Mid-Pacific Institute

Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis) fledged the first chick on the island of O‘ahu in 1947, but did not begin regularly breeding until 1992, followed by Black-footed Albatross (P. nigripes) who began breeding in 2022. Laysan Albatross have attempted to breed at nine locations on O‘ahu since 1979 and have established colonies at four sites: Ka‘ena Point, Kuaokala-, Kahuku Point, and James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge. We monitored Laysan Albatross colonies on O‘ahu weekly from 2004 to 2023; all individuals were censused, banded, and identified to gender. There was a population of 875 adults on O‘ahu in 2023, 490 of which were active breeders. The annual growth rate up to 2015 was 26%, but the growth rate slowed to 20% after human vandalism in 2015 that resulted in the destruction of 17 nests and at least 17 adults. The advent of predator exclusion fencing at Ka‘ena Point (2011) and Kuaokala- (2021) resulted in increased reproductive success (from 0.37 to 0.43) driven by a 25% increase in chick fledging success (from 0.60 before fencing to 0.80 after) which resulted in an estimated additional 69 chicks fledging compared to if the fence had not been constructed. Black-footed Albatross visits increased to O‘ahu from 3 in 2017 to 317 in 2023, coinciding with the disappearance of East Island in Papaha-naumokua-kea Marine National Monument which displaced 2,000 breeding pairs. These new colonies are at higher elevations and will continue to serve as refugia against sea level rise and as such, are conservation priorities.

Abstract Invasive non‐native species (INNS) are recognized as a major threat to island biodiversity, ecosystems, and economies globally. Preventing high‐risk INNS from being introduced is the most cost‐effective way to avoid their adverse impacts. We applied a horizon scanning approach to identify potentially INNS in the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (OTs), ranging from Antarctica to the Caribbean, and from the Pacific to the Atlantic. High‐risk species were identified according to their potential for arrival, establishment, and likely impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem function, economies, and human health. Across OTs, 231 taxa were included on high‐risk lists. The highest ranking species were the Asian green mussel ( Perna viridis ), little fire ant ( Wasmannia auropunctata ), brown rat ( Rattus norvegicus ), and mesquite tree ( Prosopis juliflora ). Shipping containers were identified as the introduction pathway associated with the most species. The shared high‐risk species and pathways identified provide a guide for other remote islands and archipelagos to focus ongoing biosecurity and surveillance aimed at preventing future incursions.

Abstract Many seabird breeding colonies have recovered from heavy anthropogenic disturbance after conservation actions. The widely distributed red‐tailed tropicbird, Phaethon rubricauda, was used as a model species to assess potential anthropogenic impacts on the genetic diversity of breeding colonies in the Pacific Ocean. Cytochrome c oxidase subunit I and control region sequences analyses were conducted across the range of the species in the Pacific Ocean. The study sites were at islands without human‐related disturbance (non‐impacted islands) and with human‐related disturbance (impacted islands). We hypothesized that (i) breeding colonies of the red‐tailed tropicbird on impacted islands have lower genetic diversity compared with colonies on non‐impacted islands, and (ii) breeding colonies of the red‐tailed tropicbird show significant fine and broad‐scale genetic structure across the Pacific Ocean. Bayesian skyline analyses were conducted to infer past changes in population sizes. Genetic diversity was similar between impacted and non‐impacted islands. There was significant broad‐scale genetic structure among colonies separated by over 6,000 km, but a lack of significant fine‐scale genetic structure within Australasia and Hawai'i, although a significant level of differentiation was found within Chile with ΦST analyses. Skyline analyses showed that effective population sizes remained relatively constant through time, but experienced either a slight decrease or the end of an expansion event through the last 1,000 years. These changes may be related to the arrival of humans on Pacific islands. Impacted islands may have received immigrants from other relatively close islands, buffering the loss of genetic diversity. However, it is also possible that colonies have retained ancestral variation or that a large effective population size coupled with a long generation time (13 years) has prevented the loss of genetic diversity in human‐impacted islands. Future research using higher‐resolution markers is needed to resolve the population genetic structure of the red‐tailed tropicbird in an ecological time‐scale.

SummaryThe United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development sets a framework of universal Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to address challenges to society and the planet. Island invasive species eradications have well-documented benefits that clearly align with biodiversity conservation-related SDGs, yet the value of this conservation action for socioeconomic benefits is less clear. We examine the potential for island invasive vertebrate eradications to have ecological and socioeconomic benefits. Specifically, we examine: (1) how SDGs may have been achieved through past eradications; and (2) how planned future eradications align with SDGs and associated targets. We found invasive vertebrate eradication to align with 13 SDGs and 42 associated targets encompassing marine and terrestrial biodiversity conservation, promotion of local and global partnerships, economic development, climate change mitigation, human health and sanitation and sustainable production and consumption. Past eradications on 794 islands aligned with a median of 17 targets (range 13–38) by island. Potential future eradications on 292 highly biodiverse islands could align with a median of 25 SDG targets (range 15–39) by island. This analysis enables the global community to explicitly describe the contributions that invasive vertebrate management on islands can make towards implementing the global sustainable development agenda.

Ocean surface winds are an essential factor in understanding the physical interactions between the atmosphere and the ocean. Surface winds measured by satellite scatterometers and buoys cover most of the global ocean; however, there are still spatial and temporal gaps and finer-scale variations of wind that may be overlooked, particularly in coastal areas. Here, we show that flight paths of soaring seabirds can be used to estimate fine-scale (every 5 min, ∼5 km) ocean surface winds. Fine-scale global positioning system (GPS) positional data revealed that soaring seabirds flew tortuously and ground speed fluctuated presumably due to tail winds and head winds. Taking advantage of the ground speed difference in relation to flight direction, we reliably estimated wind speed and direction experienced by the birds. These bird-based wind velocities were significantly correlated with wind velocities estimated by satellite-borne scatterometers. Furthermore, extensive travel distances and flight duration of the seabirds enabled a wide range of high-resolution wind observations, especially in coastal areas. Our study suggests that seabirds provide a platform from which to measure ocean surface winds, potentially complementing conventional wind measurements by covering spatial and temporal measurement gaps.

1. Explain how governments use social media. 2. Describe social B2B activities. 3. Describe the commercial applications conducted in virtual worlds. 4. Review entertainment and gaming in social commerce. 5. Describe social gaming. 6. Explain how people can use social media to conduct P2P transactions.

1. Define social computing and the Social Web. 2. Describe the Social Web revolution. 3. Describe the essentials of Web 2.0 and social media. 4. Define social commerce and describe its roots and evolution. 5. Describe the content of the social commerce field. 6. Define social media marketing. 7. Describe Enterprise 2.0. 8. Summarize the benefits and limitations of social commerce.9. Understand the process of conducting social commerce. 10. Find research opportunities in social commerce and learn about related resources.