Prehistoric birds from New Ireland, Papua New Guinea: Extinctions on a large Melanesian island

At least 50 species of birds are represented in 241 bird bones from five late Pleistocene and Holocene archaeological sites on New Ireland (Bismarck Archipelago, Papua New Guinea). The bones include only two of seabirds and none of migrant shorebirds or introduced species. Of the 50 species, at least 12 (petrel, hawk, megapode, quail, four rails, cockatoo, two owls, and crow) are not part of the current avifauna and have not been recorded previously from New Ireland. Larger samples of bones undoubtedly would indicate more extirpated species and refine the chronology of extinction. Humans have lived on New Ireland for ca. 35,000 years, whereas most of the identified bones are 15,000 to 6,000 years old. It is suspected that most or all of New Ireland’s avian extinction was anthropogenic, but this suspicion remains undetermined. Our data show that significant prehistoric losses of birds, which are well documented on Pacific islands more remote than New Ireland, occurred also on large, high, mostly forested islands close to New Guinea.

Abundance estimates for landbirds and seabirds extracted and compiled from annual reports of the Skokholm bird observatory

Long-term ecological data are essential for conservation and to monitor and evaluate the effects of environmental change. Bird populations have been routinely assessed on islands off the British coast for many years and here long term data for one such island, Skokholm, is evaluated for robustness in the light of some 20 changes in observers (wardens) on the island over nearly eight decades. It was found that the dataset was robust when compared to bootstrap data with no species showing significant changes in abundance in years when wardens changed. It is concluded that the breeding bird populations on Skokholm and other British offshore islands are an important scientific resource and that protocols should be enacted to ensure the archiving of records, the continuance of data collection using standardised protocols into the future, and the recognition of such long-term data for science in terms of an appropriate conservation designation.

Nitrogen ecophysiology of Heron Island, a subtropical coral cay of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Coral cays form part of the Australian Great Barrier Reef. Coral cays with high densities of seabirds are areas of extreme nitrogen (N) enrichment with deposition rates of up to 1000 kg N ha(-1) y(-1). The ways in which N sources are utilised by coral cay plants, N is distributed within the cay, and whether or not seabird-derived N moves from cay to surrounding marine environments were investigated. We used N metabolite analysis, N-15 labelling and N-15 natural abundance (delta(15)N) techniques. Deposited guano-derived uric acid is hydrolysed to ammonium (NH4+) and gaseous ammonia (NH3). Ammonium undergoes nitrification, and nitrate (NO3-) and NH4+ were the main forms of soluble N in the soil. Plants from seabird rookeries have a high capacity to take up and assimilate NH4+, are able to metabolise uric acid, but have low rates of NO3- uptake and assimilation. We concluded that NH4+ is the principal source of N for plants growing at seabird rookeries, and that the presence of NH4+ in soil and gaseous NH3 in the atmosphere inhibits assimilation of NO3-, although NO3- is taken up and stored. Seabird guano, Pisonia forest soil and vegetation were similarly enriched in N-15 suggesting that the isotopic enrichment of guano (delta(15)N 9.9parts per thousand) carries through the forest ecosystem. Soil and plants from woodland and beach environments had lower delta(15)N (average 6.5parts per thousand) indicating a lower contribution of bird-derived N to the N nutrition of plants at these sites. The aquifer under the cay receives seabird-derived N leached from the cay and has high concentrations of N-15-enriched NO3- (delta(15)N 7.9parts per thousand). Macroalgae from reefs with and without seabirds had similar delta(15)N values of 2.0-3.9parts per thousand suggesting that reef macroalgae do not utilise N-15-enriched seabird-derived N as a main source of N. At a site beyond the Heron Reef Crest, macroalgae had elevated delta(15)N of 5.2parts per thousand, possibly indicating that there are locations where macroalgae access isotopically enriched aquifer-derived N. Nitrogen relations of Heron Island vegetation are compared with other reef islands and a conceptual model is presented.

A late Pleistocene predator-accumulated avifauna from Kids Cave, West Coast, South Island, New Zealand

A fossil deposit excavated from the floor of Kids Cave, West Coast, South Island, New Zealand, is interpreted as having been primarily accumulated by New Zealand falcon Falco novaeseelandiae, with some contribution by Haast's eagle Harpagornis moorei. The fauna is rich: 3699 bones represented 41 bird species, two frog species, unspecified geckoes and skinks, and one bat species. Fossil deposition was mainly within the Last Glacial Maximum from about 22,000 cal yr bp to about 15,000 cal yr bp, with a marked change in sediment characteristics at the onset of the LGM's coldest period. Chronological control is given by three Uranium-series dates for a speleothem and radiocarbon AMS dating of four avian eggshell samples and one bone. The fauna is the first extensive predator accumulation of LGM age described from the West Coast of the South Island, and it indicates a palaeoenvironment of a mosaic of shrublands with forest patches. The onset of the coldest part of the LGM (Aurora 3 glacial advance, 19,500 - 19,000 cal yrs bp) saw marked climate cooling/drying affecting the site, but the avifauna indicates that although open-country taxa became more common in this period, some forest persisted nearby throughout the remainder of the LGM.

Properties of seawater from a Sea-Bird TSG temperature and conductivity sensor mounted on the continuous surface water sampling system during campaign TARA_20110311Z of the Tara Oceans expedition 2009-2013

The Tara Oceans Expedition (2009-2013) sampled the world oceans on board a 36 m long schooner, collecting environmental data and organisms from viruses to planktonic metazoans for later analyses using modern sequencing and state-of-the-art imaging technologies. Tara Oceans Data are particularly suited to study the genetic, morphological and functional diversity of plankton. The present data publication contains measurements from the Continuous Surface Sampling System [CSSS] made during one campaign of the Tara Oceans Expedition. Water was pumped at the front of the vessel from ~2m depth, then de-bubbled and circulated to a Sea-Bird TSG temperature and conductivity sensor. System maintenance (instrument cleaning, flushing) was done approximately once a week and in port between successive legs. All data were stamped with a GPS.

Properties of seawater from a Sea-Bird TSG temperature and conductivity sensor mounted on the continuous surface water sampling system during campaign TARA_20110401Z of the Tara Oceans expedition 2009-2013

The Tara Oceans Expedition (2009-2013) sampled the world oceans on board a 36 m long schooner, collecting environmental data and organisms from viruses to planktonic metazoans for later analyses using modern sequencing and state-of-the-art imaging technologies. Tara Oceans Data are particularly suited to study the genetic, morphological and functional diversity of plankton. The present data publication contains measurements from the Continuous Surface Sampling System [CSSS] made during one campaign of the Tara Oceans Expedition. Water was pumped at the front of the vessel from ~2m depth, then de-bubbled and circulated to a Sea-Bird TSG temperature and conductivity sensor. System maintenance (instrument cleaning, flushing) was done approximately once a week and in port between successive legs. All data were stamped with a GPS.

Torres Strait Island parents' involvement in their children's mathematics learning : a discussion paper

This paper is a beginning point for discussing what the literature states about parents’ involvement in their children’s mathematics education. Where possible it will focus on Torres Strait Islander Peoples. Little is known about how Torres Strait Islander parents approach their children’s learning of mathematics and how important early mathematics is to mothers. What is known is that is they are keen for their children to receive an education that provides them with opportunities for their present and future lives. However, gaining access to education is challenging given that the language of instruction in schools is written to English conventions, decontextualised and disconnected from the students’ culture, community and home language. This paper discusses some of the issues raised in the literature about what parents are confronted with when making decisions about their children’s education.

Info-gap theory and robust design of surveillance for invasive species : the case study of Barrow Island

Surveillance for invasive non-indigenous species (NIS) is an integral part of a quarantine system. Estimating the efficiency of a surveillance strategy relies on many uncertain parameters estimated by experts, such as the efficiency of its components in face of the specific NIS, the ability of the NIS to inhabit different environments, and so on. Due to the importance of detecting an invasive NIS within a critical period of time, it is crucial that these uncertainties be accounted for in the design of the surveillance system. We formulate a detection model that takes into account, in addition to structured sampling for incursive NIS, incidental detection by untrained workers. We use info-gap theory for satisficing (not minimizing) the probability of detection, while at the same time maximizing the robustness to uncertainty. We demonstrate the trade-off between robustness to uncertainty, and an increase in the required probability of detection. An empirical example based on the detection of Pheidole megacephala on Barrow Island demonstrates the use of info-gap analysis to select a surveillance strategy.

Charities, civil society and the charity law reviews on the island of Ireland

This article considers the opportunity, presented by the coincidence of simultaneous charity law reviews in the two jurisdictions on the island of Ireland, for an adjustment of charity law frameworks to maximise appropriate and effective charitable activity within each jurisdiction,while also facilitating the coordination of some such activity between both. It examines the nature of civil society and charity law, and the relationship between them. The article argues that a creative legislative response to this opportunity could address themes of social inclusion common to both jurisdictions and thereby contribute to the consolidation of civil society on this island.