Pacific Science 54 (2000)

Pacific Science 54, no. 1

Conservation Status and Research on the Fabulous Green Sphinx of Kaua‘i, Tinostoma smaragditis (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae), Including Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the Diverse Mesic Forests of Kaua‘i, Hawai‘i
M. L. Heddle, K. R. Wood, A. Asquith, and R. G. Gillespie, pp. 1-9

Abstract: In 1895, a moth was captured in a mountain home in Makaweli, Kaua‘i, that would captivate and elude entomologists for the next century. Tinostoma smaragditis (Meyrick), aptly nicknamed the “Fabulous Green Sphinx of Kaua‘i” is a stunningly beautiful moth with green wings and thorax, pale brown hind wings, and orange antennae. Eighteen individuals are known to have been collected on Kaua‘i. However, despite extensive searches in areas around Koke`e, all the specimens discovered until the 1990s were incidental catches, and the natural habitat and host plant of the moth remained unknown. This study describes the results of extensive searches of the diverse mesic forests with the aim of establishing range, habitat, and host-plant associations of the Fabulous Green Sphinx. In February 1998 a male T. smaragditis was attracted to a mercury vapor light set up in the diverse mesic forest. Subsequently, one other specimen was collected in a similar habitat type on another part of the island. However, the host plant of the moth remains unknown. In this paper we provide a history of collections, a summary of known biology, and a guide to potential host plants, including checklists of vascular plants found in the diverse mesic forests of two locations where T. smaragditis was found, Kalalau and Mahanaloa Valleys on Kaua‘i.

Description of a New Deep-Water Calcareous Sponge (Porifera: Calcarea) from Northern California
Kirk Duplessis and Henry M. Reiswig, pp. 10-14

Abstract: A new species, Sycon escanabensis Duplessis & Reiswig, is described from material retrieved by submersible from 3500 m depth in the Escanaba Trough, central Gorda Ridge, off northern California. The species differs from all other members of the genus by the combination of conspicuous tripartite body organization and slender, lancet-head diactins that ornament the external surface and the oscular margin. This is the first deep-water (>1000 m) calcareous sponge described from the North Pacific Basin.

Two New Species of Spiochaetopterus (Polychaeta: Chaetopteridae) from Okinawa, Japan, with Notes on Pacific Spiochaetopterus
Eijiroh Nishi and Michel Bhaud, pp. 15-26

Abstract: Two new species of Spiochaetopterus are described from recently collected material from sandy substrates at Bise Beach and Sesoko Island in northern Okinawa, southern Japan. These two new species, Spiochaetopterus okinawaensis and S. sesokoensis, are similar in body size but differ with respect to presence or absence of eyes, bilobed or unilobed B1 neuropodia, and morphology of the specialized modified A4 chaeta. In S. okinawaensis there are oculate spots on the lateral side of the prostomium, neuropodia of segment B1 are unilobed but those on the other segments are bilobed, and the tube lacks periodic rings. There are no oculate spots in S. sesokoensis; all the neuropodia of the B segments are bilobed, including B1; and the ventral gland in the anterior A region lacks a pale white crescent.

A New Record of the Polychaete Boccardia proboscidea (Family Spionidae), Imported to Hawai‘i with Oysters
Julie H. Bailey-Brock, pp. 27-30

Abstract: The spionid polychaete Boccardia proboscidea Hartman, 1940, was introduced to an oyster culture farm at Keahole, Hawai‘i, with a shipment of Ostrea edulis from Maine. Oysters were heavily infested with adult worms, and burrows contained egg capsules with late-stage larvae. Diagnostic morphological features match the species description based on California material, except that the Hawai‘i specimens are smaller. This genus differs from other oyster-associated spionids, Polydora nuchalis and P. websteri, in having blunt, bristle-tip setae on the fifth setiger. Boccardia proboscidea forms shallow burrows nestled under shell lamina and so differs from P. websteri, a true carbonate borer, and P. nuchalis, which builds tubes of sediment in ponds and ditches used for penaeid shrimp culture. Boccardia proboscidea has a pan-Pacific distribution including the west coast of North America, Japan, and southeastern Australia. This distribution is attributed in part to the production of early and late larval stages that are widely dispersed by ocean currents.

Distribution, Recruitment, and Growth of the Black-Lip Pearl Oyster, Pinctada margaritifera, in Kane‘ohe Bay, O‘ahu, Hawai‘i
S. Ku‘ulei Rodgers, Neil A. Sims, Dale J. Sarver, and Evelyn F. Cox, pp. 31-38

Abstract: Stocks of Hawaiian black-lip pearl oysters, Pinctada margaritifera (Linnaeus, 1758), appear to have been depleted by overfishing and environmental degradation. Permanent survey transect sites were set up in Kane`ohe Bay in 1989 to monitor changes in the status of stocks. Only 17 pearl oysters were found in 1989. Transects were resurveyed in 1997, and 22 pearl oysters were counted. Most were found on the slopes of patch reefs around the Sampan Channel in 2-6 m depth. Recruitment is low. Standing stock estimated from observed densities on transects in 1997 and the extent of available habitat is about 950 individuals. The size distribution of pearl oysters on transects indicates that they are fished, despite legal protection. Growth of Pinctada margaritifera in Kane‘ohe Bay is comparable with that in other locations. The prospects for commercial culture of black pearls in Kane‘ohe Bay are limited by environmental constraints and the heavy recreational use of the bay.

Two New Gecko Species Allied to Bavayia sauvagii and Bavayia cyclura (Reptilia: Squamata: Diplodactylidae) from New Caledonia
Jennifer L. Wright, Aaron M. Bauer, and Ross A. Sadlier, pp. 39-55

Abstract: Two new species of the diplodactylid gecko Bavayia are described from Mt. Koghis, Province Sud, New Caledonia. One species is a large, characteristically colored representative of the B. sauvagii complex. It is sympatric with B. sauvagii itself, for which a neotype is here designated. The second new taxon is a large member of the Bavayia cyclura group. Selection of a neotype of B. sauvagii and designation of a lectotype of B. cyclura facilitate future evaluation of intra- and interspecific variation within these two species groups. Although restricted in apparent range, both new species are relatively common where they occur.

The Scincid Lizard Genus Marmorosphax (Reptilia: Scincidae) from New Caledonia in the Southwest Pacific: Description of a New Species Restricted to High-Altitude Forest in Province Sud
Ross A. Sadlier and Aaron M. Bauer, pp. 56-62

Abstract: A new species of lizard in the genus Marmorosphax is described from between 900 and 1100 m on Mt. Ouin in the south of New Caledonia. It is the second species of skink discovered in recent times that is restricted to high-altitude habitats in that region of the island. The new species is similar to Marmorosphax tricolor (Bavay), but is more gracile in appearance and shows subtle differences in coloration and scalation. The conservation status of this species is assessed. Because of its apparently restricted distribution and habitat preference, it is of particular conservation concern and is here regarded as potentially vulnerable.

A New High-Elevation Bavayia (Reptilia: Squamata: Diplodactylidae) from Northeastern New Caledonia
Aaron M. Bauer, Julia P. G. Jones, and Ross A. Sadlier, pp. 63-69

Abstract: A new species in the diplodactylid gecko genus Bavayia is described from the northern ranges of Province Nord, New Caledonia. The new gecko is a gracile, large-bodied form distinguished from its congeners by the morphology of digit I of the manus and pes, and the presence of two long rows of preanal pores that extend onto the thigh. The two known specimens are from high elevation in closed forest. This is the first species of diplodactylid gecko apparently restricted to high elevations in New Caledonia and joins a growing group of high-elevation skinks that have been described in recent years.

Reexamination of an Anomalous Distribution: Resurrection of Ramphotyphlops becki (Serpentes: Typhlopidae)
Glenn M. Shea and Van Wallach, pp. 70-74

Abstract: Ramphotyphlops becki (Tanner, 1948), restricted to Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, is resurrected from the synonymy of Ramphotyphlops willeyi (Boulenger, 1900), from the Loyalty Islands, on the basis of consistent differences in external morphology and visceral anatomy. New records of Ramphotyphlops braminus (Daudin, 1803) are reported from Vanuatu and the Loyalty Islands.

SEM Studies on Vessels in Ferns. 16. Pacific Tree Ferns (Blechnaceae, Cyatheaceae, Dicksoniaceae)
Sherwin Carlquist and Edward L. Schneider, pp. 75-86

Abstract: Scanning electron microscope (SEM) studies of tracheary elements of one species each of Sadleria (Blechnaceae), Alsophila (Cyatheaceae), Cibotium, and Dicksonia (Dicksoniaceae) showed that metaxylem of both roots and stems contain vessels with scalariform lateral wall pitting and scalariform perforation plates in which perforations are like lateral wall pits in size and shape. In Cyatheaceae and Dicksoniaceae, rhizome tracheary elements are short, contorted, with numerous facets. Several end wall facets of any given tracheary element in all genera studied can be perforation plates. At upper and lower ends of perforation plates, perforations have pit membrane remnants that contain porosities of various sizes, from large (nearly as big as the perforation) to extremely small (at the limit of resolution); the porosities are mostly circular in outline. No tracheids were observed with certainty. All tree ferns studied lack modifications of perforation plates like those of xeric ferns. The rhizome tracheary elements of Cyatheaceae are like those of Dicksoniaceae, but fusiform tracheary elements like those of many fern families occur in Sadleria (Blechnaceae); this correlates with the close grouping of Cyatheaceae with Dicksoniaceae in recent phylogenies that show Blechnaceae well removed from the tree fern families Cyatheaceae and Dicksoniaceae.

Abstracts of Papers from the Twenty-fourth Annual Albert L. Tester Memorial Symposium, 15-16 April 1999
pp. 87-102

Pacific Science 54, no. 2

Distribution, Present and Past, of Rattus praetor in the Pacific and Its Implications
J. Peter White, Geoffrey Clark, and Stuart Bedford, pp. 105-117

Abstract: We outline the current distribution of Rattus praetor in Near Oceania and present new evidence for its association with prehistoric human settlement on some islands in Remote Oceania. We discuss the problems of determining intentionality in the human transport of this animal, with reference to other examples of animal translocation in the Pacific. Current and prehistoric disjunct distributions of all domestic and nearly all wild mammals in both Near and Remote Oceania point to a common pattern of human behavior and in particular the deliberate translocation of R. praetor into Remote Oceania.

Hawaiian Phoronida (Lophophorata) and Their Distribution in the Pacific Region
Julie H. Bailey-Brock and Christian C. Emig, pp. 119-126

Abstract: Five Phoronis species are found in Hawaiian waters. Three were recorded previously, and two others, P. muelleri and P. pallida, are added here. Phoronis ovalis (the smallest) and P. hippocrepia are perforant species forming burrows in coral rock, shells, and barnacle encrustations, and P. psammophila, P. muelleri, and P. pallida are sand-dwellers. Species diagnosis in phoronids requires sectioning to estimate muscle formulas and arrangement of other internal organs. Included are a key to Hawaiian species based on visible external features (so not entirely accurate), description of each, and distribution in Hawaiian waters and the Pacific Ocean.

Larval Feeding of Scomber japonicus (Pisces: Scombridae) in the Gulf of California and Its Relation to Temperature and Chlorophyll Satellite Data
Laura Sánchez-Velasco and Bernardo Shirasago, pp. 127-136

Abstract: Feeding habits of Scomber japonicus larvae in the central part of the Gulf of California during April 1984 and 1985 are described and compared. Satellite images of temperature and chlorophyll monthly average showed that the central gulf during April 1984 was relatively warmer but with lower chlorophyll concentration than during April 1985. Feeding incidence was lower in larvae collected in April 1984 than in larvae in April 1985. Prey size consumed was larger in larvae in 1984 than in larvae in 1985. The cladoceran Penilia sp., copepod nauplii, and appendicularians were the dominant prey in the diet of larvae in 1984. In 1985 diatoms and copepod nauplii were the dominant prey. The high incidence of diatoms in S. japonicus larvae collected in 1985, a cold year, corresponded to the high chlorophyll concentration observed by satellite. Diatoms were not an important component in the larval diet in 1984, when the chlorophyll concentration was low. A high incidence of the cladoceran Penilia sp. in the larval gut in 1984 coincided with cladoceran blooms recorded in years affected by El Niño events. Interannual difference in feeding habits of S. japonicus larvae can be associated with changes in environmental conditions, such as temperature and chlorophyll concentration.

Floristic and Biogeographical Trends in Seaweed Assemblages from a Subtropical Insular Island Complex in the Gulf of California
L. Paul-Chávez and R. Riosmena-Rodriguez, pp. 137-147

Abstract: Floristic and biogeographical trends of the seaweed assemblages in subtidial rocky areas were evaluated at 10 sites around Espíritu Santo Island in the Gulf of California. Seasonal sampling in two consecutive years with intensive surveys in a 500-square meter area at each site was done. An intensive search was made of previous records from the literature. We found 85 species in the field with an additional 69 species from the literature, for a total 116 species. Species composition was significantly different between sides of the island in the first year, but very similar in the second. Species composition was not influenced by the presence of epiphytes. Phenologically, most species were ephemeral or annual with a low reproductive effort. Biogeographically, tropical elements dominated, but there was an important contribution from temperate species. Our results indicate that Espíritu Santo Island is a dynamic system that is strongly influenced by local oceanographic conditions.

Prehistoric Giant Swamp Taro (Cyrtosperma chamissonis) from Henderson Island, Southeast Polynesia
Jon G. Hather and Marshall I. Weisler, pp. 149-156

Abstract: Subfossil leaf fragments of giant swamp taro (Cyrtosperma chamissonis) were recovered from archaeological contexts dating as early as A.D. 1489 (mean date) on Henderson Island (22º 22′ S, 128º 18′ W), Pitcairn group–a raised limestone (makatea) island isolated at the extreme margin of southeastern Polynesia and the Indo-West Pacific biotic province. Comparison of subfossil specimens and modern reference material from a range of known cultigens under scanning electron microscopy confirms the identification. A period of active interarchipelago voyaging between A.D. 1000 and A.D. 1500 is known from recent summaries of the geochemical analysis of exotic fine-grained basalt artifacts from archaeological sites throughout Polynesia. If not an initial colonization, it is during this time that Cyrtosperma should have been introduced prehistorically to most, if not all, of the inhabitable islands of the region, especially those island groups lying to the west of Henderson. Investigation of subfossil plant remains adds another dimension to understanding plant distributions, prehistoric crop use, and subsistence practices in the Indo-Pacific region.

Three New Records for Micronesia of Cymothoid Isopods (Crustacea) Parasitic on Fishes
Ernest H. Williams Jr., Lucy Bunkley-Williams, and Todd Pitlik, pp. 157-158

Abstract: Ceratothoa angulata (Richardson) was found in the mouth of Dussumier’s halfbeak, Hyporhamphus dussumieri; Cymothoa bychowskyi Avdeev in the gill chamber of the red cornetfish, Fistularia petimba; and Elthusa raynaudii (Milne-Edwards) in the mouth of the blueline snapper, Lutjanus kasmira, collected in Guam. Elthusa raynaudii has only been reported in the Southern Hemisphere, except for one other record in Japan; C. bychowskyi has previously only been found in the Indian Ocean; and C. angulata has previously only been found in the Philippines and Borneo. The blueline snapper is a new host for E. raynaudii. These great range extensions suggest how poorly cymothoid isopods are known.

Phylogenetic and Biogeographic Aspects of Sophora sect. Edwardsia (Papilionaceae)
R. C. Peña, L. Iturriaga, G. Montenegro, and B. K. Cassels, pp. 159-167

Abstract: Sophora comprises 45-50 species of worldwide distribution, but no general proposal as to the evolution of this group has been put forth. We used cladistic relationships of the quinolizidine alkaloids (matrine, sparteine, methylcitisine, anagyrine, and sophoranol) with morphological and palynological characters to suggest a hypothesis of evolutionary and biogeographic relationships. The mainland Chilean species of Sophora appear to have been derived from ancestors phylogenetically near the extant Argentinean species S. linearifolia and S. rhynchocarpa and the psammophyte S. tomentosa, growing at tropical coastal sites around the world. The Boreotropic hypothesis of Lavin and Luckow is incorporated in our model as the most parsimonious explanation of the evolution of the species of Edwardsia. Sophora is a taxonomic group that meets the following criteria: a center of diversity in North America, an early Tertiary record in North America, and a pantropical distribution. Styphnolobium and Sophora (including Calia) are representatives of Sophora s.l. in the United States, suggesting a migration of the latter from the Northern Hemisphere to South America. Consistent with the Boreotropic hypothesis, a primary diversification center in South America and subsequent migration to the Indian Ocean and New Zealand, the Juan Fernandez Archipelago, Easter Island, and possibly the Hawaiian Islands is the simplest explanation for the evolution of the Edwardsia species.

Ecology and Evolution of Drosophila ambochila, A Rare Picture-Winged Species Endemic to the Wai‘anae Range of O‘ahu, Hawaiian Islands
M. P. Kambysellis, E. M. Craddock, S. L. Montgomery, K. Y. Kaneshiro, K. Edwards, and H. L. Carson, pp. 169-181

Abstract: The rare O‘ahu picture-winged fly Drosophila ambochila Hardy & Kaneshiro is endemic to two windward ravines in the Wai`anae Mountains that harbor its host plant. Drosophila ambochila is an ecological specialist that breeds on Pisonia stems and trunks in an intermediate stage of decay. By providing field-collected females with suitable substrate material, we have been able to observe the oviposition behavior of this species in the laboratory and obtain F1 larvae. In nature, females oviposit each batch of mature eggs (~40-50) in a single cluster, by repeatedly inserting their long ovipositor into the same crack or beetle hole in the decaying Pisonia bark. Ovipositor, ovary, and egg morphology are characteristic of bark-breeding Hawaiian Drosophila, but SEM studies revealed a distinctive chorionic ultrastructure for the eggs of this species. Larval salivary chromosome analyses indicated that the O‘ahu D. ambochila is most closely related to D. alsophila from the island of Hawai‘i and have helped to resolve the phylogenetic relationships among six of the nine species belonging to the vesciseta subgroup of the glabriapex species group.

Egg Dimensions and Shell Characteristics of Bulwer’s Petrels, Bulweria bulwerii, on Laysan Island, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands
G. C. Whittow and T. N. Pettit, pp. 183-188

Abstract: Measured values for Bulwer’s Petrel eggs and eggshells from Laysan Island, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, were within 10% of predicted values available in the literature. In the absence of published predictive equations for egg volume, fresh-egg contents, and total functional pore area of the shell, in Procellariiformes, new logarithmic relationships were developed for tropical Procellariiformes. Data are now needed for species breeding at higher latitudes to determine if these relationships are representative of all Procellariiformes.

Batch Fecundity and Spawning Frequency of Sailfish (Istiophorus platypterus) off the Pacific Coast of Mexico
Agustín Hernández-Herrera, Mauricio Ramírez-Rodríguez, and Arturo Muhlia-Melo, pp. 189-194

Abstract: To estimate batch fecundity and spawning frequency of the sailfish Istiophorus platypterus Shaw & Nodder off the Pacific coast of Mexico, gonads from fish sampled at five tourist ports from 1989 to 1991 were histologically analyzed. Mean batch fecundity, estimated by the gravimetric method, for 21 females was 1,710,000 +/- 600,000 eggs per spawning. The relationship between batch fecundity in thousands (F) and total weight of the fish in kilograms (w) was F = -245 + 61.68 w. Of 93 mature females, 28% with hydrated oocytes indicated that the average interval between spawnings was 3.6 days.

Histological Analysis of Reproductive Trends of Three Porites Species from Kane‘ohe Bay, Hawai‘i
Elizabeth G. Neves, pp. 195-200

Abstract: Gonad development and synchrony among Porites compressa, P. lobata, and P. evermanni colonies, collected in Kane‘ohe Bay during the summer of 1997, were histologically examined and compared. All three species are gonochoric broadcast spawners, releasing gametes predominantly around the time of full moon during the breeding season. Histological sections of fertile polyps confirmed the maturity of gonads and presence of zooxanthellae surrounding the oocytes and moving into the ooplasm of the mature eggs before spawning.

Pacific Science 54, no. 3: Historical Perspectives on Pacific Science
Pacific Science Association, XIXth Pacific Science Congress, July 1999

Introduction: The Pacific Science Association and the Pacific Circle
Roy MacLeod, pp. 207-208

Developing a Sense of the Pacific: The 1923 Pan-Pacific Science Congress in Australia
Roy MacLeod and Philip F. Rehbock, pp. 209-225

Abstract: The Australian Congress of 1923 was a determining moment for the Pacific Science Association. In contrast to the Australian meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, held in 1914, this first postwar Congress signaled the emergence of a new scientific nationalism in Australia and the advent of a new scientific relationship between Australia and its great and powerful friend across the Pacific. At the same time, the success of the Congress gave the infant Pan-Pacific movement much-needed visibility and support and led directly to the permanent establishment of the Pacific Science Association and to its continuing presence in international scientific affairs.

Motives for European Exploration of the Pacific in the Age of the Enlightenment
John Gascoigne, pp. 227-237

Abstract: In this paper the ambivalent character of the Enlightenment ideology that was employed to justify the Pacific voyages of the late eighteenth century is explored. Parallels are drawn between the Spanish Christian justifications for the earlier wave of European expansion into the Pacific (chiefly in the sixteenth century) with that employed in this later period. It is concluded that, though in both cases there was a high level of rationalization, such ideologies required at least some measure of perceived dissonance with self-interest to be credible.

Natural History in New Zealand: The Legacy of Europe
John Andrews, pp. 239-249

Abstract: European explorers and naturalists made many contributions to the discovery and description of New Zealand’s natural history. These contributions are examined with respect to the scientific traditions of England, France, and Germanic Europe. Underlying differences between these countries had a notable effect on science in New Zealand. Some countries regarded science as linked to colonization. Others believed that even on the periphery, science could be pursued for its own sake.

Haast and the Moa: Reversing the Tyranny of Distance
Ruth Barton, pp. 251-263

Abstract: The powerful position of patrons and interpreters at the imperial centers and the secondary, supportive position of colonial contributors to the scientific enterprise have been emphasized in the literature on colonial science. For Sir Julius von Haast, however, New Zealand provided both the opportunity and the resources for a scientific career of international fame. Moa bones were his most valuable resource. The exchange and sale of moa bones stocked his museum; gifts of moa skeletons brought him honors; and he began to claim that being at the periphery and having seen the bones in situ gave his interpretations credibility.

American Anthropology in Micronesia, 1941-1997
Robert C. Kiste and Mac Marshall, pp. 265-274

Abstract: Before the Second World War, relatively few American anthropologists had worked in the Pacific, and Micronesia was virtually unknown. After the war, the U.S. Navy sponsored the Coordinated Investigation of Micronesian Anthropology, the largest research project in the history of the discipline. Several CIMA participants became major figures, and they inspired substantial further work in the region. In this paper research trends in Micronesia during the past half century are discussed and suggestions for the future are offered.

A History of Ethnobotany in Remote Oceania
M. D. Merlin, pp. 275-287

Abstract: Ethnobotany has had a relatively short history as a scientific or scholarly discipline, and according to R. L. Ford still lacks a unifying theory. In this paper the history of ethnobotany in Remote Oceania is reviewed. In sequence, the roots of Pacific ethnobotany in European exploration and colonial expansion are discussed, then the contributions of early foreign residents, and finally the rapidly growing field of scientific ethnobotany during the latter part of the twentieth century. Examples of key research from the disciplines of botany, anthropology, archaeology, and geography, as well as major trends in ethnobotanical research in Remote Oceania, are described.

Wartime Medical Cooperation across the Pacific: Wilder Penfield and the Anglo-American Medical Missions to the Soviet Union and China, 1943-1944
Donald Avery, pp. 289-298

Abstract: In July 1943, Wilder Penfield, an internationally renowned Canadian neurosurgeon, led a high-profile group of Anglo-American surgeons in a 3-week tour of Soviet medical facilities and battlefield hospitals. This venture paved the way for other medical missions, both Allied and Soviet, and the communication of medical information. This was followed by a mission to China, to provide assistance to the government of Chiang Kai-shek. The most important connection was, however, between Western medical scientists and their counterparts in the Soviet Union, a relationship that lasted until the advent of the Cold War. In this paper the exchange is examined, and it is argued that the surgical mission was a major catalyst in the creation of an extensive system of wartime medical interchange, which inspired hope for future cooperation in the postwar world.

Pacific Science 54, no. 4

Nutritional Quality of Leaves and Unripe Fruit Consumed as Famine Foods by the Flying Foxes of Samoa
Suzanne L. Nelson, Martin A. Miller, Edward J. Heske, and George C. Fahey Jr., pp. 301-311

Abstract: Many tropical herbivores alter their diets throughout the year in response to different levels of food availability. Fruit bats, including Pteropus samoensis Peale and Pteropus tonganus Quoy & Gaimard, are phytophagous species that may increase their consumption of foods such as unripe fruit and leaves in periods of low fruit diversity and volume. These periods include the tropical dry season or following the frequent hurricanes that batter the Samoan Archipelago. We examined the nutritional composition of leaves and immature fruits and compared the levels of organic and mineral nutrients with those of ripe fruit. We used principal components analysis (PCA) to examine patterns of variation in nutrient components of leaves, unripe fruit, and ripe fruit, as well as to compare the mean levels of nutrients. Overall, unripe fruit provided levels of nutrients comparable with those of ripe fruit of the same species for many organic and mineral components. Unripe fruit were only half as rich in iron as ripe fruit, but unripe fruit had high levels of calcium compared with ripe fruit of the same species. Leaves are often cited as a rich source of protein for fruit bats, and our results were consistent with this suggestion. Leaves were also found to be rich in zinc, manganese, and calcium. Therefore, flying foxes and other herbivores probably do not avoid unripe fruits and leaves because of their low nutrient levels. It may be that these famine foods are not normally consumed because of the presence of secondary compounds, low concentrations of palatable sugars, or a distasteful and hard pericarp on unripe fruits.

Food Habits of Introduced Rodents in High-Elevation Shrubland of Haleakala National Park, Maui, Hawai‘i
F. Russell Cole, Lloyd L. Loope, Arthur C. Medeiros, Cameron E. Howe, and Laurel J. Anderson, pp. 313-329

Abstract: Mus musculus and Rattus rattus are ubiquitous consumers in the high-elevation shrubland of Haleakala National Park. Food habits of these two rodent species were determined from stomach samples obtained by snap-trapping along transects located at four different elevations during November 1984 and February, May, and August 1985. Mus musculus fed primarily on fruits, grass seeds, and arthropods. Rattus rattus ate various fruits, dicot leaves, and arthropods. Arthropods, many of which are endemic, were taken frequently by Mus musculus throughout the year at the highest elevation where plant food resources were scarce. Araneida, Lepidoptera (primarily larvae), Coleoptera, and Homoptera were the main arthropod taxa taken. These rodents, particularly Mus musculus, exert strong predation pressure on populations of arthropod species, including locally endemic species on upper Haleakala Volcano.

Bruguiera Species in Hawai‘i: Systematic Considerations and Ecological Implications
James A. Allen, Ken W. Krauss, Norman C. Duke, Derral R. Herbst, Olle Björkman, and Connie Shih, pp. 331-343

Abstract: At least two mangrove tree species in the genus Bruguiera were introduced into Hawai`i from the Philippines in 1922. The two are described in the most current manual on the flora of Hawai‘i as B. gymnorrhiza (L.) Lamk. and B. parviflora (Roxb.) W. & A. ex. Griff. There has, however, been some confusion since its introduction as to the identity of what is currently known as B. gymnorrhiza. Early Hawaiian flora manuals (1948 and earlier) and ecological research reports up until at least 1972 referred to the species as B. sexangula (Lour.) Poir. Flora manuals published after 1948 and recent ecological papers describe the species as B. gymnorrhiza. The reason for the change appears to have been based strictly on an assessment of flower color. In this study we collected specimens of Bruguiera from Hawai`i and known samples of B. sexangula, B. gymnorrhiza, and B. exaristata C. G. Rogers from Australia or Micronesia. Based on a multivariate comparison of flower and hypocotyl morphology of this material, an assessment of other diagnostic attributes, and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) mapping, we conclude that the primary, and perhaps only, Bruguiera species present in Hawai‘i is B. sexangula. We argue that the current distribution of Bruguiera in Hawai‘i fits the pattern that might be expected of B. sexangula, which is less salt tolerant than B. gymnorrhiza. We also conclude that sufficient regional variation occurs to warrant morphological and genetic comparisons of the three species across their whole geographic range.

A Preliminary Checklist of the Flora of Rotuma with Rotuman Names
Will McClatchey, Randy Thaman, and Saula Vodonaivalu, pp. 345-363

Abstract: The terrestrial flora of the Rotuma island group consists of over 500 species of indigenous and introduced plants. Although the environment of these islands has been highly modified by the Rotuman people, areas of ancient forest have survived. We provide here a list of the taxa identified by ourselves and others from Rotuma in the Bryophyta, Microphyllophyta, Pteridophyta, Coniferophyta, and Anthophyta.

SEM Studies on Vessels in Ferns. 20. Hawaiian Hymenophyllaceae
Sherwin Carlquist, Edward L. Schneider, and Charles H. Lamoureux, pp. 365-375

Abstract: Tracheary elements of three species (Mecodium recurvum, Vandenboschia devallioides, and Callistopteris baldwinii) (two epiphytic, one terrestrial) representing three genera of Hymenophyllaceae were studied with scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Both roots and rhizomes of all three species possess vessel elements. Wide perforations, an expression of pit (perforation) dimorphism within perforation plates, are prominent, more so than in most other fern families. Monomorphic perforations are also common, as are perforations in which weblike or porose pit membranes are present. Habitats of Hymenophyllaceae are characterized by high humidity with little fluctuation. However, fluctuation in moisture availability within the substrates of Hymenophyllaceae may be related to the abundance of vessels and the distinctiveness of the perforation plates. A peculiarity of hymenophyllaceous tracheary elements not hitherto reported in ferns to our knowledge is reported: gaps in the secondary wall pattern at outer surface of cell angles. These gaps take the form of rhomboidal depressions or a continuous depressed strip.

Spawning, Fertilization, and Larval Development of Potamocorbula amurensis (Mollusca: Bivalvia) from San Francisco Bay, California
Mary Helen Nicolini and Deborah L. Penry, pp. 377-388

Abstract: In Potamocorbula amurensis time for development to the straight-hinge larval stage is 48 hr at 15ºC. Potamocorbula amurensis settles at a shell length of approximately 135 micrometers 17 to 19 days after fertilization. Our observations of timing of larval development in P. amurensis support the hypothesis of earlier workers that its route of initial introduction to San Francisco Bay was as veliger larvae transported in ballast water by trans-Pacific cargo ships. The length of the larval period of P. amurensis relative to water mass residence times in San Francisco Bay suggests that it is sufficient to allow substantial dispersal from North Bay to South Bay populations in concordance with previous observations that genetic differentiation among populations of P. amurensis in San Francisco Bay is low. Potamocorbula amurensis is markedly euryhaline at all stages of development. Spawning and fertilization can occur at salinities from 5 to 25 psu, and eggs and sperm can each tolerate at least a 10-psu step increase or decrease in salinity. Embyros that are 2 hr old can tolerate salinities from 10 to 30 psu, and by the time they are 24 hr old they can tolerate the same range of salinities (2 to 30 psu) that adult clams can. The ability of P. amurensis larvae to tolerate substantial step changes in salinity suggests a strong potential to survive incomplete oceanic exchanges of ballast water and subsequent discharge into receiving waters across a broad range of salinities.

Occurrence of a Rare Squaloid Shark, Trigonognathus kabeyai, from the Hawaiian Islands
Bradley M. Wetherbee and Stephen M. Kajiura, pp. 389-394

Abstract: The first occurrence of the rare viper shark, Trigonognathus kabeyai, from the central Pacific Ocean is reported. Morphometrics are compared between this specimen and the type specimens from Japan, and this specimen differs from the types in only a few measurements. The poor preservation of this specimen precluded examination of internal anatomy.

Notes on the Identity of Small, Brown, Unpatterned Indo-Pacific Moray Eels, with Descriptions of Three New Species (Anguilliformes: Muraenidae)
Eugenia B. Böhlke, pp. 395-416

Abstract: Eight species of Indo-Pacific morays, including three new species, are described and discussed. Most are plain brown and have unpatterned body coloration (one with small dark spots); they are small to moderate-sized species and possess fewer than 150 vertebrae. They include Gymnothorax atolli (Pietschmann, 1935); Gymnothorax australicola Lavenberg, 1992; Gymnothorax herrei Beebe & Tee-Van, 1933; Gymnothorax panamensis (Steindachner, 1876); Gymnothorax pindae Smith, 1962; Gymnothorax pseudoherrei Böhlke, n. sp.; Gymnothorax kontodontos Böhlke, n. sp.; and Gymnothorax microstictus Böhlke, n. sp.

Notes on Status and Ecology of the Endangered Hawaiian Annual ‘Awiwi, Centaurium sebaeoides (Gentianaceae)
Arthur C. Medeiros, Charles G. Chimera, Lloyd L. Loope, Stephanie M. Joe, and Paul D. Krushelnycky, pp. 417-422

Abstract: The annual, endemic, coastal herb Centaurium sebaeoides is the only native Hawaiian species in the gentian family. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed it as Endangered under the Endangered Species Act on 29 October 1991. Before surveys reported here, the total population of this species statewide was estimated at 80-110 individuals in eight populations. During counts made in April and May 1997, following ample winter rains, 12 populations of C. sebaeoides with a total of 6300-6600 plants were noted on five islands (Kaua‘i, O‘ahu, Lana‘i, Moloka‘i, and Maui). Five populations were mapped with a global positioning system and counted; in the remaining seven populations, the numbers of individuals were estimated. More recent surveys in 1998-1999 estimated a total of only 60-80 individuals at all sites. Such dramatic population fluctuations are believed to be related to the sporadic occurrence of winter rains. Threats that further contribute to the rarity of the species include (1) displacement and overtopping by salt-tolerant nonnative woody species, especially Casuarina spp., (2) trampling and erosion of habitat by ungulates, and (3) damage caused by off-road vehicles.

Stratigraphy and Whole-Rock Amino Acid Geochronology of Key Holocene and Last Interglacial Carbonate Deposits in the Hawaiian Islands
Paul J. Hearty, Darrell S. Kaufman, Storrs L. Olson, and Helen F. James, pp. 423-442

Abstract: We evaluated the utility of whole-rock amino acid racemization as a method for the stratigraphic correlation and dating of carbonate sediments in the Hawaiian Islands. D-alloisoleucine/L-isoleucine (A/I) ratios were determined for carbonate sand and sandstone samples from 25 localities in the archipelago. The superposition of A/I ratios within stratigraphic sections and the regional concordance of ratios within geological formations support the integrity of the method. To correlate the A/I ratios with an absolute chronology, comparisons were made with previously published uranium series dates on corals and with 14C dates on carbonate sand and organic material, including several new dates reported herein. The A/I mean from four marine isotope stage (MIS) 5e U-series calibration sites was 0.505 +/- 0.027 (n = 11), and 12 “test sites” of previously uncertain or speculative geochronological age yielded an A/I mean of 0.445 +/- 0.058 (n = 17). Similarly, extensive Holocene dunes on Moloka`i and Kaua`i were correlated by a mean A/I ratio of 0.266 +/- 0.022 (n = 8) and equated with a 14C bulk sediment mean age of 8600 yr B.P. Our results indicate that the eolian dunes currently exposed in various localities in the Islands originated primarily during two major periods of dune formation, the last interglacial (MIS 5e) and the early Holocene (MIS 1). MIS 5e and MIS 1 A/I ratios from the Hawaiian Islands show close agreement with previous whole-rock studies in Bermuda and the Bahamas. We discuss these results in terms of their relevance to models of lithospheric flexure and to imposing constraints on the time frame for the extinction of fossil birds.

Pacific Science 54, Index

p. 443