Gilianne Brodie

The study is aimed at assessing the impacts of postharvest handling practices on the quality and safety of tuna sold at the Honiara Fish Market (HFM), Solomon Islands. Two major approaches were adopted: (1) face-to-face interviews of 60 participants using questionnaires and physical observations of the supply chains and postharvest handling practic...

The Pacific Island Countries (PICs) are exposed to extreme wave conditions which are projected to be exacerbated by rising sea levels due to climate change, prompting the need for strategic planning of coastal communities and assets. Nature-based protection has been proposed as a sustainable solution to promote the resilience of coastal areas from...

Calls for science to innovate by including stakeholders' in the creation of marine knowledge have been rising, to create impact beyond laboratories and to contribute to the empowerment of local communities when interacting with marine and coastal ecosystems. As a transdisciplinary group of scientists working on co-designing research projects, this...

Global biodiversity decline is continuing largely unabated. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species (hereafter, Red List) provides us with the gold standard for assessments, but taxonomic coverage, especially for invertebrates and fungi, remains very low. Many players contribute to the Red List knowl...

Entomopathogenic nematode (EPN) Heterorhabditis indica is a promising biocontrol candidate. Despite the acknowledged importance of EPN in pest control, no extensive data sets or maps have been developed on their distribution at global level. This study is the first attempt to generate Ecological Niche Models (ENM) for H. indica and its global Habit...

Context Habitat loss is a global problem and in Fiji >50% of the land area once covered by forests has been converted to grasslands and agricultural land. About 99% of Fiji’s endemic biodiversity and 80% of the land bird species have been identified as forest species. Aims In this study, we compare forest and grassland sites and test for consistenc...

Charles Darwin proposed his ‘principle of divergence’ to account for changes in traits that could promote speciation and coexistence of diverse forms through occupation of different niches to reduce interspecific competition. We explore interspecific foraging behaviour overlap in Fiji’s forest birds, and address two main questions: (1) Is there ver...

Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) in the families Steinernematidae and Heterorhabditidae are obligate parasites of soil inhibiting insects. EPNs are being widely researched as promising biocontrol agents for a wide range of agricultural pests. It is known that strains of EPNs isolated from different geographical regions differ in their attributes,...

Since 1955 snails of the Euglandina rosea species complex and Platydemus manokwari flat-worms were widely introduced in attempted biological control of giant African snails (Lissachatina fulica) but have been implicated in the mass extinction of Pacific island snails. We review the histories of the 60 introductions and their impacts on L.fulica and...

Ebony wood, the black heartwood of trees in the genus Diospyros, is a high-value commodity of many Pacific Islands. The revenue earned from the sale of ebony carvings is important for many low-income rural communities, resulting in high harvesting pressure and reported declines of ebony-producing species. This study investigates the impact of ebony...

Seagrasses provide a wide range of services including food provision, water purification and coastal protection. Pacific small island developing states (PSIDS) have limited natural resources, challenging economies and a need for marine science research. Seagrasses occur in eleven PSIDS and nations are likely to benefit in different ways depending o...

This paper presents a review around seagrass habitat in Tarawa Lagoon, Kiribati and explores the links between seagrass occurrence and the national priority issues of climate change, urban development, human health, nearshore fisheries, threatened species, ocean policy, research capacity and awareness. The contribution of healthy seagrass habitats...

In Fiji, little or no attention has been given to entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) in biocontrol programs due to the lack of awareness about their occurrence and distribution in Fiji. A survey of EPNs was conducted for the first time in Fiji Islands in 2012 and 2013, throughout the eight provinces in Viti Levu to determine the occurrence and distr...

This report card provides a summary of climate change impacts on coasts and seas in the Pacific island region, and how Pacific islands can respond. The delivery of this report card was overseen by the following working group: Jeremy Hills (USP), Tommy Moore (SPREP), Sylvie Goyet (SPC), Awnesh Singh (USP), Gilianne Brodie (USP), Patrick Pringle (Cli...

Located in the south central Pacific (12–22°S, 176E–178°W), the Republic of Fiji comprises greater than 332 islands and 522 islets with a total land area of 18,270 km2 and an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of 1.29 million km2. The two largest islands of Viti Levu (10,387 km2) and Vanua Levu (5580 km2) together comprise 87.4% of the total land area,...

Due to anthropogenic pressure, seagrass habitats are declining by over 7% annually worldwide, with approximately 29% of the world seagrass stock having already been destroyed. Losses in seagrass habitats for the tropical Pacific by the year 2100 are estimated to be between 5 to 35%, but a lack of knowledge on the extent and area cover of seagrass r...

Many people from all walks of life have observed, utilized and investigated snails for thousands of years. These human activities have embraced snails in the ocean, in freshwater and on land because snails are one of the few animal groups that have successfully diversified and adapted to exploit all three of these main environments. Countless numbe...

The moth assemblages in forest ecosystems are often used as indicators of forest quality and to monitor the effects of habitat degradation or ecological restoration and management. However, to provide meaningful data on nocturnal moth faunas, it is important to evaluate the efficacy of available sampling methods and identify the minimum number of s...

In this study we investigated temporal patterns in activity of adult macro-moths in Colo-i-Suva mixed lowland tropical forest on Fiji's largest island, Viti Levu. Moths were collected for 2 or 3 nights per month over a 12-month period using a mercury-vapor light as an attractant and collecting moths that had settled onto a white sheet for 4 hr afte...

The species Dactyloplusia impulsa (Walker, 1865) is recorded from Fiji for the first time. This considerably extends its known range. The single female specimen is illustrated and the genitalia are figured for the first time.

We review the diversity and conservation status of Placostylinae, land snails endemic to the western Pacific. Their narrow-range endemism, large size and associated vulnerability, consumptive exploitation by people, and habitat loss and degradation (inclusive of invasive predators) threaten their survival. There has been considerable attention from...

Where conservation status of island non-marine molluscs is known, snails tend to be one of the most threatened faunal groups. However, published information regarding island gastropod conservation status, diversity and endemism is frequently unavailable despite the importance of this information for the formulation of biodiversity action plans and...

Biodiversity and traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) are in danger of being lost in many societies, especially in the rapidly urbanising Pacific Islands. Herpetofauna, in particular, are globally threatened along with their associated cultural knowledge and beliefs. The aim of this study was to examine the species richness and conservation statu...

In 2009 an outbreak of the termite Coptotermes gestroi caused major damage to buildings and vegetation in Fiji. Termite control is most commonly performed using synthetic insecticides, although many botanically-derived toxins are also being evaluated. The woody legume, Abrus precatorius, contains the toxic protein abrin, and has been investigated p...

Abrus precatorius L. (Fabaceae) is a woody legume plant that grows in tropical countries and is an invasive weed in other areas. Extracts of this plant have insecticidal properties against several arthropod groups including Coleoptera, Diptera, Hemiptera, Isoptera, Lepidoptera and Orthoptera. It also has inhibitory effects against other pests inclu...

In May 2012 Rotuma Island, the main island of the remote Rotuma Group (Fiji), was surveyed to document the composition of the non-native land snail fauna and to investigate if populations of previously recorded native land snail species persist. From sampling at nine locations, twenty-one land snail species from eleven gastropod families were found...

Due to limited financial and technical resources, there is a pressing need to identify priority areas and strategies for conservation globally. This study aims to prioritise important forest areas for conservation on the island of Malaita, Solomon Islands. Five different forest types were sampled to quantify biodiversity using the species richness...

The impacts of Wasmannia auropunctata (the little fire ant) on the native biota and subsistence agriculture in the Solomon Islands are poorly understood. This species was originally introduced as a biological control against nut-fall bugs (Amblypelta sp.) around 30 years ago and in the intervening time has spread throughout the Solomon Islands, aid...

There are more than 25,000 relatively small islands located in the Pacific region. The flora and fauna of these islands are highly diverse, and many of the species that occur in the region have limited ranges and are not found elsewhere in the world. Many of the human‐induced ecosystem changes currently occurring on these fragile islands are...

A simple checklist of the opisthobranch molluscs recorded from Fiji is presented and contains 253 species. Only six of the nine opisthobranch orders are included — Cephalaspidea (43 species), Entomotaeniata (6), Anaspidea (6), Notaspidea (7), Sacoglossa (29) and Nudibranchia (162). A brief comparison of these groups with northeastern Australia high...

This document is part of a technical report series on conservation projects funded by the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) and the Conservation International Pacific Islands Program (CI-Pacific). The main purpose of this series is to disseminate project findings and successes to a broader audience of conservation professionals in the Paci...

Fiji’s land snail fauna is highly diverse. There are over 230 species of which about 90% are native and 78% are endemic to the archipelago. There are 18 introduced species and four that are of uncertain origin within the Pacific. Information to allow easy identification of these species is lacking, as is related information about the risks involved...

Keywords: fresh water, insects, bio-monitoring, rivers.

Twenty-two different species of terrestrial land snails and slugs were identified during the survey period. Eleven of these species are endemic to Fiji and another two species are either endemic or native. It is likely that at least some of the endemic species found during this survey are threatened and should be listed on the IUCN Red List as in n...

Life in Torres Strait Seagrass Meadows is an Environmental Science reader for school students in the Torres Strait and other tropical Indo-Pacific Islands. It is hoped that it will raise awareness and appreciation of the diversity of our living environment and that this will result in strengthening individual responsibility to care for these precio...

The nudibranch Dendrodoris arborescens (Collingwood, 1881) has hitherto been (1) mistaken for the sympatric species D. nigra (Stimpson, 1855), which is similar in appearance; or (2) considered as a colour form of D. fumata (Rüppell and Leuckart, 1828). However, our investigations linking larval form, morphology and colour pattern, clearly show that...

During several visits from 1999 to 2004 to the Australian Museum Research Station on Lizard Island (LIRS) (Great Barrier Reef, Northern Section, Queensland, Australia) the authors collected 158 different opisthobranch species from the reefs and lagoon areas surrounding Lizard Island. The number of species found gives an estimate of the diversity of...

The anatomy of the temperate Australian doridoidean nudibranch Dendrodoris maugeana Burn, 1962 was examined for the first time. This investigation was undertaken to address a recognised gap in our taxonomic knowledge and to increase our understanding of the structural diversity found within the radula-less taxon Dendrodoris. The structural detail o...

The anatomy of the temperate Australian doridoidean nudibranch Dendrodoris maugeana Burn, 1962 was examined for the first time. This investigation was undertaken to address a recognised gap in our taxonomic knowledge and to increase our understanding of the structural diversity found within the radula-less taxon Dendrodoris. The structural detail o...

Dendrodoris atromaculata (Alder & Hancock, 1864) is a large, tropical nudibranch mollusc living in the Indo- west Pacific Ocean. A detailed description of the external morphology of the living animal and an investigation of internal anatomy are presented for the first time. In addition the microstructure of certain organs (i.e., notal tissue and th...

ABTRACT Dendrodoris atromaculata (Alder & Hancock, 1864) is a large, tropical nudibranch mollusc living in the Indo-west Pacific Ocean. A detailed description of the external morphology of the living ani-mal and an investigation of internal anatomy are presented for the first time. In addition the micro-structure of certain organs (i.e., notal tiss...

The anatomy and histology of a new species of gastropterid cephalaspidean, Enotepteron heikeae, sp. nov., from tropical Australia is described. Enotepteron is the least documented of the gastropterid genera with only two previously recorded species, from the Yellow Sea (North Pacific) and the Seychelles (Indian Ocean). The unique features of E. hei...

The vestibular gland and egg masses of Dendrodoris nigra (Gastropoda: Opisthobranchia: Nudibranchia) were investigated histologically and ultrastructurally. A detailed description of the ultrastructure of the gland and the egg masses is given, and the presence of symbiotic bacteria in the vestibular gland and identical-appearing bacteria in the egg...

The histology of the major organ systems (digestive, reproductive, nervous, circulatory, excretory and respiratory, as well as epidermis) of the nudibranch Dendrodoris nigra (Stimpson, 1855) are described for the first time and the results are compared with those derived from other members of the Doridoidea. It is shown that some characters which h...

The nudibranch Dendrodoris nigra (Stimpson, 1855) has hitherto been considered as a single, highly poly-chromic species. Our investigations of external morphology, anatomy and colour variation have revealed more than one species exists. This conclusion gives credibility to the previous discovery of differing developmental patterns within D. nigra....

The Department of Marine Biology at James Cook University (JCU) has designed this handbook for university departments, schools or divisions who wish to improve rates of enrolment and degree completion by Full Fee Paying (FFP) students. The initiatives we have developed to train and support FFP students have resulted in a 100% success rate for overs...

An account is given of the runcinaceans Runcina adriatica, R. brenkoae and R. zavodniki collected on diving expeditions in the northern Adriatic Sea. The new data permit a clear separation of these from other runcinaceans of the north Atlantic Ocean. Several diagnostic features of the radulae and the oral cuticu-lar armature are corrected or amplif...