Christmas island3, the largest atoll in the world in terms of
At the time of the POBSP visit, cats (Felis domestica), dogs
Although the atoll was discovered in 1796 and claimed by the United States in 1858, it was uninhabited except for brief visits by guano miners, adventurers, government scientists and military personnel until 1936, when the U.S. Navy began developing first a seaplane base and later an airstrip and refueling facilities which served as an important link from
the Hawaiian Islands to the western Pacific during World War II.
Available online
Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 502 p.
As of 1969, the scientific community had no general information on the natural history of Namoluk Atoll in the Eastern Caroline Islands of Micronesia. The only significant published source for the atoll was an ethnographic and linguistic account provided by the German physician.
It has been over twenty years since UNCLOS came into existence and twelve years since it came into force, in addition to fourteen years since the historic "Earth Summit" was convened in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, yet the Pacific Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are finding it extremely difficult to deal with many cross-cutting and multiple issues relating to ocean management. The challenge for the Pacific SIDS is clear, successive international, regional and national initiatives
Conservation biology involves protection and management of biodiversity (Metfe and Carroll 1994). This integrated discipline requires both an understanding of an ecosystem and its associated threats, as well as an understanding of the management of the system as a resource. In order to
develop management techniques that can limit resource degradation, we need a clear understanding of the role of threats to the resources. The focus of this dissertation is assessing threats to resources, using coral reefs as a model
system.
Interface habitats, areas where aquatic and terrestrial habitats intersect, play important functional roles. Interface habitats mediate the exchange of resources (e.g.. energy,
nutrients, water), alter abiotic gradients (e.g.. temperature, salinity, pH. sedimentation, nutrients), insulate abutting habitats from disturbances, and serve as critical habitat in
This report lias been prepared on behalf of the Environment Service, Cook Islands as part of an ongoing monitoring programme of reef health of the fringing reef of Rarotonga. The
initial work was earned out in 2000 and this is the first subsequent sampling and report since that baseline study.
Available online|Report for the Environment Service, Tu'anga Taporoporo, Cook Islands
Call Number: EL]
Physical Description: 21 p.
Millions of visitors to public aquariums and thousands of snorkelers and divers across the globe are amazed by the diversity of life on coral reefs. Looking to replicate
this marine wonderland, an increasing number of them have
created a "living aquarium" at home, unaware of the impact this
is having on species and the lives of people in far-flung regions.
Available online
Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 1 Page
This report presents results from the Supplementary Livelihoods Options for Pacific Island Communities (SLOPIC) study, carried out by the Foundation of the Peoples of the South Pacific
International (FSPI) using New Zealand Aid (NZAid) core
funds.
The main aim of this study was to review supplementary livelihood (SL) projects that have taken place across the South Pacific over the past 5 to 10 years, with a view to extracting 'lessons learned' and identifying the determinants of success.
Draft available online|Final copy is hard copy kept at 333.7 GAR|3 copies
During participation in part of the Fairbridge Expedition
to New Guinea, February to May, 1969, I had opportunity to visit 17 islands and cays east of the New Guinea mainland for sufficient time to assemble reasonably complete collections oi their terrestrial reptilian fauna. The purpose of this paper is to present the results of that survey. Fairbridge (1971 ) has previously published a brief report on the expedition and. a more detailed one is in preparation.
Available online
Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 41 p.
Tongatapu, like Tahiti, was visited by many early
European navigators and was one of the first of the South
Pacific islands to be charted in any detail. Though it was
discovered (and named Amsterdam Island) by Tasman in
January 1643 (Sharp 1968, 152-158), the first comments on
the sand cays of the surrounding reefs were made by Cook
during his second voyage, with the Resolution and Adventure,
in October 1773. On this occasion Cook spent less than a
week at Tongatapu, anchored in the northwest, and commented
MANY VILLAGERS IN THE ISLAND nation of Fiji earn cash by
planting sugar cane. But residents of Tagaqe are growing some-
thing different: live rock. Not the loud music variety, but a critical component in saltwater aquaria. When villagers suspend porous rocks in the rich waters of the Fijian reef, the rocks arc colonized by living invertebrates and coralline algae. After just eight months, the rocks can be harvested and sold as cultured live rock to aquarium markets around the globe.
Available online
Call Number: [EL]
The International Coral Reef Action Network (ICRAN), established in the year 2000, is a collaborative effort working to halt and reverse the decline in health of the world's coral reefs. ICRAN was established by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), WorldFish Center (formerly ICLARM), World Resources Institute (WRI), UNEP-World Conservation Monitoring Center (UNEP-WCMC), Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN), International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) Secretariat, Coral Reef Alliance (CORAL) and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP).
A great deal of deep-sea biodiversity is concentrated around features known as seamounts. Seamounts are like underwater islands - mountains that rise 1,000 meters or higher from the seabed but do not break the ocean surface. Although they have not been comprehensively mapped, it is estimated that there may be more than 100,000 seamounts worldwide. Almost half of these are believed to lie in the Pacific Ocean. To date, less than one percent of known seamounts have been comprehensively studied. The largest mountain range on planet Earth is beneath the ocean the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
Almost half a billion people live within 100 km (60 miles) of coral reefs where they benefit from fisheries, wave and storm surge protection, and tourist income. With the worldwide coastal
population expected to double by 2050, coral reefs will be facing increased pressure from unmanaged development along coasts. Unplanned coastal developed is not only a serious threat
Coral reefs are vital ecosystems, providing a source of income, food arid coastal protection for millions of people; arid recent studies have shown that coral reef goods and services provide an annual net benefit of US$30 billion to economies worldwide
Scientists have identified an area called the Coral Triangle within the Indo-Pacific - its boundaries defined by marine zones containing 500 or more species of reef-building coral. This region covers all or part of six countries: Indonesia (Central and Eastern), Malaysia (Sabah), Papua New Guinea, Philippines,
Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste. Certain neighboring countries including Australia, Fiji, New Caledonia and Vanuatu - contain rich coral biodiversity, but with somewhat lower numbers.
Available online
Call Number: [EL]
The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is one of the global conventions on environmental conservation that came out of the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. By signing and ratifying the CBD, countries have agreed to support its goals and aims. The three main objectives of the CBD are the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components, and the fair
In most tropical countries, coral reef ecosystems provide coastal populations with a number of goods and services. However, a variety of anthropogenic practices threatens reef health and therefore jeopardizes the benefits flowing from these goods and services. These threats range from local pollution, sedimentation, destructive fishing practices and coral mining, to global issues such as coral bleaching.