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"In a tree by the brook, there's a songbird who sings": Woodlands in an agricultural mateix maintain functionality of a wintering bird community.

Available Online

Goswami V R

Nam Sylem B L

Vsudev D

The agricultural matrix has increasingly been recognized for its potential to supplement Pro-tected Areas (PAs) in biodiversity conservation. This potential is highly contextual, depending on composition and spatial configuration of matrix elements and their mechanistic relationship with biological communities. We investigate the effects of local vegetation structure, and proximity to a PA on the site-use of different guilds in a wintering bird community within the PA, and in wooded land-use types in the surrounding matrix. We used occupancy models to estimate covariateguild relationships and predict site-use. We also compared species richness (estimated through capturerecapture models) and species naïve site-use between the PA and the matrix to evaluate taxonomic changes. We found that tree cover did not limit the site- use of most guilds of the community, probably due to high canopy cover across all chosen sites. Exceptions to this were guilds comprising generalist species. Shrub cover and bamboo cover had important effects on some woodland-ass ociated guilds, suggesting a change in limiting factors for site-use under adequate tree cover. Site-use across the matrix was high for all analyzed guilds. This was found to be due to three non-exclusive reasons: (i) presence of one or more ubiquitous species (found all across the landscape) within some guilds, (ii)redun-dancy of species within guilds that buffered against a decrease in site-use, and (iii) turn over in guild composition/abundances to more generalist species from PA to matrix. Estimated species richness was higher in the matrix (107 11; mean SE) than in the PA (90±7), which may have been in part due to the addition of generalist species in the matrix. Understanding factors that limit biological communities is crucial to better managing the ever-increasing matrix for biodiversity conservation. Our study provides insights into the effects of different components of vegetation structure on the bird community in wooded land-use types in the matrix. We highlight the value of woodlands surrounding PAs in maintaining multiple guilds, and hence, the functionality of a wintering bird community. However, we caution that the matrix may fall short in retaining some specialized species of the community.

Invasive ants as a biosecurity threat.

Available Online

Invasive ants are a diverse group of aggressive, competitive, dominating ant species that can rapidly establish and spread. Several ant species are amongst the most serious global invasive species. Their broad diets, nesting habits, ability to breed rapidly, high densitites and adaptibility to varied habitats make them excellent invaders. Agricultural economic, environmental and social wellbeing are threatened by these ants, many of which have been introduced to, and established in, many countries

Seabirds enhance coral reef productivity and functioning in the absence of invasive rats

Available Online

Carr, Peter.

Graham, Nicholas A. J.

Hoey, Andrew S.

Jennings, Simon.

MacNeil, M. Aaron

Wilson, Shaun K.

Biotic connectivity between ecosystems can provide major transport of organic matter and nutrients, influencing ecosystem structure and productivity, yet the implications are poorly understood owing to human disruptions of natural flows. When abundant, seabirds feeding in the open ocean transport large quantities of nutrients onto islands, enhancing the productivity of island fauna and flora. Whether leaching of these nutrients back into the sea influences the productivity, structure and functioning of adjacent coral reef ecosystems is not known. Here we address this question using a rare natural experiment in the Chagos Archipelago, in which some islands are rat-infested and others are rat-free. We found that seabird densities and nitrogen deposition rates are 760 and 251 times higher, respectively, on islands where humans have not introduced rats. Consequently, rat-free islands had substantially higher nitrogen stable isotope (?15N) values in soils and shrubs, reflecting pelagic nutrient sources. These higher values of ?15N were also apparent in macroalgae, filter-feeding sponges, turf algae and fish on adjacent coral reefs. Herbivorous damselfish on reefs adjacent to the rat-free islands grew faster, and fish communities had higher biomass across trophic feeding groups, with 48% greater overall biomass. Rates of two critical ecosystem functions, grazing and bioerosion, were 3.2 and 3.8 times higher, respectively, adjacent to rat-free islands. Collectively, these results reveal how rat introductions disrupt nutrient flows among pelagic, island and coral reef ecosystems. Thus, rat eradication on oceanic islands should be a high conservation priority as it is likely to benefit terrestrial ecosystems and enhance coral reef productivity and functioning by restoring seabird-derived nutrient subsidies from large areas of ocean.

uPOPs Prevention and Chemical Awareness: Considerations for Awareness-Raising Campaigns.

SPREP Publications, Waste Management and Pollution Control

Available Online

Richards E

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are a group of toxic chemicals that can travel long distances through air and water, and accumulate in the fatty tissues of humans and other animals. They do not degrade quickly over time, and as a consequence, potentially expose people to serious health issues including cancer, birth defects and immune system impairments. Due to these concerns, POPs are regulated by the Stockholm Convention on POPs, a global multilateral environmental agreement that requires Parties to take action to eliminate or restrict the production, use and environmental release of POPs. The Stockholm Convention (www.pops.int) entered into force on 17th May 2004, and it currently regulates 28 POPs, which can be classified into two categories...

Tuvalu National Action Plan to reduce releases of Unintentional Persistent Organic Pollutants 2018-2022

Waste Management and Pollution Control

Available Online

Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) are toxic chemicals that can travel long distances through air and water, and accumulate in the fatty tissues of humans and other animals. These POPs do not degrade quickly over time, and consequently, potentially expose people to serious health issues including cancer, birth defects and immune system impairments. As a result of anthropogenic releases of POPs to the environment since the 1940s, POPs are now widely distributed over large regions, including the Pacific Island

Biophysically special, unique marine areas of Fiji.

Available Online

Fiji is committed to, and is embarking upon, a process to significantly increase the number and coverage of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) within the country.

fiji

Marine bioregions of Fiji.

Available Online

Beger, M

Ceccarelli, D

Davey, K

Fernandes, L

Grice, H

Hughes, A

Jupiter, S

Kirmani, SN

LeGrand, J

Lewis, A

Mason, C

Raubani, J

Sullivan, J

Wendt, H

Yakub, N

Marine spatial planning is underway now, or starting, in many Pacific Island countries, including Fiji.

fiji

85th IFLA General Conference and Assembly. Athens, Greece.

Available Online

On behalf of the National Committee, it is a great pleasure to welcome you all to the 85th World Library and Information Congress of IFLA in Athens, Greece which will take place from August 24 to August 30, 2019.

Tonga Joint National Action Plan 2 on Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management 2018 - 2028.

Available Online

In 2010, Tonga developed its first Joint National Action Plan on Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Management (JNAP 1). This was a first for the Pacific Islands region.

A spatial overview of the global importance of indigenous lands for conservation.

Available Online

Austin, Beau

Brondizio, Eduardo S

Burgess, Neil D

Collier, Neil French

Duncan, Tom

Ellis, Erle

Fa, John E

Fernández-Llama, Álvaro

Garnett, Stephen T

Geyle, Hayley

Jackson, Micha V

Jonas, Harry

Leiper, Ian

Malmer, Pernilla

McGowan, Ben

Molnár, Zsolt

Robinson, Cathy J

Sivongxay, Amphone

Watson, James E. M

Zander, Kerstin K

Understanding the scale, location and nature conservation values of the lands over which Indigenous Peoples exercise traditional rights is central to implementation of several global conservation and climate agreements

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