter-island quarantine measures designed to curb the accidental spread of noxious organisms. Survey results suggest that invasive organisms, like deliberately released biological control agents, can be unintentionally and rapidly transmitted across vast distances by humans. Furthermore, even remote islands appear to experience relentless pressure from invasive propagules associated with human travel. Implications of survey work documenting the spread and impact of G. ashmeadi are discussed within the context of biological control programs, non-target impacts, and biosecurity initiatives. Handling Editor: Dirk Babendreier.     

Beyond the edges of a view: boundary extension in human scene-selective visual cortex

To allow perception of a continuous world, cortical mechanisms extrapolate missing information with highly constrained predictions about the environment just beyond the edges of a view. Here, we report functional magnetic resonance imaging evidence for extrapolation of scene layout information beyond what was physically presented, an illusion known as boundary extension. Consistent with behavioral reports, we observed boundary extension for scene-selective attenuation in the parahippocampal place area (PPA) and retrosplenial cortex (RSC), but no such extrapolation of object representations in the lateral occipital complex (LOC). These results demonstrate that scene layout representations are extrapolated beyond the confines of the perceptual input. Such extrapolation may facilitate perception of a continuous world from discontinuous views.     

An invasive tree alters the structure of seed dispersal networks between birds and plants in French Polynesia

Aim We studied how the abundance of the highly invasive fruit‐bearing tree Miconia calvescens DC. influences seed dispersal networks and the foraging patterns of three avian frugivores. Location Tahiti and Moorea, French Polynesia. Methods Our study was conducted at six sites which vary in the abundance of M. calvescens. We used dietary data from three frugivores (two introduced, one endemic) to determine whether patterns of fruit consumption are related to invasive tree abundance. We constructed seed dispersal networks for each island to evaluate how patterns of interaction between frugivores and plants shift at highly invaded sites. Results Two frugivores increased consumption of M. calvescens fruit at highly invaded sites and decreased consumption of other dietary items. The endemic fruit dove, Ptilinopus purpuratus, consumed more native fruit than either of the two introduced frugivores (the red‐vented bulbul, Pycnonotus cafer, and the silvereye, Zosterops lateralis), and introduced frugivores showed a low potential to act as dispersers of native plants. Network patterns on the highly invaded island of Tahiti were dominated by introduced plants and birds, which were responsible for the majority of plant–frugivore interactions. Main conclusions Shifts in the diet of introduced birds, coupled with reduced populations of endemic frugivores, caused differences in properties of the seed dispersal network on the island of Tahiti compared to the less invaded island of Moorea. These results demonstrate that the presence of invasive fruit‐bearing plants and introduced frugivores can alter seed dispersal networks, and that the patterns of alteration depend both on the frugivore community and on the relative abundance of available fruit.     

Quantifying the potential of restored natural capital to alleviate poverty and help conserve nature: A case study from South Africa

Poverty and environmental degradation seem to be endemic in many of the former homeland territories of South Africa. The political legacy of Apartheid might have ceased, but the economic and environmental consequences thereof still have to be dealt with. In one interesting case such a poverty-stricken and environmentally degraded area (Bushbuckridge) lies adjacent to a world conservation icon, the Kruger National Park. Currently, however, the community of Bushbuckridge does not enjoy much benefit from this unique geographic location. On the contrary there seems to be increasing tension between the community in their quest for survival and the national park as a conservation enclave. This tension will not disappear automatically. The situation needs to be managed. It is proposed here that by broadening the conservation corridor through land restoration and by incorporating the Bushbuckridge communal land as an IUCN Category VI protected area (a protected area within which sustainable resource harvesting by communities is permitted) into the Kruger National Park and under the provision that the community remains the land owner, the conservation initiative could benefit the community as much as by a factor of four. For this to be successful a proper managerial and institutional system will have to be in place, including a system that will allow the trade in ecosystem goods and services.