Pacific photographs from the Vanadis expedition, 1883–85

The Vanadis expedition was a Swedish–Norwegian scientific and trade mission that circumnavigated the globe between 1883 and 1885. The scientific aspect of the expedition focused on the collection of objects, archaeological excavations and the documentation of the peoples, places and material culture encountered on the voyage. Responsible for much of this collecting and documentation was ethnographer Hjalmar Stolpe, as well as photographer Oscar Birger Ekholm. An estimated 7500 objects from the Vanadis expedition today form part of Etnografiska museet (The Museum of Ethnography) collections in Stockholm, over 900 of which came from the Pacific. These were acquired/purchased from Indigenous and western residents in all places the ship stopped including the Society Islands, Marquesas Islands, the Tuamotu Archipelago, Hawaiian Islands and Marshall Islands. Of the roughly 700 photographs taken during the voyage, just over 200 were taken in the Pacific. Ekholm’s photographic record from the Pacific includes studies of people and portraits, land and seascapes, archaeological sites, dwellings and marine transportation. Providing an overview of Ekholm’s photographs from the Vanadis expedition, this article seeks to contextualize his photography, situating it within the wider context of collecting with which he and Stolpe were concerned. It will further consider the racial stereotypes, interest in practices such as tattooing and overall aims of the expedition that prompted this photographic documentation.

Understanding consequences of adaptive monitoring protocols on data consistency: application to the monitoring of giant clam densities impacted by massive mortalities in Tuamotu atolls, French Polynesia

During long-term monitoring, protocols suitable in the initial context may have to change afterward because of unforeseen events. The outcome for management can be important if the consequences of changing protocols are not understood. In Tuamotu Archipelago atolls, French Polynesia, the density of giant clams (Tridacna maxima) has been monitored for 12 years, but massive mortalities and collapsing densities forced to shift from a line-intercept transects and quadrats (LIT-Q) method to a belt-transect (BT) method. We investigated with a simulation approach the conditions (density, size structure, aggregation of giant clam populations) under which the two methods provided different results. A statistical model relating the BT density to the LIT-Q density was validated using new field data acquired on the same sites with both protocols, on two atolls. The BT method usually provided higher estimates of density than the LIT-Q method, but the opposite was found for very high densities. The shape of the relationship between measurements depended on population size structure and on aggregation. Revisiting with the model the historical LIT-Q densities suggested that densities have been underestimated in the past but previously detected trends in population trajectories remained valid. The implication of these findings for management are discussed.

Cocconeis kurakakea, a new diatom species from Nukutavake (Tuamotu Archipelago, South Pacific): description and comparison with C. diruptoides and C. pseudodiruptoides

During the ‘Tara Pacific 2016–2018 Expedition’, marine benthic diatom samples were collected from several Tuamotu atolls in the South Pacific. Preparation and examination of these samples were conducted following standard methods including light and scanning electron microscopy. A small-celled taxon from the genus Cocconeis Ehrenb. (Bacillariophyceae) is described from the Nukutavake reef, and compared to several other taxa for which the definition is not always clear (e.g., Cocconeis diruptoides Hust. and Cocconeis pseudodiruptoides Foged). The new taxon is present only on one of the investigated Tuamotu atolls, possibly indicating local endemism.