Rarotonga and Aitutaki form the summits of separate
volcanic masses rising from depths of 4000 m, at which depth
the cones are 45-55 km in diameter (Summerhayes and Kibblewh
1966, 1967).The lower slopes of the cones average 15-25
increasing to 30 in the upper 750 m and becoming very steep
the surface reef is approached. The Mauke-Aitutaki line of
islands is thought to be of early Tertiary age: the surface
volcanics are much eroded, with a subdued topography, or are
capped with limestones (Wood, 1967; Wood and Hay, 1970). On
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
Recent studies have shown that many coral reefs are capable of
yielding a total fish catch of 18- 24 T.Km-2 (Hill, 1978; Alcala,
1981; Munro, 1987). There are, however, no estimates for the
productivity and yield of fishes associated with coral reefs in
French Polynesia. This study was designed to determine the fisheries yield from a part of the fringing reef on the island of Moorea, French Polynesia.
Available online
Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 22 p.
Species-numbers relationships in the McKean Island assemblage
of reef-building corals were investigated to discover how they changed along environmental gradients of the reef. For the purposes of the study, two gradients were identified a complex depth gradient and a wave exposure gradient.
Available online
Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 42 p.
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.
Available online
The conservation status, ecology, and cultural importance of sea turtles at the three Polynesian atolls of Tokelau are presented. The green turtle, Chelonia mydas. is the most common species, occurring as a migrant breeder mostly during September through November. The hawks- bill, Eretmochelvs imbricata. is present in small numbers at all three atolls, but nesting is only known at Nukunonu Atoll. A third species, the loggerhead, Caretta caretta. has also been recorded on rare occasions.