Growth and breeding of a primitive stalked barnacle Leucolepas longa (Cirripedia: Scalpellomorpha: Eolepadidae: Neolepadinae) inhabiting a volcanic seamount off Papua New Guinea

A pedunculate barnacle, Leucolepas longa, occurs in densities over 1000 individuals m[minus sign]2 on the summit of a small seamount near New Ireland, Papua New Guinea. Most of the population grows on vesicomyid clams projecting from sulphide-rich sediments, or on their dead shells, but the barnacle also settles on rock and on tubes of a vestimentiferan. Collections of several hundred barnacles allowed comparison of population and reproductive characteristics. The barnacle is a suspension feeder with a lightly-armoured stalk that can grow to 40 cm above the bottom. Growth appears to be rapid and both reproduction and recruitment are continuous. The barnacles brood egg masses within the capitular chamber and 46% of one sample was brooding. Lecithotrophic nauplii released upon retrieval to the surface were cultivated for 45 days. Metamorphosis to Stage IV yielded an actively swimming larva about 1 mm long overall, which still contained lipid reserves, indicating capacity for wide dispersal

Structural and chemical characterization of corals grown under present day and naturally elevated pCO2 conditions in Papua New Guinea - a window into the future

Dissertação de mestrado, Biologia Marinha, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade do Algarve, 2015

Phylogeny, biogeography, and ecology of Ficus section Malvanthera (Moraceae)

We conducted the first molecular phylogenetic study of Ficus section Malvanthera (Moraceae; subgenus Urostigma) based on 32 Malvanthera accessions and seven outgroups representing other sections of Ficus subgenus Urostigma. We used DNA sequences from the nuclear ribosomal internal and external transcribed spacers (ITS and ETS), and the glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (G3pdh) region. Phylogenetic analysis using maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood and Bayesian methods recovered a monophyletic section Malvanthera to the exclusion of the rubber fig, Ficus elastica. The results of the phylogenetic analyses do not conform to any previously proposed taxonomic subdivision of the section and characters used for previous classification are homoplasious. Geographic distribution, however, is highly conserved and Melanesian Malvanthera are monophyletic. A new subdivision of section Malvanthera reflecting phylogenetic relationships is presented. Section Malvanthera likely diversified during a period of isolation in Australia and subsequently colonized New Guinea. Two Australian series are consistent with a pattern of dispersal out of rainforest habitat into drier habitats accompanied by a reduction in plant height during the transition from hemi-epiphytic trees to lithophytic trees and shrubs. In contradiction with a previous study of Pleistodontes phylogeny suggesting multiple changes in pollination behaviour, reconstruction of changes in pollination behaviour on Malvanthera, suggests only one or a few gains of active pollination within the section. (C) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The effect of the Madden-Julian Oscillation on station rainfall and river level in the Fly River system, Papua New Guinea

The Madden-Julian oscillation (MJO) is the dominant mode of intraseasonal variability in tropical rainfall on the large scale, but its signal is often obscured in individual station data, where effects are most directly felt at the local level. The Fly River system, Papua New Guinea, is one of the wettest regions on Earth and is at the heart of the MJO envelope. A 16 year time series of daily precipitation at 15 stations along the river system exhibits strong MJO modulation in rainfall. At each station, the difference in rainfall rate between active and suppressed MJO conditions is typically 40% of the station mean. The spread of rainfall between individual MJO events was small enough such that the rainfall distributions between wet and dry phases of the MJO were clearly separated at the catchment level. This implies that successful prediction of the large-scale MJO envelope will have a practical use for forecasting local rainfall. In the steep topography of the New Guinea Highlands, the mean and MJO signal in station precipitation is twice that in the satellite Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission 3B42HQ product, emphasizing the need for ground-truthing satellite-based precipitation measurements. A clear MJO signal is also present in the river level, which peaks simultaneously with MJO precipitation input in its upper reaches but lags the precipitation by approximately 18 days on the flood plains.

Disrupting assumptions about vernacular education in Papua New Guinea

During 1999 and 2000, the author was employed by the Papua New Guinea Department of Education. Part of her duties at the Papua New Guinea Education Institute was to deliver in-service professional development programs to teachers who were implementing the country’s new curriculum. A focus of this curriculum is the use of two languages in early education; it also responds to the notion of the “bridging years” when children in Papua New Guinea develop skills and knowledge in two cultures and two languages. In this article, the author casts a critical gaze on the implications of developing literacy technologies for oral languages in Papua New Guinea. She uses examples drawn from the in-service course she developed for practicing teachers, as well as referring to theoretical understandings of the importance of literacy practices being learned in social and cultural contexts.

The Left in Australia: time for a new renewal?

For the purpose of the article the author takes as a starting point the approach taken by the Italian writer, Norberto Bobbio, who identifies the Left with egalitarianism and distinguishes left leaning positions which support equality, from right wing ones which support inequality. Thus, in its broadest form, the term `Left' refers to ideas and philosophies, people, groups and political and social movements whose normative base is embedded in a commitment to an egalitarian society. However, the term 'equality,' like the term 'Left,' is not always straightforward.

Export-led growth hypothesis: evidence from Papua New Guinea and Fiji

Purpose - This paper aims to examine the export-led growth hypothesis for Fiji and Papua New Guinea (PNG).

Design/methodology/approach – The paper investigates the export-led growth hypothesis for Fiji and PNG who have been facing dismal economic growth performances over the last couple of decades.

Findings – Findings of the study suggest that for Fiji there is evidence of export-led growth in the long-run, while for PNG there is evidence of export-led growth in the short-run.

Originality/value – The findings of this paper have important messages for policy makers given that export sectors in both countries investigated are underdeveloped due mainly to a sustained period of political instability.

Examination of the "all hazards" approach to disaster management as applied to field disaster management and pre-hospital care in Australia

Disasters, emergencies, incidents, and major incidents - they all come back to the same thing regardless of what they are called. The common denominator is that there is loss of life, injury to people and animals and damage and destruction of property. The management of such events relies on four phases: 1. Prevention 2. Preparation 3. Response 4. Recovery Each of these phases is managed in a different way and often by different teams. Here, concentration has been given to phases 2 and 3, with particular emphasis on phase 3, Response. The words used to describe such events are often related to legislation. The terminology is detailed later. However, whatever the description, whenever prevention is not possible, or fails, then the need is to respond. Response is always better when the responders are prepared. Training is a major part of response preparation and this book is designed to assist those in the health industry who need to be ready when something happens. One of the training packages for responders is the Major Incident Medical Management and Support (MIMMS) Course and this work was designed to supplement the manual prepared by Hodgetts and Macway-Jones(87) in the UK. Included is what the health services responder, who may be sent to an event in which the main concern is trauma, should know. Concentration is on the initial response and does not deal in any detail with hospital reaction, the public health aspects, or the mental health support that provides psychological help to victims and responders, and which are also essential parts of disaster management. People, in times of disaster, have always been quick to offer assistance. It is now well recognised however, that the 'enthusiastic amateur', whilst being a well meaning volunteer, isn't always what is needed. All too often such people have made things worse and have sometimes ended up as victims themselves. There is a place now for volunteers and there probably always will be. The big difference is that these people must be well informed, well trained and well practiced if they are to be effective. Fortunately such people and organisations do exist. Without the work of the St John Ambulance, the State Emergency Service, the Rural Fire Service the Red Cross and the Volunteer Rescue Association, to mention only a few, our response to disasters would be far less effective. There is a strong history of individuals being available to help the community in times of crisis. Mostly these people were volunteers but there has also always been the need for a core of professional support. In the recent past, professional support mechanisms have been developed from lessons learned, particularly to situations that need a rapid and well organised response. As lessons are learned from an analysis of events, philosophy and methods have changed. Our present system is not perfect and perhaps never will be. The need for an 'all-hazards approach' makes detailed planning very difficult and so there will probably always be criticisms about the way an event was handled. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, provided we learn from it. That means that this text is certainly not the 'last word' and revisions as we learn from experience will be inevitable. Because the author works primarily in New South Wales, many of the explanations and examples are specific to that state. In Australia disaster response is a State, rather than a Commonwealth, responsibility and consequently, and inevitably, there are differences in management between the states and territories within Australia. With the influence of Emergency Management Australia, these differences are being reduced. This means that across state and territory boundaries, assistance is common and interstate teams can be deployed and assimilated into the response rapidly, safely, effectively and with minimum explanation. This text sets out to increase the understanding of what is required, what is in place and how the processes of response are managed. By way of introduction and background, examples are given of those situations that have occurred, or could happen. Man Made Disasters has been divided into two distinct sections. Those which are related to structures or transport and those related directly to people. The first section, Chapter 3, includes: • Transport accidents involving land, rail, sea or air vehicles. • Collapse of buildings for reasons other than earthquakes or storms. • Industrial accidents, including the release of hazardous substances and nuclear events. A second section dealing with the consequences of the direct actions of people is separated as Chapter 4, entitled 'People Disasters'. Included are: • Crowd incidents involving sports and entertainment venues. • Terrorism From Chapter 4 on, the emphasis is on the Response phase and deals with organisation and response techniques in detail. Finally there is a section on terminology and abbreviations. An appendix details a typical disaster pack content. War, the greatest of all man made disasters is not considered in this text.