Call for Papers: Special Issue

Pacific Science is issuing a call for papers for a Special Issue on Human Dimensions of Small-Scale and Traditional Fisheries in the Asia-Pacific Region. For more information, see the attached Call for Papers: Special Issue on Small-Scale Fisheries (PDF).

Pacific Science: Index to Online Archives

This site provides links to the growing online content of the journal Pacific Science: A Quarterly Devoted to the Biological and Physical Sciences of the Pacific Region, published by the University of Hawai‘i Press since its founding in 1947, and now published in cooperation with the Pacific Science Association.

Pacific Science first appeared online in 2001 at Project MUSE, which still hosts archives of vols. 55–61 (2001–2007).

In 2007, Pacific Science made its debut in BioOne, which hosts current volumes, starting from vol. 59 (2005).

In 2008, Hamilton Library at the University of Hawai‘i began scanning and adding back issues of Pacific Science to its ScholarSpace digital repository, which will eventually include all issues starting from vol. 1 (1947).

Global Mountain Diversity Symposium, 2008

The Pacific Science Association co-sponsored the 2008 International Symposium on Global Mountain Biodiversity, which was held 7–10 June 2008 at China Medical University in Taichung, Taiwan. The Symposium was organized by the College of Life Sciences and Research Center for Biodiversity at China Medical University.

The Symposium dealt with the topic of the biodiversity of the world’s mountain ecosystems. In addition to their intrinsic value, the ecosystem services these areas provide to human societies are a critically important aspect of global sustainability. The Symposium addressed the molecular and evolutionary bases of biodiversity; vulnerability assessments of mountain biodiversity to various threats; mountain biodiversity in fungi and animal populations; microbial and lake metabolism; and projected impacts of climate change on mountain ecosystems and on public health in communities linked to those areas. The symposium was organized by PSA Board Member Prof. Chang-Hung Chou. PSA Vice President Nancy Lewis attended the meeting and gave a presentation on the significance of biodiversity to healthy and sustainable livelihoods in the Asia-Pacific.

PABITRA Manual publication

The PSA is pleased to have been one of the supporting institutions providing funding support for the publication costs of an important new book produced by the PABITRA (Pacific Asia Biodiversity Information Transect Network) program. The book is titled Biodiversity Assessment of Tropical Island Ecosystems: PABITRA Manual for Interactive Ecology and Management, edited by Dieter Mueller-Dombois, Kent Bridges, and Curt Daehler. It was published by Bishop Museum Press in 2008, and is available through the Bishop Museum shop.

22nd Pacific Science Congress Update

Discussions with several Pacific Science Association Adhering Organizations have been ongoing and productive. An announcement on the host and location of the 22nd Pacific Science Congress in 2011 is expected at the upcoming 11th Pacific Science Inter-Congress in Tahiti, French Polynesia from 3–6 March 2009.

Climate Change and Biodiversity in Melanesia Project

New datasets on projected climate change impacts in Melanesia have been posted on the Climate Change and Biodiversity in Melanesia (CCBM) project website (http://www2.bishopmuseum.org/ccbm/). CCBM is a joint project led by Bishop Museum and Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) along with the Pacific Science Association (PSA) and Indo-Pacific Conservation Alliance (IPCA), and is an 18-month project funded by the MacArthur Foundation. The geographic scope of the project includes Papua New Guinea and Indonesia’s Papua Province, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Fiji. The new datasets include information on projected sea-surface and land temperature changes, changes in rainfall distribution and intensity, sea-level rise, ocean acidification, and other information critical to understanding impending changes in the next 90 years. Also newly available are a series of White Paper reports on climate change and biodiversity, written by scientific experts on the various topics and commissioned by the CCBM project. More information, including a synthesis White Paper, will continue to be added to the website in the near future, and DVDs with the full array of information will be sent to important stakeholders in the near future.