Island and Ocean Ecosystems
Encouraging new species discoveries and confirmation of old records were made during a two-week Rapid Biodiversity Survey (BIORAP) of Vava'u in Tonga, painting a comprehensive and positive picture of the current status of marine and terrestrial ecosystems in the island group.
The BIORAP was jointly coordinated by the Tongan Government, through the Ministry of Lands, Environment, Climate Change and Natural Resources (MLECCNR) and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), along with partner organisations including the Waitt Foundation and the Vava'u Environmental Protection Association (VEPA).
"Bringing together regional experts and Tongan specialists has proven to be an exceptionally productive approach," noted Mr. Bruce Jefferies, SPREP's Terrestrial Ecosystems Management Officer and joint-coordinator of the BIORAP survey.
In the course of the two-week expedition, the survey team made a number of very exciting discoveries, all of which bode well for the current environmental health of the archipelago.
The first piece of good news was confirmation that the friendly ground-dove (or tooo) has extended its range in Tonga. During the expedition, the globally threatened bird was observed further afield than had previously been noted.
Dr. Mark O'Brien of the BirdLife International Pacific Secretariat explains the significance of this finding. "The friendly ground-dove is a shy and secretive bird that appears to be struggling to maintain its former distribution, which includes Fiji and Samoa as well as Tonga. It is considered to be a globally threatened species so its confirmed presence in the Vava'u group is a very encouraging sign."
Another encouraging sign was the discovery of a species of iguana that is similar to the Fijian banded iguana.
Prior to the BIORAP survey it had been rumoured, but not confirmed, that iguanas were still present in the area. Following a tipoff from local community members, reptile specialist, Mr. Adam Backlin of United States Geological Survey, managed to locate and temporarily capture an iguana and take DNA samples for further analysis.
Mr. Backlin explains, "Iguanas are currently the source of much interest from a taxonomic perspective. Where once we thought there were two species in Fiji, we now believe that there could be four or even five. The information from this individual will tell us whether iguanas in Tonga have colonised naturally and whether they have evolved sufficiently to be considered a different species."
A third discovery which augurs well for the environmental health of the area came from the marine survey team. The team of ten researchers spent an accumulated 225 hours underwater observing and recording coral species, coral reef health, commercially valued fish and invertebrate species such as sea cucumbers and giant clams.
The team reported 75 species of coral previously not seen in Tonga, and potentially three entirely new species. They also noted range extensions on reef fish biodiversity.
Ms. Karen Stone, who led the marine survey team, observed that there are some extremely beautiful and diverse coral reefs within the Vava'u archipelago, with an array of invertebrates, fish and coral diversity, creating some fabulous marine ecosystems for cultural sustainability and tourism platforms. Ms. Stone added, "Very few of the reefs showed signs of disease or invasive species such as the crown-of-thorns starfish."
"In less positive news, we found extremely low numbers of commercially valuable species such as sea cucumbers and clams and the biomass of some important fish groups such as grouper, snapper, emperors and jacks was low. On the reefs, we saw evidence of bleaching due to higher than normal water temperatures. This has long-term implications for coral health and the reef community."
The BIORAP survey will be followed up and complemented by an Ecosystem Service Valuation (ESV). Dr. Tim Carruthers, SPREP's Marine and Coastal Adviser, explains. "An ESV is the practice of using economic methods to quantify the human benefits provided by the functions of a given ecosystem or collection of ecosystems. It's a useful tool to guide natural resource management decisions such as development of cost benefit analyses of climate change adaptation options, inform policy, and champion the protection of biodiversity and ecosystems, including the establishment of protected areas."
Once the ESV has been undertaken, the Vava'u archipelago will be one of the first sites in the Pacific where up-to-date biodiversity and ecosystem information has been linked with ecosystems valuation approaches.
Images (c) Stuart Chape
The BIORAP was jointly coordinated by the Tongan Government, through the Ministry of Lands, Environment, Climate Change and Natural Resources (MLECCNR) and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), along with partner organisations including the Waitt Foundation and the Vava'u Environmental Protection Association (VEPA).
"Bringing together regional experts and Tongan specialists has proven to be an exceptionally productive approach," noted Mr. Bruce Jefferies, SPREP's Terrestrial Ecosystems Management Officer and joint-coordinator of the BIORAP survey.
In the course of the two-week expedition, the survey team made a number of very exciting discoveries, all of which bode well for the current environmental health of the archipelago.
The first piece of good news was confirmation that the friendly ground-dove (or tooo) has extended its range in Tonga. During the expedition, the globally threatened bird was observed further afield than had previously been noted.
Dr. Mark O'Brien of the BirdLife International Pacific Secretariat explains the significance of this finding. "The friendly ground-dove is a shy and secretive bird that appears to be struggling to maintain its former distribution, which includes Fiji and Samoa as well as Tonga. It is considered to be a globally threatened species so its confirmed presence in the Vava'u group is a very encouraging sign."
Another encouraging sign was the discovery of a species of iguana that is similar to the Fijian banded iguana.
Prior to the BIORAP survey it had been rumoured, but not confirmed, that iguanas were still present in the area. Following a tipoff from local community members, reptile specialist, Mr. Adam Backlin of United States Geological Survey, managed to locate and temporarily capture an iguana and take DNA samples for further analysis.
Mr. Backlin explains, "Iguanas are currently the source of much interest from a taxonomic perspective. Where once we thought there were two species in Fiji, we now believe that there could be four or even five. The information from this individual will tell us whether iguanas in Tonga have colonised naturally and whether they have evolved sufficiently to be considered a different species."
A third discovery which augurs well for the environmental health of the area came from the marine survey team. The team of ten researchers spent an accumulated 225 hours underwater observing and recording coral species, coral reef health, commercially valued fish and invertebrate species such as sea cucumbers and giant clams.
The team reported 75 species of coral previously not seen in Tonga, and potentially three entirely new species. They also noted range extensions on reef fish biodiversity.
Ms. Karen Stone, who led the marine survey team, observed that there are some extremely beautiful and diverse coral reefs within the Vava'u archipelago, with an array of invertebrates, fish and coral diversity, creating some fabulous marine ecosystems for cultural sustainability and tourism platforms. Ms. Stone added, "Very few of the reefs showed signs of disease or invasive species such as the crown-of-thorns starfish."
"In less positive news, we found extremely low numbers of commercially valuable species such as sea cucumbers and clams and the biomass of some important fish groups such as grouper, snapper, emperors and jacks was low. On the reefs, we saw evidence of bleaching due to higher than normal water temperatures. This has long-term implications for coral health and the reef community."
The BIORAP survey will be followed up and complemented by an Ecosystem Service Valuation (ESV). Dr. Tim Carruthers, SPREP's Marine and Coastal Adviser, explains. "An ESV is the practice of using economic methods to quantify the human benefits provided by the functions of a given ecosystem or collection of ecosystems. It's a useful tool to guide natural resource management decisions such as development of cost benefit analyses of climate change adaptation options, inform policy, and champion the protection of biodiversity and ecosystems, including the establishment of protected areas."
Once the ESV has been undertaken, the Vava'u archipelago will be one of the first sites in the Pacific where up-to-date biodiversity and ecosystem information has been linked with ecosystems valuation approaches.
Images (c) Stuart Chape