Drivers of reef shark abundance and biomass in the Solomon Islands

Remote island nations face a number of challenges in addressing concerns about shark population status, including access to rigorously collected data and resources to manage fisheries. At present, very little data are available on shark populations in the Solomon Islands and scientific surveys to document shark and ray diversity and distribution have not been completed. We aimed to provide a baseline of the relative abundance and diversity of reef sharks and rays and assess the major drivers of reef shark abundance/biomass in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands using stereo baited remote underwater video. On average reef sharks were more abundant than in surrounding countries such as Fiji and Indonesia, yet below that of remote islands without historical fishing pressure, suggesting populations are relatively healthy but not pristine. We also assessed the influence of location, habitat type/complexity, depth and prey biomass on reef shark abundance and biomass. Location was the most important factor driving reef shark abundance and biomass with two times the abundance and a 43% greater biomass of reef sharks in the more remote locations, suggesting fishing may be impacting sharks in some areas. Our results give a much needed baseline and suggest that reef shark populations are still relatively unexploited, providing an opportunity for improved management of sharks and rays in the Solomon Islands

Assessing human diet and movement in the Tongan maritime chiefdom using isotopic analyses.

The rise of stratified societies fundamentally influences the interactions between status, movement, and food. Using isotopic analyses, we assess differences in diet and mobility of individuals excavated from two burial mounds located at the `Atele burial site on Tongatapu, the main island of the Kingdom of Tonga (c. 500 - 150 BP). The first burial mound (To-At-1) was classified by some archaeologists as a commoner's mound while the second burial mound (To-At-2) was possibly used for interment of the chiefly class. In this study, stable isotope analyses of diet (δ13C, δ15N, and δ34S; n = 41) are used to asses paleodiet and 87Sr/86Sr ratios (n = 30) are analyzed to investigate individual mobility to test whether sex and social status affected these aspects of life. Our results show significant differences in diet between burial mounds and sexes. Those interred in To-At-2 displayed lower δ13C values, indicating they ate relatively more terrestrial plants (likely starchy vegetable staples) compared with To-At-1 individuals. Females displayed significantly lower δ15N values compared with males within the entire assemblage. No differences in δ34S values were observed between sexes or burial mound but it is possible that sea spray or volcanism may have affected these values. One individual displayed the strontium isotopic composition representative of a nonlocal immigrant (outside 2SD of the mean). This suggests the hegemonic control over interisland travel, may have prevented long-term access to the island by non-Tongans exemplifying the political and spiritual importance of the island of Tongatapu in the maritime chiefdom

Effects of a single intensive harvest event on fish populations inside a customary marine closure

In September 2008, the villagers of Kia Island, Fiji, opened their customary managed closure (Cakaulevu tabu) to fishing for a fundraiser that lasted for 5 weeks. We report on opportunistic before-after-control-impact surveys describing changes to coral reef communities both 4 weeks into the harvest and 1 year later compared with pre-harvest conditions. Prior to the harvest, there was a gradient in mean fish abundance and biomass per transect, with highest levels in the north of the closure (250 fish transect−1, 8,145.8 kg ha−1), intermediate levels in the south of the closure (159 fish transect−1, 4,672.1 kg ha−1) and lowest levels in the control area open to fishing (109 fish transect−1, 594.0 kg ha−1). During the harvest, there were extensive depletions in large-bodied, primary targeted fish species, with significant loss in biomass of Acanthuridae and Carangidae in the north and Lutjanidae and Serranidae in the south. We also observed significant increases in Acanthuridae, Lethrinidae and Scaridae in the control, suggesting a "bail-out" effect whereby fish left the closure in response to a rapid increase in fishing pressure. These changes were coupled with a large increase in turf algal cover at all survey areas, despite a large numerical increase in small, roving acanthurids (e.g., Ctenochaetus striatus) and scarids (e.g., Chlorurus sordidus). By 1 year later, fish biomass was significantly lower within the closure than before the harvest, while values in the control returned to pre-harvest levels, suggesting non-compliance with the reinstated fishing ban. We use the lessons learned from this event to suggest recommendations for promoting effective management of periodically harvested customary closures that are a common feature across much of Oceania

Highly Efficient Plastic Crystal Ionic Conductors for Solid-state Dye-sensitized Solar Cells

We have developed highly efficient, ambient temperature, solid-state ionic conductors (SSICs) for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) by doping a molecular plastic crystal, succinonitrile (SN), with trialkyl-substituted imidazolium iodide salts. High performance SSICs with enhanced ionic conductivity (2-4 mScm(-1)) were obtained. High performance solid-state DSSCs with power conversion efficiency of 7.8% were fabricated using our SSICs combined with unique hierarchically nanostructured TiO2 sphere (TiO2-SP) photoelectrodes; these electrodes have significant macroporosity, which assists penetration of the solid electrolyte into the electrode. The performance of our solid-state DSSCs is, to the best of our knowledge, the highest reported thus far for cells using plastic crystal-based SSICs, and is comparable to that of the state-of-the-art DSSCs which use ionic liquid type electrolytes. This report provides a logical strategy for the development of efficient plastic crystal-based SSICs for DSSCs and other electrochemical devices