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The diversity of the brown algal genus Sargassum C.Agardh in the Philippines is the highest in the tropical western Pacific Ocean. However, most studies on Philippine Sargassum are based on morphoanatomies and the assumption that the genus is very diverse in the country has never been tested based on molecular information. Considering that many Sargassum species are highly polymorphic and the recent advance on Sargassum systematics facilitated by molecular phylogenetic studies, we believe that the species of Sargassum from the Philippines should now be reassessed with the tools of molecular taxonomy. We present here the results of our molecular-assisted taxonomic studies on the Sargassum of the northern Philippines, particularly along the coasts of four coastal provinces in northwestern Luzon (i.e., Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, and Pangasinan). We recognized three distinct species lineages, namely, Sargassum aquifolium (Turner) C.Agardh, Sargassum ilicifolium (Turner) C.Agardh, and Sargassum polycystum C.Agardh based on our molecular analyses of 74 specimens from our study areas. Our morphological observations on the range of characters of these species also suggest that several common Sargassum taxa in the Philippines have been misidentified. Particularly, specimens previously attributed to S. kushimotense Yendo should be referred as S. aquifolium while the widely distributed and highly plastic S. ilicifolium is often confused and identified in the Philippines under several names including S. crassifolium J.Agardh, S. cristaefolium C.Agardh, and S. turbinarioides Grunow. Taken together, our results suggest that Sargassum biodiversity in the Philippines may have been inflated by misidentifications, and, that species diversity is actually much lower than initially thought. Étude des Sargassum (Fucales, Phaeophyceae) dans le nord-ouest de Luzon, Philippines au moyen des outils de la taxonomie moléculaire. La diversité du genre d'algues brunes Sargassum C.Agardh aux Philippines est la plus élevée de l'océan Pacifique tropical occidental. Cependant, la plupart des études sur les Sargassum des Philippines sont basées sur de la morpho-anatomie, et l'hypothèse selon laquelle le genre est très diversifié dans le pays n'a jamais été vérifiée sur la base d'informations moléculaires. Étant donné que de nombreuses espèces de Sargassum sont hautement polymorphiques et que les études phylogénétiques moléculaires ont récemment permis de faire progresser la systématique, nous pensons que les espèces de Sargassum des Philippines devraient maintenant être réévaluées au moyen d'outils de la taxonomie moléculaire. Nous présentons ici les résultats de nos études taxonomiques moléculaires sur les sargasses du nord des Philippines, en particulier le long des côtes de quatre provinces côtières du nord-ouest de Luzon (Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union et Pangasinan). Nous avons reconnu trois lignées d'espèces distinctes, à savoir Sargassum aquifolium (Turner) C.Agardh, Sargassum ilicifolium (Turner) C.Agardh, et Sargassum polycystum C.Agardh, sur la base d'analyses moléculaires de 74 spécimens provenant de nos zones d'étude. Nos observations morphologiques sur la gamme de caractères de ces espèces suggèrent également que plusieurs taxons communs de Sargassum aux Philippines ont été mal identifiés. En particulier, les spécimens précédemment attribués à S. kushimotense Yendo devraient être appelés S. aquifolium, tandis que S. ilicifolium, largement répandue et très plastique, est souvent confondue et identifiée aux Philippines sous plusieurs noms, dont S. crassifolium J.Agardh, S. cristaefolium C.Agardh et S. turbinarioides Grunow. Nos résultats suggèrent que la biodiversité des sargasses aux Philippines pourrait avoir été gonflée par des erreurs d'identification et que la diversité des espèces est en fait beaucoup plus faible qu'on ne le pensait initialement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The assessment of zooplankton spatial structure is critical to quantifying plankton production and biochemical cycling. Here, we show the effect of monsoon-driven hydrographic changes on the spatial patterns of zooplankton at regional scales. Based on a field survey conducted during the monsoon transition, we assess the community structure and ash-free dry weight above 100 m depth in the Kuroshio edge area, southeastern East China Sea. The zooplankton community was dominated by copepods, with calanoids as the most abundant taxon followed by poecilostomatoids. Copepod assemblages comprised 81 species belonging to 41 families, and 23 genera, with Undinula vulgaris as the most abundant species. The richness of zooplankton taxa showed a mounting trend from the coast to offshore, which was opposite to the spatial variation of total zooplankton biomass. Our results suggest a leading influence of the Kuroshio Current during the southwest-northeast monsoon transition period in the southeastern East China Sea. Résumé: L'évaluation de la structure spatiale du zooplancton est essentielle pour quantifier la production du plancton et les cycles biochimiques. Ici, nous montrons l'effet des changements hydrographiques induits par la mousson sur les modèles spatiaux du plancton à l'échelle régionale. À partir d'un suivi sur le terrain mené pendant la transition de la mousson, nous avons évalué la structure de la communauté et le poids sec sans cendres au-dessus de 100 m de profondeur dans la zone du bord du Kuroshio, au sud-est de la mer de Chine orientale. La communauté zooplanctonique était dominée par les copépodes, avec les calanoïdes comme taxon le plus abondant suivis par les poecilostomatoïdes. Les assemblages de copépodes comprenaient 81 espèces appartenant à 41 familles, et 23 genres, avec Undinula vulgaris comme l'espèce la plus abondante. La richesse des taxons du zooplankton a montré une tendance croissante de la côte vers le large, qui était opposée à la variation spatiale de la biomasse totale du zooplancton. Nos résultats suggèrent une influence prépondérante du Courant de Kuroshio pendant la période de transition de la mousson sud-ouest/nord-est dans le sud-est de la mer de Chine orientale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Specimens previously identified as Bathyconchoecia paulula sensu Yin & Chen, 1991 and Bathyconchoecia galerita sensu Yin & Chen, 1991, together with two similar specimens, are reclassified as a new species, Bathyconchoecia incisa sp. nov., which we describe and illustrate in detail here. The present species is similar to Bathyconchoecia sagittarius and Bathyconchoecia kornickeri in having a shallow notch on the posterodorsal corner of the carapace, but can be easily distinguished from these species by the structure of the posterior margin of the carapace and the striated sculpturing on the surface of the valves. The specimens on which this new classification was based were collected at shallow depths (<125 m) off the east coast of Hainan Island, in the northern South China Sea and in the Zengmu (James) Shoal and adjacent areas in the southern South China Sea. B. incisa is likely to be a shallow-water species or has a wide bathymetric range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Austronesians colonized the islands of Rapa Nui, Hawaii, the Marquesas and Madagascar. All of these islands have been found to harbor Austronesian artifacts and also, all of them are known nesting sites for marine turtles. Turtles are well known for their transoceanic migrations, sometimes totalling thousands of miles, between feeding and nesting grounds. All marine turtles require land for nesting. Ancient Austronesians are known to have had outstanding navigation skills, which they used to adjust course directions. But these skills will have been insufficient to locate tiny, remote islands in the vast Indo-Pacific oceans. We postulate that the Austronesians must have had an understanding of the marine turtles’ migration patterns and used this knowledge to locate remote and unknown islands. The depth and speed at which marine turtles migrate makes following them by outrigger canoes feasible. Humans have long capitalized on knowledge of animal behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The history of Hawai'i's relationship with the United States is marked by continued attempts on the part of the islanders to renegotiate Hawai'i's place in the American political imagination. In three separate instances, those efforts took cartographic shape. In 1876, with the Kingdom of Hawai'i beginning to feel the leading waves of US imperialism, the kingdom sent a modern, scientific map to the Centennial World's Fair in Philadelphia, making an argument for Hawaiian sovereignty. In 1893, with the question of annexation on the table after the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy, haole insurrectionists endorsed a map depicting the islands' proximity to and reliance on the United States - a map that showed the indigenous Hawaiian peoples as barbarous and unable to rule themselves without Western intervention. And in 1937 the Hawaiian Pineapple Company (Dole) commissioned a tourist map of the territory that sought to tame Hawai'i in the mainlanders' imagination even as the islands' business leaders began their first serious push for statehood. These three maps, set alongside each other, demonstrate a long and contested discussion between the islands and the mainland about how the United States understood Hawai'i and Pacific politics: a cartographic conversation that remained thematically consistent across multiple iterations of Hawaiian governments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article studies the origins of the Port of Buenaventura in the New Kingdom of Granada. It begins with the process of exploration of the coastal territory in order to highlight the different sites in which it was situated, demonstrating that it began as a river port and was later resituated and gradually converted into a maritime port. In addition, this article analyzes the problems it faced, such as the difficulty of communication with the interior of the country, the indigenous resistance that caused the destruction of the town, and finally the necessity of populating the zone with black slaves in order to exploit the mining border. This study also discusses how this port was controlled by the elite of the city of Cali, until the Republican period when it became the sole Colombian port on the Pacific Ocean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fifty-nine species of marine benthic algae are reported for the first time from the coral reefs of isolated Swains Island, American Samoa, based on collections made during February 2002, 2004, 2006, and March 2008 under the auspices of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The collections include 4 species of blue-green algae (cyanobacteria), 38 species of red algae, 3 species of brown algae and 14 species of green algae. Based on their frequency of occurrence at different stations during the 4 cruises, Rhipilia geppiorum and Microdictyon umbilicatum were considered the most widely distributed species during the months of February and March. Twenty-eight species represent new records for the Samoan Archipelago (American Samoa and Samoa). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]