Pacific Science Volume 54, Number 1, 2000

Permanent URI for this collection

https://hdl.handle.net/10125/451

Pacific Science is a quarterly publication devoted to the biological and physical sciences of the Pacific Region.

Browse

Recent Submissions

Now showing 1 - 10 of 12
  • Item
  • Item
    SEM Studies on Vessels in Ferns. 16. Pacific Tree Ferns (Blechnaceae, Cyatheaceae, Dicksoniaceae)
    (University of Hawai'i Press, 2000-01) Carlquist, Sherwin ; Schneider, Edward L.
    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 contains 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.
  • Item
    Reexamination of an Anomalous Distribution: Resurrection of Ramphotyphlops becki (Serpentes: Typhlopidae)
    (University of Hawai'i Press, 2000-01) Shea, Glenn M. ; Wallach, Van
    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.
  • Item
    A New High-Elevation Bavayia (Reptilia: Squamata: Diplodactylidae) from Northeastern New Caledonia
    (University of Hawai'i Press, 2000-01) Bauer, Aaron M. ; Jones, Julia P.G. ; Sadlier, Ross A.
    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.
  • Item
    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
    (University of Hawai'i Press, 2000-01) Sadlier, Ross A. ; Bauer, Aaron M.
    A new species of lizard in the genus Marmorosphax is described from between 900 and llOO 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.
  • Item
    Two New Gecko Species Allied to Bavayia sauvagii and Bavayia cyclura (Reptilia: Squamata: Diplodactylidae) from New Caledonia
    (University of Hawai'i Press, 2000-01) Wright, Jennifer L. ; Bauer, Aaron M. ; Sadlier, Ross A.
    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.
  • Item
    Distribution, Recruitment, and Growth of the Black-Lip Pearl Oyster, Pinctada margaritifera, in Kane'ohe Bay, O'ahu, Hawai'i
    (University of Hawai'i Press, 2000-01) Rodgers, S. Ku'ulei ; Sims, Neil A. ; Sarver, Dale J. ; Cox, Evelyn F.
    Stocks of Hawaiian black-lip pearl oysters, Pinetada 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 Pinetada 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.
  • Item
    A New Record of the Polychaete Boccardia proboscidea (Family Spionidae), Imported to Hawai'i with Oysters
    (University of Hawai'i Press, 2000-01) Bailey-Brock, Julie H.
    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.
  • Item
    Two New Species of Spiochaetopterus (Polychaeta: Chaetopteridae) from Okinawa, Japan, with Notes on Pacific Spiochaetopterus
    (University of Hawai'i Press, 2000-01) Nishi, Eijiroh ; Bhaud, Michel
    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 Bl 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 Bl; and the ventral gland in the anterior A region lacks a pale white crescent.
  • Item
    54:1 Table of Contents - Pacific Science
    (University of Hawai'i Press, 2000-01)
Copyright by University of Hawai’i Press. All rights reserved.