Pacific Conservation Biology

Knowledge and conservation effort have a spatial bias. While New Zealand–Lorde Howe–New Caledonia taxa receive much needed conservation attention, those efforts are spatially discordant with the Fiji–Vanuatu–Solomon Islands centre of diversity and the emerging need in those regions for conservation action due to pressures from human activities and invasive species.

This paper identifies some important factors affecting the density of frogs in the Solomon Islands. Akaike’s information criterion (AIC) was used to select the most parsimonious model of frog density. Factors identified in the selected model to predict density of 16 species were island, landform, and forest type. These findings have important management implications for the conservation of frogs in the Solomon Islands.

The Pacific-Asia Biodiversity Transect (PABITRA) in Fiji has resulted in new records and new species of freshwater fish. The fauna along this transect is being threatened by reduction in forest catchment cover, construction of dams and weirs along migration routes. Several of the species are important food and totems to Fijians.

We explored reports that the Rewa River estuary in Fiji is a nursery area for the scalloped hammerhead shark. Results showed that juveniles do occupy the estuary, with analyses of umbilical scars and stomach contents indicating its importance as an aggregation area for the species, necessitating fishery management and protection.

Fiji has >240 species of native terrestrial snails with an endemism level of ~80%. Information on four potentially threatened endemic Partulidae species is urgently needed. The descriptive information reported here will raise awareness of these tree snails, particularly for remote island communities that have little knowledge of the snail’s uniqueness or threatened conservation status.

This article synthesises disparate data sources to develop a baseline of both confirmed and probable cetacean species, as well as identify areas of common occurrence and community importance within the Fijian Economic Exclusive Zone.

The Stiphodon rutilaureus in the New Georgia Group, Solomon Islands were studied using mitochondrial analysis and microsatellites. The results indicate low or no population structure among populations of amphidromous sicydiine goby species on different islands within an archipelago. This study provides suggestions for management and conservation of fragile aquatic species.

We present a new method to identify and map ‘High Value Arboreal Habitat’ at a fine scale using high resolution digital imagery to capture important areas of old forest across the landscape which have high conservation value.

Marine biological invasions have increased significantly in recent years due to global trade, transport and tourism. Invasive non-native species are the number one threat to Galapagos ecosystems and although many preventive and corrective measures have been applied to terrestrial problems, the impacts of invasive non-native species in the marine environment have received relatively little attention until now.

European mouflon sheep (Ovis gmelini musimon) have become invasive in Hawai‘i and other locations. Eradication of mouflon has been difficult because their behaviour is not like that of feral domestic ungulates. Our results suggest that the habitat use and distribution of mouflon also changes in response to extended eradication efforts.

Large amounts of potentially useful information are collected by management agencies as they attempt to identify high-value wetlands and rank them for investment, protection or rehabilitation. Only rarely are the resultant databases subject to a full quantitative analysis. We show how such potentially useful, and mostly under-utilised, databases can be interrogated with a suite of analytical tools, including artificial intelligence approaches, and how this can lead to more informed, transparent, reproducible and transferable assessments, and to better conservation outcomes.

Attitudes of owners/managers of properties in western Queensland potentially supporting recently rediscovered night parrots were explored to understand whether they would be sympathetic to species conservation through property management. Interviews found a high level of support, especially if disruption was minimal and compensation available, suggesting collaborative management with local graziers can contribute substantially to night parrot conservation.

We determine the prevalence and characteristics of interactions between the Hawaiian monk seal (Nemonachus schauinslandi) and nearshore fisheries in the main Hawaiian Islands and examine impacts to the subpopulation

In response to a paper advocating large-scale, multi-species ‘fauna-rescue’ programs when habitat is being destroyed, we urge caution by highlighting the lack of evidence of success in such programs. We argue that any benefits are likely to be outweighed by ecological and animal welfare risks, and that any conservation gains are likely to be illusionary.

There is limited knowledge on the success or failure of fauna relocations associated with vegetation clearing programs. This paper comments on issues raised by other authors and provides some suggested guidelines that can be applied in the absence of scientific evidence.

This paper investigates the effect of deployment time, camera array size and number of sites on detection of saxicoline mammals and varanid species in northern Australia and presents an analysis method for optimising decisions about how a limited number of cameras should be deployed across sites.

Manta ray interaction tourism is reviewed, with a particular focus on Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia. The use of the precautionary principle is advocated to guide the design and implementation of management strategies. An increase in the level of industry management is advised and specific recommendations are provided for management strategies.

The study explores the use of a fragmented landscape by Lumholtz’s tree-kangaroos (Dendrolagus lumholtzi). The spatial distribution of suitable habitat and the ability of the species to move into various types of matrices suggest that the current degree of fragmentation of the Atherton Tablelands in North Queensland provides functional connectivity for this species.

Spatial modelling tools are increasingly used in biodiversity conservation planning but with many approaches it is often difficult to know which to employ. Using a case study in a biodiversity hotspot, we evaluated five commonly used modelling techniques and found that none of the applications used met all our criteria. Consequently, we advocate a hybrid approach of multiple techniques to identify, quantify and ameliorate threats to regional biota.

This study investigated genetic, geographic and ecological criteria of populations of Galaxias truttaceus in Western Australian and found that these populations should be considered as an evolutionary significant unit. Management of these should be a high conservation priority.