American Samoa is a group of oceanic islands, which lie about 3,680 km southwest of Hawaiíi and about 2,560 km from the northern tip of New Zealand. It is situated along 14 degrees latitude south of the equator. Its immediate neighbor is Samoa (formerly known as Western Samoa), an independent state 128 km to the west. The total land area of American Samoa is about 200 square kilometers, which is shared by five main islands, namely Tutuila, Tau, Ofu, Olosega, and Aunuu.
The biodiversity of the Pacific region is recognised as being globally significant. The Solomon Islands was recently included into the famous "Coral Triangle", the area of ocean considered to have the highest marine biodiversity in the world. This includes the waters of the Philippines, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. The Solomon Islands Rainforest Ecoregion is recognised as "one of the world's great Centres of Plant Diversity"
This is a continuation of the survey of islands in Micronesia and American Samoa for invasive plant species requested by the Pacific Islands Committee. Council of Western State Foresters. A
survey of other Micronesian islands was conducted in 1998 and was discussed in a previous report2. This report summarizes a survey of the island of Rota. Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands, on 5 April 2000. The objectives, as with the previous survey. were three-fold: (1) To identify plant species on the island that are presently causing problems to natural and
The Government of the Cook Islands requested assistance from the US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry, to conduct a survey of invasive
plant species of environmental concern, similar to surveys previously conducted in Micronesia, American Samoa, Nine, Samoa and Tonga. The survey was carried out from 11 March through
This is a continuation of the survey of islands in Micronesia and American Samoa for invasive plant species requested by the Pacific Islands Committee, Council of Western State Foresters. A
survey of other Micronesian islands was conducted in 1998 and was discussed in a previous report". This report is based on a survey of several islands of Chuuk, Federated States of Micronesia, from 30 March to 4 April 2000. The objectives, as with the previous survey, were three-fold: (1) To identify plant species on the islands that are presently causing problems to
As requested by the Pacific Islands Committee, Council of Western State Foresters, we conducted a survey of selected Micronesian islands for invasive plant species. The objectives were three-fold: (1) To identify species on the islands that are presently causing problems: (2) to identify species that,
On January 6, 2004, the full force of Cyclone Heta, a category 5 cyclone, hit the island of Niue. In addition to the loss of life and property, serious damage was done to the forests and
other ecosystems of the island, particularly on the north and west sides. If not blown over, most trees and other large vegetation were stripped of leaves and branches and subjected to
The Republic of Palau requested assistance from the US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry, to conduct a survey of invasive plant species of environmental concern. A less comprehensive survey was conducted as part of a general survey of the major Micronesian islands in 19982. Similar surveys have been conducted in American
The objectives of the survey were to: (1) identify plant species presently causing problems to natural and semi-natural ecosystems; (2) identify species that, even though they are not
presently a major problem, could spread more widely or are known to be problem species elsewhere; (3) confirm the absence of species that are a problem elsewhere and, if introduced
to Samoa, could be a threat there; and (4) make appropriate recommendations.
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Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 80 p. ; 29 cm
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.
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).
The Tokelau Islands consist of three atolls (Atafu, Nukunonu and Fakaofo) approximately 500 km north of Western Samoa. Their numerous islets are formed mainly of coral sand and rubble with no standing freshwater. Sixty-one plant species have been recorded, 13 of these being introduced and 10 being adventives. There are three vegetation zones, the beach, the beach-crest, and the interior coconut/fern zone with the physiognomy of a humid tropical forest. Marine invertebrates have not been studied.
At the time of the POBSP visit, cats (Felis domestica), dogs
Fondee en 1948, lUnion internationale pour la conservation de la nature rassemble des Etats, des organismes gouvernementaux et un large eventail dorganisations non gouvernementales au sein dune alliance unique : plus de 1000 membres dans 147 pays. LUICN regroupe egalement un reseau de plus de 10 000 experts benevoles qui apportent leurs connaissances a travers six commissions specialisees. Le secretariat de lUICN est compose dun siege mondial en Suisse et de 62 bureaux regionaux et nationaux.
Available online|In French language
In June/July 2002 an eradication programme to remove Pacific rats from Maninita Island in the Vava'u group of the Kingdom of Tonga was initiated. The techniques used were similar to those
used in successful rat eradications in New Zealand, in that Pestoff 20R pellets and a network of bait stations were used.
Conditions on the island were not what was expected, the forest having been adversely affected by cyclone Waka and subsequent defoliation by caterpillars, resulting in an open forest canopy. Rats were found to be present on the island in high numbers and were breeding.
In June/July 2002 the eradication of Pacific rats from Maninita Island in the Vava'u group of the Kingdom of Tonga was attempted using Brodifacoum pellets in bait stations. In December 2002, Maninita was revisited and rat trapping carried out to determine if rats were present. While no rats were caught and none were seen, further monitoring in June 2003 is recommended before the island is declared "rat free '.
Work is based around country visits by the network coordinator to support PILN teams to identify and take strategic action to manage their priority invasive species. The network is functioning by sharing awareness of successful activities being earned out by the teams, providing the mechanism for other teams to do the same, and actively encouraging them to do so.
Capacity building is linked to on-going invasive species projects and achieved through workshops and exchanges.
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Call Number: [EL]
The Pacific Invasives Initiative (PII) is a sister partnership based at Auckland University which shares 6 partners with PILN. The goal of the PII is to contribute to conserving island biodiversity and enhancing the sustainability of island livelihoods by minimizing the spread and impacts of invasive species in the Pacific region. This is achieved by increasing support and developing capacity in the region for managing the impacts of these species.