Polynesian colonization and landscape changes on Mo’orea, French Polynesia: The Lake Temae pollen record

The Holocene ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (12) ◽  
pp. 1963-1975 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janelle Stevenson ◽  
Alexis Benson ◽  
J. Stephen Athens ◽  
Jennifer Kahn ◽  
Patrick V Kirch
Keyword(s):  
18Th Century ◽  
Sediment Cores ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
French Polynesia ◽  
Pollen Record ◽  
Society Islands ◽  
European Contact ◽  
Environmental Transformation ◽  
Colonization Model ◽  
Ams Dating

An analysis of sediment cores from Lake Temae utilizing pollen, accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dating, magnetic susceptibility measurements, and charcoal particle counts was undertaken to assess landscape transformation following Polynesian colonization of Mo’orea in the Society Islands. A significant influx of terrigenous sediment accompanied by increases in charcoal and the presence of the Polynesian cultigen Colocasia (taro) are indicative of human presence on the island by at least 1060–980 cal. yr BP. Polynesian arrival resulted in the rapid alteration of lowland vegetation illustrated in the pollen record by the removal of the coastal tree Pandanus and the promotion of more economically important trees such as Cocos. The most significant period of burning in the charcoal data overlaps with archaeological evidence for expansion into the island interior and the establishment and growth of more intense agricultural practices from 700 to 500 cal. yr BP. The pollen record also documents the apparent abandonment of the coastal plain near Lake Temae during this phase of inland expansion with the terrestrial landscape returning to an environment similar to that found before colonization. A final phase of environmental transformation commenced with European contact at the end of the 18th century and is marked most clearly in the Lake Temae sequence with the conversion of the system to a freshwater body accompanied by the expansion of the freshwater reed Typha and a level of burning not seen at any time over the previous 1000 years. Importantly, the new data from Lake Temae support the colonization model for central Eastern Polynesia of ca. 1000 cal. yr BP and refute the late settlement scenario for the Society Islands.

scholarly journals Society Islands (Central Eastern Polynesia) Chronology: 11 Radiocarbon Dates for the Late Prehistoric Expansion and Proto-Historic Periods in the ‘Opunohu Valley, Mo'Orea

Radiocarbon ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 409-419 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer G Kahn
Keyword(s):  
Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Late Prehistoric ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Radiocarbon Age ◽  
Society Islands ◽  
European Contact ◽  
Multiple Structures ◽  
Ams Dating ◽  
Central Eastern ◽  
Age Determinations

The chronology of residential site construction and occupation in the upper reaches of the ‘Opunohu Valley, Mo'orea, Central Eastern Polynesia, has been debated over the last 15 yr. This paper reports a suite of 11 radiocarbon age determinations from excavations at 5 house sites and a simple temple structure (marae). Direct accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dating of wood charcoal identified to short-lived taxa confirms site construction and occupation during the mid-15th to 17th centuries, supporting that maximal population density was in the centuries immediately prior to European contact. The study demonstrates that targeted dating of multiple structures within residential complexes allows for multiple phases of site construction and use to be discriminated. These data are critical for adequately assessing site contemporaneity and the development, maintenance, and expansion of residential groups and their house clusters through time.

First record of the superfamily Proctotrupoidea from French Polynesia (Hymenoptera)

2020 ◽  
Vol 125 (4) ◽  
pp. 404-406
Author(s):  
Thibault Ramage
Keyword(s):  
First Record ◽  
French Polynesia ◽  
Society Islands ◽  
First Time

A Helorid wasp, Helorus ruficornis Förster, 1856, is reported for the first time on Tahiti (Society Islands), which is also the first record of both Proctotrupoidea and family Heloridae in French Polynesia. The potential hosts of Helorus ruficornis in French Polynesia are discussed.

scholarly journals Nature, Incidence, and Symptomatology of Viruses Infecting Vanilla tahitensis in French Polynesia

Plant Disease ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 88 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Grisoni ◽  
F. Davidson ◽  
C. Hyrondelle ◽  
K. Farreyrol ◽  
M. L. Caruana ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mosaic Virus ◽  
Significant Proportion ◽  
French Polynesia ◽  
Bean Common Mosaic Virus ◽  
Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay ◽  
Watermelon Mosaic Virus ◽  
Cymbidium Mosaic Virus ◽  
Virus Identification ◽  
Society Islands ◽  
Leeward Islands

A survey was carried out to identify the viruses infecting vanilla in French Polynesia and to assess their incidence. Virus identification was based on enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and, for potyviruses, on the sequence of part of the coat protein and inoculation assays. Between 1998 and 1999, 3,610 vanilla plants from 49 plots in the Society Islands were indexed. Cymbidium mosaic virus (CymMV) was detected in 500 vines from 10 plots in the Leeward Islands. The data suggest that this virus has spread widely since its first detection in French Polynesia in 1986, most likely through the dissemination of symptomless infected cuttings. Viruses belonging to the Potyvirus genus were found in 674 plants from 27 plots in the four islands surveyed. Three distinct potyviruses have been identified: (i) Vanilla mosaic virus, (ii) Watermelon mosaic virus, and (iii) and a virus related to Bean common mosaic virus. The symptoms induced on Vanilla tahitensis by the three potyviruses can be differentiated from each other and from those due to CymMV. A significant proportion of the plants surveyed (97/476) were symptomatic but tested negative by ELISA for CymMV and the Potyvirus group. Odontoglossum ringspot virus was not detected in any sample tested.

Radiocarbon Dating and Dietary Stable Isotope Analysis of Kwaday Dän Ts'inchí

2007 ◽  
Vol 72 (4) ◽  
pp. 719-734 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael P. Richards ◽  
Sheila Greer ◽  
Lorna T. Corr ◽  
Owen Beattie ◽  
Alexander Mackie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Human Remains ◽  
Isotopic Analysis ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Bone Collagen ◽  
Contact Period ◽  
European Contact ◽  
Ams Dating ◽  
The Individual

We report here on the results of AMS dating and isotopic analysis of the frozen human remains named Kwaday Dän Ts'inchí and associated materials recovered from a glacier located in Northwest British Columbia, Canada in 1999. The isotopic analysis of bone collagen (bulk and single amino acids) from the individual indicates a strongly marine diet, which was unexpected given the location of this find, more than 100 km inland eroding out of a high elevation glacier; however, bulk hair and bone cholesterol isotopic values indicate a shift in diet to include more terrestrial foods in the year before death. The radiocarbon dating is not straightforward, as there are difficulties in determining the appropriate marine correction for the human remains, and the spread of dates on the associated artifacts clearly indicates that this was not a single use site. By combining the most recent date on a robe worn by Kwaday Dän Ts'inchi with direct bone collagen dates we conclude that the individual likely dates to between cal A.D. 1670 to 1850, which is in the pre-(or early) European contact period for this region.

Late-Holocene asynchronous extinction of endemic mammals on the eastern Canary Islands

The Holocene ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 22 (7) ◽  
pp. 801-808 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Carlos Rando ◽  
Josep Antoni Alcover ◽  
Jacques Michaux ◽  
Rainer Hutterer ◽  
Juan Francisco Navarro
Keyword(s):  
Canary Islands ◽  
Late Holocene ◽  
Middle Age ◽  
Rattus Rattus ◽  
Tyto Alba ◽  
Isolated Populations ◽  
European Contact ◽  
Black Rat ◽  
Local Extinctions ◽  
Ams Dating

The Lava mouse ( Malpaisomys insularis), and the Canarian shrew ( Crocidura canariensis) are endemic of the Eastern Canary Islands and islets. The former is extinct while Canarian shrew survives in the two main islands and two islets. In order to provide insights regarding causes and processes contributing to the extinction of these endemic mammals: (i) we established last occurrence dates for Lava mouse, and first records for two exotic species – House mouse ( Mus musculus) and Black rat ( Rattus rattus) – through direct 14C AMS dating of collagen from bones; (ii) we analysed recent material from Barn owl ( Tyto alba gracilirostris) roosting sites to evaluate its impact on Canarian shrew in the presence of introduced rodents. The new data strongly suggest that the extinction of Lava mouse was the result of an accumulative process of independent disappearances (or ‘local extinctions’) affecting the isolated populations. The timing of the introduction of the Black rat on the main islands (before Middle Age European contact in Lanzarote and after Middle Age European contact in Fuerteventura) matches with the last occurrence dates for the presence of Lava mouse on these islands, and are very probably their cause. The losses of these Lava mouse populations occurred in an asynchronous way, spreading across at least six centuries. On small islands, hyperpredation emerges as the most plausible process to explain the disappearance of the Lava mouse in the absence of rat populations, although stochastic processes can not be definitively excluded.

Comparison of odontocete populations of the Marquesas and Society Islands (French Polynesia)

2008 ◽  
Vol 89 (5) ◽  
pp. 931-941 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandre Gannier
Keyword(s):  
Relative Abundance ◽  
Bottlenose Dolphin ◽  
Bottlenose Dolphins ◽  
Sperm Whale ◽  
French Polynesia ◽  
Society Islands ◽  
Spotted Dolphin ◽  
Abundance Indices ◽  
Beaked Whales ◽  
Using Data

Small boat surveys were organized to study cetaceans of the Marquesas (9°S and 140°W) and the Society Islands (17°S and 150°W) in French Polynesia. Prospecting took place from 12–15 m sailboats, between 1996 and 2001 with systematic visual searching. Boats moved according to sea conditions, at a mean speed of 10 km/h. Effective effort of 4856 km in the Marquesas and 10,127 km in the Societies were logged. Relative abundance indices were processed for odontocetes using data obtained with Beaufort 4 or less. In the Marquesas, 153 on-effort sightings were obtained on 10 delphinids species including the spotted dolphin, spinner dolphin, bottlenose dolphin, melon-headed whale and rough-toothed dolphin. In the Societies, 153 sightings of 12 odontocetes included delphinids (spinner, rough-toothed and bottlenose dolphins, short-finned pilot and melon-headed whales, Fraser's dolphin, Risso's dolphin and pygmy killer whale) and two species of beaked whales, the sperm whale and dwarf sperm whale. Relative abundance indices were higher in the Marquesas than in the Societies both inshore (0.93 ind/km2 against 0.36 ind/km2) and offshore (0.28 ind/km2 against 0.14 ind/km2). Differences in remote-sensed primary production were equally important, the Marquesas waters featuring an annual average of 409 mgC.m−2 · day−1 and the Societies of only 171 mgC · m−2 · day−1. The presence of a narrow shelf around the Marquesas also accounted for differences in odontocete populations, in particular the delphinids.

scholarly journals A DNA barcode reference library of the French Polynesian shore fishes

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erwan Delrieu-Trottin ◽  
Jeffrey T. Williams ◽  
Diane Pitassy ◽  
Amy Driskell ◽  
Nicolas Hubert ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dna Barcoding ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Dna Barcode ◽  
Reef Fishes ◽  
French Polynesia ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
Reference Library ◽  
Society Islands ◽  
Extensive Collection ◽  
I Gene

AbstractThe emergence of DNA barcoding and metabarcoding opened new ways to study biological diversity, however, the completion of DNA barcode libraries is fundamental for such approaches to succeed. This dataset is a DNA barcode reference library (fragment of Cytochrome Oxydase I gene) for 2,190 specimens representing at least 540 species of shore fishes collected over 10 years at 154 sites across the four volcanic archipelagos of French Polynesia; the Austral, Gambier, Marquesas and Society Islands, a 5,000,000 km2area. At present, 65% of the known shore fish species of these archipelagoes possess a DNA barcode associated with preserved, photographed, tissue sampled and cataloged specimens, and extensive collection locality data. This dataset represents one of the most comprehensive DNA barcoding efforts for a vertebrate fauna to date. Considering the challenges associated with the conservation of coral reef fishes and the difficulties of accurately identifying species using morphological characters, this publicly available library is expected to be helpful for both authorities and academics in various fields.

Spirocamallanus species of French Polynesian coral reef fishes

1997 ◽  
Vol 75 (8) ◽  
pp. 1270-1279 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark C. Rigby ◽  
Martin L. Adamson
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reef ◽  
Ecological Factors ◽  
Buccal Capsule ◽  
Reef Fishes ◽  
French Polynesia ◽  
New Host ◽  
Society Islands ◽  
Single Clade ◽  
Taxonomic Importance ◽  
New Host Records

Spirocamallanus monotaxis is redescribed from Monotaxis grandoculis (Lethrinidae) and reported from 10 other species of coral reef associated fishes from both the Society Islands and the Tuamotu Islands. This represents a new locality for S. monotaxis and 10 new host records. Spirocamallanus colei n.sp. is described from Acanthurus achilles (Acanthuridae) and from Acanthurus guttatus, Acanthurus lineatus, Acanthurus triostegus, and Zebrasoma scopas from both the Society Islands and the Tuamotu Islands. Spirocamallanus chaimha n.sp. is described from Ctenochaetus striatus and Acanthurus olivaceous (Acanthuridae) from Moorea in the Society Islands. The number of buccal capsule ridges in Spirocamallanus varies and minor differences have no taxonomic importance. Marine Spirocamallanus species appear to belong to a single clade characterized by 3 preanal papillae and 5 postanal papillae. This clade may be subdivided on the basis of the shape of the female tail. In French Polynesia, ecological factors as opposed to phylogenetic factors appear to determine host specificity for Spirocamallanus. A new system of reporting the positions of the caudal papillae, based on the position of the papillae relative to the length of the alae, is used.

The Northwest Coast

Anthropology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leslie H. Tepper
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Material Culture ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Geographic Area ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Indigenous Populations ◽  
Northwest Coast ◽  
European Contact ◽  
The North

The distinctive culture of the Indigenous populations on the Northwest Coast (NWC) and their colonial history—from European contact in the 17th century to contemporary issues of land claims and reconciliation—have helped to frame many of the themes and models of ethnographic theory and practice, particularly in American anthropology. The NWC is often defined as the geographic area stretching from Alaska to California. For the purposes of this bibliography, the study area is limited to what is sometimes called the “North Pacific Coast,” which begins at the southern border of Alaska, continues down the coastline of British Columbia (BC), and ends in northern Washington State. Its rocky coastline is broken up by deep fjords and offshore islands, including Vancouver Island in the south and Haida Gwaii (formerly the Queen Charlotte Islands) in the north. Several major river systems provide access to the BC interior through the mountainous Cascade Range. Though local resources vary along the coast, almost all the Indigenous groups followed a similar seasonal cycle of fishing, hunting, and gathering from spring to fall. The winter months were dedicated to the manufacture of material culture, social feasting, and ceremonial gatherings. Large oceangoing canoes and smaller river crafts linked well-established villages into an extensive series of trade routes. Walking trails over the mountains allowed the exchange of seafood and other coastal products for animal skins and goods from interior forests. Warfare brought additional wealth to the victor by means of raiding stored foods and manufactured items. European contact began in the late 18th century with the arrival of Spanish and British explorers. They were followed by English, American, and Russian fur traders. The discovery of gold along the Fraser River in 1858, and later finds in the Cariboo Mountains, brought tens of thousands of American, British, and other immigrants to the area. British sovereignty over the area north of the 49th parallel was quickly reinforced by the Royal Navy and an expanded colonial administration. In 1871 the province of British Columbia joined the Canadian Confederation and NWC Indigenous communities came under the control of the federal Indian Act. This act is still in force.

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