Cheloniid turtles are characterised by a complicated life history: their eggs are laid on warm beaches; hatchling sex is determined temperature dependent sex determination during
embryonic development; lack of parental care; hatchlings are imprinted to the natal area; hatchlings disperse to feed on plankton in the pelagic environments followed by inshore
recruitment to feed on benthic organisms; immature turtles have slow growth and delayed maturation; adults migrate to breed in their respective natal area; they lay multiple clutches in
This report is the project preparation document (PPD) for the S.P.B.C.P. It revises the draft PPD prepared in July 1994 The object of the project is to assist the landowners to protect the biodiversity values of the Big Bay Forests,on the island of Santo, and to generate income by forming enterprises which enable the forest to be protected. The concept is for the Environment Unit to form a partnership with the landowners and village residents to provide technical support, training and funding assistance to assist them to develop a land use plan to protect their forest as a C.A.
Williamson and Sabath (1982) have demonstrated a significant relationship between modern population size and environment by examining atoll area and rainfall in the Marshall Islands. The present work seeks to extend that argument into prehistory by examining the relationship of ancient habitation sites and size of aroid pit agricultural systems to atoll land area and rainfall regime along the 1,500-3,500 mm precipitation gradient in the Marshall Islands.
Henderson island, a World Heritage Site in the Pitcairn group, south-central Pacific Ocean, has often been thought to have a pristine vegetation. Our archaeological investigations and field observations in 1991-1992, supported by recent observations in
1997, suggest the occurrence of former areas of Polynesian cultivation near to the North and East Beaches, and indicate that about 17 non-native vascular plant taxa have occurred.
French Polynesian Decapoda, restricted to shrimps, and Stomatopuda are inventoried from literature and unpublished fields collections. Number of species is 205 for the shrimps and 26 for the Stomatopoda. Within the shrimps, Caridea dominate with 170 species, mainly Alpheidae (57 species), Palaemonidae (46 species), and Pandalidae (29 species). Full literature and distribution in French Polynesia are indicated for each species.
The study of dispersal processes of small mammals, and especially of rodents, has a wide range of applications and until recent years there were few publications discussing the
colonisation of 'oceanic' islands by small mammals (cf. Crowell, 1986; Diamond, 1987; Hanski, 1986;Heany, 1986; Lomolino, 1986).
What are the decapod crustacea known from French Polynesia? The answer to this, apparently simple question, would be very helpful for determinating the species collected during ecological studies. Moreover, from a biogeographical point of view, a check list of the species reaching this area, at the eastern limit of the Indo-West Pacific province, would be very interesting.