
Thane A. MilitzUniversity of the Sunshine Coast | USC · Australian Centre for Pacific Islands Research
Thane A. Militz
BSc(Hons), PhD
About
51
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Introduction
Skills and Expertise
Publications
Publications (51)
Shellcraft is a livelihood activity that utilizes shells and skeletal remains of marine taxa for producing ornamental and decorative items. Despite an increasing importance of shellcraft in coastal areas of the Indo-Pacific region, information necessary for stakeholders to identify and respond to change through policy and management decisions is of...
Throughout the Pacific Islands, shellcraft has begun to feature prominently in development intervention which aims to generate positive livelihood outcomes for coastal communities. This activity often involves the post-harvest processing of natural assets, namely shells and skeletal remains of marine taxa, into jewellery by individuals or small-siz...
Expansion of pearl production using the silver‐lip pearl oyster, Pinctada maxima, depends on increasing the availability of high‐quality spat from hatcheries and optimization of existing hatchery protocols. Research to develop feeding regimes yielding higher quality spat is seen as a priority. This study evaluated the suitability of three microalga...
Pearl culture in Fiji relies on a supply of pearl oysters obtained through the strategic deployment of spat collectors. Although the design and deployment of spat collectors aim to maximize the recruitment of pearl oysters (Pinctada and Pteria spp.), this activity incidentally captures many other bivalves as bycatch. This study explored whether tro...
Adductor muscle from Pinctada maxima and Pinctada margaritifera were analyzed for nutrient compositions. Both were characterized by relatively high-protein, low-lipid, and low-cholesterol contents. Palmitic acid and docosahexaenoic acid were the dominant saturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, respectively, in both species. Amino acid compositio...
There is considerable interest in improving hatchery production of the mud crab, Scylla serrata. Although some progress has been made toward identifying appropriate feeding protocols for live-foods, the density at which food is first provided to larvae varies greatly in practice. This study examined relationships between rotifer density and activit...
Bivalves (Mollusca: Bivalvia) and gastropods (Mollusca: Gastropoda) are a common component of diets in the Pacific Islands region. After consuming the soft tissue of these organisms, their shells are commonly discarded. We consider how such discards, or shell wastes, might serve as a resource for value-adding activities and focus on a case study of...
A new morphologically distinct species of cowry (family Cypraeidae Rafinesque, 1815) is described from the Late Pliocene Roe Calcarenite of the Roe Plains, Western Australia. Previously assigned to Umbilia hesitata (Iredale, 1916), the new species differs morphometrically from related taxa and is differentiated from U. hesitata by a number of shell...
The tropical spiny lobster, Panulirus ornatus, has a complex life cycle characterised by a series of moults that occur throughout pelagic larval stages. Significant morphological, physiological, and biochemical changes commonly coincide with moulting and can have dietary implications when culturing this species. Digestive enzyme activities respond...
Multivariate approaches to morphological study of shell form have rarely been applied to cowries (Gastropoda: Cypraeidae) with preference, instead, for comparing formulaic notations of shell form that report averages (i.e., means) for key morphometrics such as shell dimensions, their ratios, and counts of apertural teeth. Although widely applied, t...
There is considerable interest in developing hatchery techniques for the tropical spiny lobster, Panulirus ornatus. Although some progress has been made toward identifying effective foods and feeding protocols for this species, the density at which food is first provided to larvae varies greatly in practice. This study examined relationships betwee...
The blacklip pearl oyster, Pinctada margaritifera, supports well-established cultured pearl industries throughout the Pacific with various nursery culture methods used to on-grow juvenile oysters to a size suitable for pearl production. Locally-available plastic baskets are commonly used to rear juvenile oysters, but they do not prevent oysters fro...
Sustainable utilization of marine taxa is critical for maximizing social and economic goals of livelihood development within the Indo-Pacific. Yet, despite an increasing importance of shellcraft as a livelihood activity within the Indo-Pacific, information on the taxa utilized within shellcraft sectors remains scant. To address this knowledge gap,...
Local, regional, and global events have potential to disturb fisheries systems embedded within international trade networks. Events associated with sudden and unexpected disturbances, or shocks, in fisheries systems are of particular concern because of their potential to adversely impact the livelihoods and well-being of coastal communities. For th...
Crustaceans of the family Gonodactylidae (Order Stomatopoda) are potential predators of cultured pearl oysters in ocean-culture systems, yet they have not previously been implicated in contributing to on-farm mortality of culture stock. Improved knowledge of the threat posed by stomatopods to pearl oyster survival in ocean-culture systems, as well...
Stage I phyllosoma larvae of the spiny lobster Panulirus ornatus hatch in tropical oceanic waters with limited and variable food resources. To better understand how these larvae cope with food deprivation, this study examined specific (mU mg⁻¹ protein) and total (mU larva⁻¹) activities of major digestive enzymes (i.e., α-amylase, non-specific ester...
Stress and mortality of pearl oysters during nucleus implanting for round pearl and mabé pearl production can be reduced using appropriate anaesthetics that allow improved access to nucleus implanting sites. This study evaluated the efficacy of three different concentrations of benzocaine (0.25, 0.50 and 1.20 g L⁻¹) and 1-propylene phenoxetol (2.50...
Gastropods of the family Cymatiidae are a major predator of cultured pearl oysters, causing significant mortality in ocean culture systems. Improved knowledge of factors influencing cymatiid predation on pearl oysters is required to develop effective management strategies for these predators. This study determined whether size of the cymatiid, Gutt...
While there is considerable interest in aquaculture of spiny lobsters (Palinuridae), limited knowledge of nutritional requirements during early life stages remains a major impediment to successful hatchery culture. To better determine endogenous nutrient utilisation during the early life stages of the tropical spiny lobster, Panulirus ornatus, we e...
A new morphologically distinct species of cowry (family Cypraeidae Rafinesque, 1815) is described from the Pliocene of Flinders Island, Tasmania. Diagnostic features of Umbilia furneauxensis n. sp. include relatively small size (<60 mm), extension of apertural dentition to at least midway on the ventrum and labrum, and heavily callused margins with...
Holothuria scabra (sandfish) is a tropical sea cucumber that has been over-exploited because of its high-value in the bêche-de-mer trade. It is amenable to mariculture and the potential for community-based sea ranching has been investigated in the Tigak Islands of Papua New Guinea (PNG). A 5-ha trial sea ranch was established within the fishing gro...
Reduced salinity is a major physiological stressor of marine bivalves, and one of several physio-chemical parameters of seawater influencing the success of hatchery production. Giant clam (Cardiidae: Tridacninae) hatcheries commonly rear larvae in outdoor tanks and rely on nearshore surface waters for seawater supply, subjecting larval stages to ab...
Veliger larvae of giant clams are demonstrable planktotrophs and provision of a particulate food source is generally accepted to improve hatchery production. However, the appropriateness of continuing to administer particulate food after larvae settle and develop as pediveligers is unclear. This study evaluated whether larval (age and size) and mic...
The success of mariculture activities involving the release of cultured marine invertebrates into the ocean is contingent on high survival and appropriate growth rates. Physical, physiological or behavioral characteristics that differ from those of wild conspecifics may be acquired through hatchery rearing, or as a result of stress induced by the r...
The production and vending of handicrafts by the indigenous peoples of cruise destinations inthe Pacific region has unrealised potential. Handicraft sector development strategies areconstrained by the limited information guiding what products to produce, which productattributes are important, and appropriate pricing for the cruise tourism market. U...
Context
Biological resource use represents the most common direct threat to biodiversity. Despite this, there is a paucity of comprehensive and overarching data relating to the biological resource use. The global aquarium trade encompasses millions of individual live fishes representing thousands of marine and freshwater species traded on an annual...
The capacity for inter-specific hybridisation to yield improvements in animal production has long been realised in the aquaculture sector. However, the extension of hybridisation to improve production of giant clams (Tridacninae) has received little research attention. Aquaculture production of giant clams is directed primarily at aquarium markets,...
Epifluorescence microscopy has numerous applications in molluscan research. Methods rely on distinguishing target fluorescent signals from natural fluorescence, termed autofluorescence, of a specimen. Limited research has been conducted on the autofluorescence of marine bivalves, which hinders development of epifluorescence microscopy techniques in...
A thorough understanding of livelihoods is necessary to ensure development policies are compatible with both resource conservation and the social and economic goals of development. Few studies, however, focus on value-adding activities occurring post-harvest in artisanal fisheries. The transformation of mollusc shells and skeletal remains of other...
As fish stocks become depleted, exploitation eventually fails to be cost-efficient. However,
species or morphs of species can suffer from continual exploitation if their rarity results in increased value,
justifying the cost-efficiency of targeted or opportunistic exploitation. The trade in coral reef fishes for
public and private aquaria is an ind...
This study provides a first evaluation of different hatchery culture methods for the giant clam Tridacna noae. Three culture methods (intensive, semi-intensive, and extensive) using two tank designs (60 L and 277 L) were successful in producing 30-day old T. noae juveniles. There was no statistically significant interaction between tank design and...
The Papua New Guinea (PNG) marine aquarium fishery was partly managed by total allowable catch (TAC) limits, implemented since the fishery's inception in 2008. Species-specific TACs, based on stock assessments conducted prior to the commencement of fishing, were established for all fish and invertebrate species presumed to be fished by the fishery....
A major difficulty in managing live organism wildlife trade is often the reliance on trade data to monitor exploitation of wild populations. Harvested organisms that die or are discarded before a point of sale are regularly not reported. For the global marine aquarium trade, identifying supply-chain losses is necessary to more accurately assess exp...
This paper reports methodology for large-scale hatchery culture of sandfish, Holothuria scabra, in the absence of live, cultured micro-algae. We demonstrate how commercially-available micro-algae concentrates can be incorporated into hatchery protocols as the sole larval food source to completely replace live, cultured micro-algae. Micro-algae conc...
The giant clam Tridacna noae is a recently resurrected taxon distinguished from Tridacna maxima on the basis of reproductive isolation, mitochondrial DNA differences, and mantle morphology and ornamentation; however, the morphological characteristics used to distinguish the two species are not consistent with genetic assignment throughout their zon...
Global audiences are increasingly being exposed to digital media with fictitious storylines that draw on animal characters involuntarily entering wildlife trades. An understudied problem in wildlife trade is the potential for motion pictures to influence their audience's desire to become more acquainted, often via acquisition, with animals portraye...
Knowledge of ingestion and digestion of micro-algae by bivalve larvae is critical for provision of appropriate larval nutrition supporting maximal growth and survival. However, little is known about the ingestion and digestion of micro-algae by giant clam larvae. This study determined the rates of ingestion and digestion of commercially available m...
This paper reports on embryonic and larval development of the giant clam Tridacna noae. Spawning was induced by serotonin injection into the gonad. Unfertilized eggs had a mean (±SE) diameter of 101.14 ± 0.47 mm and spermatozoa heads were 8.92 ± 0.09 mm long. Embryonic development had progressed to the 8-cell and 16-cell stages by 3 h postfertiliza...
Coral reef fishes exhibit extreme diversity in colouration, with many species being recognised as having colour polymorphism. While melanin-based colouration is known to occur in clownfishes (Pomacentridae), little is known about the frequency at which melanistic morphs occur in natural populations. The aim of this study was to assess the frequency...
A major difficulty in managing wildlife trade is the reliance on trade data (rather than capture data) to monitor exploitation of wild populations. Collected organisms that die or are rejected before a point of sale often go unreported. For the global marine aquarium trade, identifying the loss of collected fish from rejection, prior to export, is...
The recent resurrection of a Tridacna maxima sensu Rosewater (1965) ecotype as a distinct species, Tridacna noae (Röding, 1798), has raised concerns that inadvertent confusion of the two species in the past may have led to overestimates of T.maxima densities and errors in determining demographic parameters. To assess the potential impacts of such a...
Cleaner organisms exhibit a remarkable natural behaviour where they consume ectoparasites attached to "client" organisms. While this behaviour can be utilized as a natural method of parasitic disease control (or biocontrol), it is not known whether cleaner organisms can also limit reinfection from parasite eggs and larvae within the environment. He...
Development of an effective preventative treatment for managing infections by Monogenea (Platyhelminthes) in aquaculture remains elusive. Present treatment methods offer only temporary respite and are either labor intensive, harmful to fish welfare or environmentally destructive. This study used garlic (Allium sativum) supplemented feed to assess i...
Garlic, Allium sativum L., extract administered as a therapeutic bath was shown to have antiparasitic properties towards Neobenedenia sp. (MacCallum) (Platyhelminthes: Monogenea) infecting farmed barramundi, Lates calcarifer (Bloch). The effect of garlic extract (active component allicin) immersion on Neobenedenia sp. egg development, hatching succ...