This paper describes the channels known as hoa which are characteristic of atoll land rims and of some islands on barrier reefs, where they often dissect previously more continuous reef-top sediment accumulations and conglomerate platforms. They are
This report includes an introductory section on the geography and vegetation, and a main portion listing the species of vascular plants known to occur, or to have occurred, on the island, with detailed descriptions of those of which time permitted a careful study, and brief descriptions of the remaining native species. Those suspected to have been brought by Polynesians in pre-European time are also described and discussed in some detail.
Multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) are agreements
The Republic of the Marshall Islands requested a natural and cultural biodiversity survey of 6 northern atolls (Bok-ak, Pikaar, Toke, Wotto, Rondik, Adkup) and one reef island (Jemo) which was accomplished over 17 days in September 1988. This report covers the results of the survey of the reefs and corals during the expedition. Ninety-five marine sites were snorkeled and the shorelines of all island were surveyed during the
The Northern Line Islands consists of four atolls aligned on
an an axis which runs from south east to north west. The three southern islands Christmas (Kiritiraati), Fanning (Tabuaeran) and Washington (Teraina) have permanent populations and are part of the Republic of Kiribati. The fourth island, Palmyra, on the north end of the chain, is an unoccupied U.S. possession.
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Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 39 p.
A faunistic account of the terrestrial reptiles occurring
on islands and atolls of Eastern Polynesia is provided along with a description of their biogeographic characteristics. The distribution area of each species is presented in relation to frequencies of occurrence, maximum area of coverage, biology and limits of the present state of knowledge.
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Physical Description: 76 p.
The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) defines its "strategy for the integrated management of land, water and living resources that promotes conservation and sus-
tainable use in an equitable way" as the Ecosystem Approach to management. This use incorporates the concept of an area used by humans as well as one containing plants and animals in a recognisable configuration.
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Call Number: 333.75 SHE [EL]
ISBN/ISSN: 978-2-8317-0957-4
The Gilbert Islands are a part of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Crown Colony of Great Britain. They lie in the Pacific Ocean directly southeast of the Ilarshall Islands and are located between the parallels of g045' S. and 3'30' N. latitude, and the meridians of 1720301 E. and 177 15' E. longitude. All of the islands in this groui3 are low islands related to atolls. They are inhabited by Micronesian and Melanesian people who are greatly dependent on materials from the sea for food.
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Helen Reef in the Southwest Islands of Palau is the one of the greatest marine assets of the Hatohobei (Tobi) People and of the Republic of Palau. Helen Reef is known as one of the most biologically diverse coral reef atolls in the Pacific and historically one of the most biologically abundant reefs in Palau,including acclaimed populations of plentiful marine resources including, trochus, turtles, sea cucumbers, seabirds, and many large reef fish.
Reef coral collections from American Samoa are in the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., and in the Hessisches Landesmuseum, Darmstadt, W. Germany. The author has a collection of 790 coral specimens for a total of 1547 items known to be from American Samoa.
A total of 177 species (including 3 species of non-scleractinian corals) belonging to 48 genera and subgenera (including the genera Millepora and Heliopora) known to date are listed with data as of frequency of occurrence and habitat.
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Tuvalu, formerly the Ellice Islands of the Gilbert and Ellice
Islands until separation on 1 October 1975, is a particularly remote group of islands in the Central Pacific. There are nine islands, five of which are atolls and four reef-top islands on a reefal platform. The vegetation and flora of these islands have received little attention.
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Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 30 p.
Healthy marine resources require healthy, intact ecosystems. Marine and coastal ecosystems are highly productive and deliver various goods and services that support communities and economies, including food security, clean water, recreational
opportunities and other benefits. Effective area-based protection, through MPAs, helps maintain ecosystem health and productivity, while safeguarding social and economic
Mangroves are trees that live halfway between land and sea. This is what makes them special; as for most plants salt water is deadly. Mangroves are among the few trees that can grow in seawater and in places where the seawater mixes with the fresh water from the land.
In Samoa, most of the mangroves grow in areas protected by coral reefs. They are found in coastal areas, especially in river estuaries - the wide lower part of a river's lower end
where it meets the sea.
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Call Number: 375.00830095 FAA [EL]
The colonization of the lagoon by coral reef fish larvae was compared between two islands of French Polynesia, the atoll of Rangiroa and the high volcanic island of Moorea. In both cases the larval flux coming into the lagoon followed a daily cycle.
The islands of the southern Cook and Austral groups in
the South Pacific exhibit astonishing differences in geology
and topography, even between closely adjacent islands of
similar ages. Some are sea-level atolls, others have low
fringes of Pleistocene raised reefs, and others substantial
rims of elevated mid-Tertiary limestones, locally known as
makatea. On some islands the relief of the makatea is
subdued, but on others it is dominated by eroded volcanics,
sea-level swamps, and vertical limestone walls. Sixty years
Lilie de Tupai ou Motu~Iti (16°15S, 15l°50,W), lun des cinq atolls des lies de la Societe, est, apres Bellingshausen (souvent ecrit Belling- hausen) (15°45S, 154°33W), le plus au nord de cet archipel, a 280 km NNW de Papeete. C'est grace a l'amabilite de son proprietaire, Maltre Marcel Lejeune, et a l'interet qu'il porte aux travaux scientifiques que j'ai
All over the world Indigenous Peoples are affected by the impacts of climate change. They often live close to the land and depend on its physical resources and richness for their livelihoods and well-being. Their environments are increasingly threatened by, for example, desertification, sea level rise, extreme weather events, and changes in wildlife health, migration patterns and abundance. At the same time, there is evidence that some current attempts to tackle climate change may also have disastrous effects on indigenous groups and communities.
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Masayoshi Okabe visited the Palau and Yap Islands to study the local medicinal plants and diseases treated through their use. He made reports of his findings (1941a, 1943a) in Japanese. In this paper the authors present for the first time in the English language a published record of Okabe's findings.
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Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 26 p.
Coral atolls are natural laboratories within which to examine ecological processes (Sachet, 1967; Lee, 1984). They are often isolated, in some cases little disturbed, and have a geologically recent history of terrestrial plant colonisation. Reef islands around the rim of most atolls are Holocene in age. They are composed of biogenic skeletal sediments and have developed since reef growth caught up with sea level which stabilized after post-glacial sea-level rise. Plant colonisation of most of these islands must have occurred over a period of no more than 6000 years.
Interpretation of SEASAT geoid anomaly data and improved seafloor mapping of the
south-central Pacific suggest a complex tectonic history for the islands of the Pitcairn
group. While Oeno atoll formed at ~ 16m.y.BP at a 'hotspot' now south of the Easter micro-
plate, subsequent progressive island development at Henderson (13m.y.), Ducie (8m.y.)
and Crough seamount (4m.y.) resulted from the lateral leakage of magma from the Oeno
lineation along an old fracture zone, itself originating during the Tertiary reorientation