2nd Fiji Conservation Science Forum

I had the privilege of attending the 1st Fiji Conservation Science Forum in 2009, and greatly enjoyed the quality of the talks and science presented, and the enthusiasm of the attendees. Unfortunately, I was unable to get along to the 2nd meeting, held 14–16 September 2011, but I gather that it likewise was an informative and exciting meeting. The abstracts are available at the Wildlife Conservation Society website, and show the breadth of territory covered by the forum.

The Fiji Conservation Science Forums are an excellent initiative that have and will continue to inspire science in the South Pacific. I wish the organisers all the best in their preparations for a third forum in the next couple of years.

Featured insect: Ceresium tuberculatum (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae)

One of the unfortunate aspects of South Pacific entomology is the lack of Pacific Islanders that are actually involved in the discovery and naming of their biota. Thankfully, there are signs that this situation is beginning to change. Last August on a trip to Fiji I had the immense privilege of meeting a number of young scientists from Fiji, the Solomon Islands and the Cook Islands. One of these was Hilda Waqa, the senior author of this paper describing two new Fijian longhorn beetles, one of which is the beetle pictured, Ceresium tuberculatum.

The Cerambycidae commonly known as the longhorn beetles tend to be wood borers in the larval stages. These larval stages can last for a long time---several years in some species. The larvae of some of the larger species are eaten occasionally and are considered delicacies in some areas. Unfortunately, very little is known about the biology of Ceresium tuberculatum specifically. It has been collected from the Fijian islands of Gau and Viti Levu, and have been collected from primary, undisturbed forest in the heart of Viti Levu as well as secondary, plantation forests in the vicinity of Suva.

The paper is well illustrated with some very clear photos of various characters that are useful for identification. Unfortunately though, there is little in the way of comparison with other species of Ceresium in Fiji and the South Pacific. This makes the paper less useful than it might have been. It remains a valuable addition to the literature, and it is well worth having a look at for the illustrations alone, whether or not you have any further interest in Cerambycidae.

References:
Waqa H, Lingafelter SW. 2009. New Fijian Callidiopini (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae). In: Fiji Arthropods XV. Edited by Neal L. Evenhuis & Daniel J. Bickel. Bishop Museum Occasional
Papers 106: 3–15 (2009).

Featured insect: Tossinola pamianorum (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae)

When the word 'wasp' is mentioned, people get scared as the image of angry yellow jackets or paper wasps is conjured up. When I tell people that I'm interested in them, they tend to respond with a sense of bewilderment and treat me as if I'm crazy.

The order Hymenoptera is one of the largest insect orders, being beaten only by the beetles. Of that, only a small proportion sting, bite or otherwise make a nuisance of themselves, the others minding their own business and performing their vital services to the environment. A good many of them are parasitoids of other insects, their young developing in eggs, larvae, pupae or adults of other species. Frequently, species are host-specific in that one species of parasitic wasp will only develop in a single species of insect.

The featured insect for today, Tossinola pamianorum was recently described from Colo-i-suva in Fiji by Andrew Bennett as a result of the Fijian Terrestrial Arthropod Survey. It is in the subfamily Banchinae of the family Ichneumonidae, which is not only one of the major wasp families, but is one of the largest families of insects in general. A rare species, it was described from seven species from the total haul of the survey. While the host is not yet known, other species in the same group lay their eggs in caterpillars. One particularly gruesome feature in this instance, is that the caterpillars continue to move, eat and grow despite being inhabited by a parasitic wasp...

What is particularly interesting about this species of wasp is that it is the first time this subfamily has been found in Fiji. The genus is also known from the Philippines, Central Asia and West Africa, so there's some huge gaps in the distribution of this species. The subfamily has no other representatives in the South Pacific, though there are a number in Australia and New Zealand, so it may well be that people haven't looked for them rather than that there are none there.

This is not surprising, as the Ichneumonidae has been very poorly worked on despite (or perhaps because of?) it's size and economic importance. A great thing about this paper is that it not only starts to reveal some of the ichnemonid diversity of the South Pacific, but it also provides a useful entry into the fascinating world of Ichneumonidae taxonomy in general. A very interesting and worthwhile publication.

References:
Bennett AMR. 2009. The Ichneumonidae (Hymenoptera) of Fiji: keys to subfamilies and genera with a review of the species of Anomaloninae, Banchinae, Brachycyrtinbae and Diplazontinae. In: Evenhuis, N.L. & Bickel, D.J. (eds.), Fiji Arthropods XIV. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers 105: 3-68.

The Prescient Baron

"We put in at Namuka Bay ... and there visited the Navesi saw-pits. The owner ... has acquired considerable knowledge of the native timber. He says that if people were not so prejudiced he could prove to them that Fiji produces wood equal to any imported. As yet much of the forest is untouched, but the supply in an island the size of Viti Levu, especially when considerable tracts of its surface are bare, can by by no means inexhaustible. An instance in point; the sandalwood forests of Vanua Levu, which first brought the Fijian Islands into note by attracting traders to their shores, have for some time ceased to exist, and the trees have been felled so assiduously as almost to exterminate the Santalum yasi in this island. This is a fact that ought not to be lost sight of, and the sooner stringent laws are brought into force for the regulation of tree felling, the better for the future prospects of the colony."

The Baron Anatole von Hügel wrote these words on his trip from Levuka to Sigatoka in 1875. He spent two years in Fiji collecting birds and buying traditional objects for the Cambridge Museum. His journals are a fascinating and informative read of Fiji in the early days of colonisation.

His remarks above are remarkably foresighted, but have sadly gone unheeded. No doubt if he were around to visit Fiji today both him and his sawmilling friend would be dismayed to find extensive plantations of mahogany and pine, and very little legislation protecting and regulating logging.

Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

References:
Roth J and Hooper S (Eds). 1990. The Fiji Journals of Baron Anatole von Hügel. Fiji Museum, Suva.

The bizarre family of the Silktail

The silktail (Lamprolia victoriae) is a small bush bird, restricted to the Fijian islands of Vanua Levu and Taveuni. From its first description in 1874 its systematic position has been debated with suggested closest relatives ranging from the australian robins (Petroicidae), and the monarch flycatchers (Monarchidae), to the birds of paradise (Paradisaeidae). The late, great Ernst Mayr famously called the silktail "One of the most puzzling birds of the world". Last year, a group of european, american and south african scientists headed up by Martin Irestedt brought DNA evidence to the party to shed further light on the subject. Their results were published here.

What they discovered was totally unexpected. Their data suggests that the closest living relative to the silktail is the Papuan mountain drongo (PMD, Chaetorhynchus papuensis), a little-known bird of the New Guinea highlands. The PMD has traditionally been grouped with the drongos (Dicruridae), but in the Irestedt study, both the silktail and PMD are sister to the fantail family (Rhipiduridae).

The authors discuss at length the biogeographic implications of their finding, suggesting either long distance dispersal or a vicariant metapopulation origin, but are unable to come to a conclusion either way. Unfortunately, they don't suggest ways of testing these hypotheses. I suggets it may be a little premature to speculate too seriously about this single result, interesting though it is. Future work on the geology of the region and further systematic research on the silktail and the remainder of the avifauna of Melanesia may reveal other potential explanations.

References:
Irestedt M., Ruchs J., Jonsson K., Ohlson J. I., Pasquet E., Ericson P. G. P. (2008) The systematic affinity of the enigmatic Lamprolia victoriae (Aves: Passeriformes) - An example of avian dispersal between New Guinea and Fiji over Miocene intermittent land bridges? Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 48: 1218-1222

Picture courtesy of Birdlife International

Fiji Arthropods No. 9 OUT NOW!!!

The latest installment of the results from the NSF funded Fiji Arthropod Survey is online now at the their webpage. Check it out to get the goss on Fijian Sciarids, Scelionids, Orthopterans and Mealybugs...