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How early human foragers impacted insular forests is a topic with implications across multiple disciplines, including resource management. Paradoxically, terminal Pleistocene and Early Holocene impacts of foraging communities have been characterized as both extreme-as in debates over human-driven faunal extinctions-and minimal compared to later landscape transformations by farmers and herders. We investigated how rainforest hunter-gatherers managed resources in montane New Guinea and present some of the earliest documentation of Late Pleistocene through mid-Holocene exploitation of cassowaries (Aves: Casuariidae). Worldwide, most insular ratites were extirpated by the Late Holocene, following human arrivals, including elephant birds of Madagascar (Aepyornithidae) and moa of Aotearoa/New Zealand (Dinornithiformes)-icons of anthropogenic island devastation. Cassowaries are exceptional, however, with populations persisting in New Guinea and Australia. Little is known of past human exploitation and what factors contributed to their survival. We present a method for inferring past human interaction with mega-avifauna via analysis of microstructural features of archaeological eggshell. We then contextualize cassowary hunting and egg harvesting by montane foragers and discuss the implications of human exploitation. Our data suggest cassowary egg harvesting may have been more common than the harvesting of adults. Furthermore, our analysis of cassowary eggshell microstructural variation reveals a distinct pattern of harvesting eggs in late ontogenetic stages. Harvesting eggs in later stages of embryonic growth may reflect human dietary preferences and foraging seasonality, but the observed pattern also supports the possibility that-as early as the Late Pleistocene-people were collecting eggs in order to hatch and rear cassowary chicks.

In New Guinea Palm Cockatoos, Pesquet’s Parrots and Eclectus Parrots are potentially threatened by deforestation and hunting. In a 28-month study, we found 51 Palm Cockatoo, 34 Pesquet’s Parrot and 71 Eclectus Parrot nests. Eclectus Parrots used taller, larger, live trees. Palm Cockatoos preferred hollows in broken trunks having deeper hollows with larger entrances. Pesquet’s Parrots excavated their nest hollows in dead trees. Palm Cockatoos nested at lower density (0.008 nests/ha) than Pesquet’s (0.022 nests/ha) and Eclectus Parrots (0.069 nests/ha). Palm Cockatoos and Pesquet’s Parrots appeared to breed seasonally; Eclectus Parrots bred at higher frequency year-round. Palm Cockatoo clutch size was one; Pesquet’s and Eclectus Parrots clutches had one to two eggs. Eclectus Parrots had higher fledging success: 54%, compared with 40% of Palm Cockatoo and 17% of Pesquet’s Parrot eggs. Predation caused most nest failures for Palm Cockatoos and Eclectus Parrots; starvation caused most loss in Pesquet’s Parrots. Humans hunted Palm Cockatoos and Pesquet’s Parrots, not Eclectus Parrots. Higher nest tree density, breeding success, and more generalised feeding habits may make Eclectus Parrots the least vulnerable of the three species. Low population density and breeding frequency of Palm Cockatoos and Pesquet’s Parrots may make them more vulnerable.

In September 1927, at the International Zoological Congress in Budapest, Hungary, a 24-year-old man who had just completed his Ph.D. met one of the world’s then leading ornithologists, Walter Roths...

The amphibian chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (chytrid) has caused the most widespread, disease-induced declines and extinctions in vertebrates recorded to date. The largest climatically suitable landmass that may still be free of this fungus is New Guinea. The island is home to a sizeable proportion of the world's known frog species (an estimated 6%), as well as many additional, yet-to-be-described species. Two decades of research on the chytrid fungus have provided a foundation for improved management of amphibian populations. We call for urgent, unified, international, multidisciplinary action to prepare for the arrival of B dendrobatidis in New Guinea, to prevent or slow its spread within the island after it arrives, and to limit its impact upon the island's frog populations. The apparent absence of the fungus in New Guinea offers an opportunity to build capacity in advance for science, disease surveillance, and diagnosis that will have broad relevance both for non-human animal health and for public health.

Significance Our understanding of the factors that affected the diversification of passerines, the most diverse and widespread bird order (Passeriformes), is limited. Here, we reconstruct passerine evolutionary history and produce the most comprehensive time-calibrated phylogenetic hypothesis of the group using extensive sampling of the genome, complete sampling of all passerine families, and a number of vetted fossil calibration points. Our phylogenetic results refine our knowledge of passerine diversity and yield divergence dates that are consistent with the fossil record, and our macroevolutionary analyses suggest that singular events in Earth history, such as increases in Cenozoic global temperature or the colonization of new continents, were not the primary forces driving passerine diversification., Avian diversification has been influenced by global climate change, plate tectonic movements, and mass extinction events. However, the impact of these factors on the diversification of the hyperdiverse perching birds (passerines) is unclear because family level relationships are unresolved and the timing of splitting events among lineages is uncertain. We analyzed DNA data from 4,060 nuclear loci and 137 passerine families using concatenation and coalescent approaches to infer a comprehensive phylogenetic hypothesis that clarifies relationships among all passerine families. Then, we calibrated this phylogeny using 13 fossils to examine the effects of different events in Earth history on the timing and rate of passerine diversification. Our analyses reconcile passerine diversification with the fossil and geological records; suggest that passerines originated on the Australian landmass ∼47 Ma; and show that subsequent dispersal and diversification of passerines was affected by a number of climatological and geological events, such as Oligocene glaciation and inundation of the New Zealand landmass. Although passerine diversification rates fluctuated throughout the Cenozoic, we find no link between the rate of passerine diversification and Cenozoic global temperature, and our analyses show that the increases in passerine diversification rate we observe are disconnected from the colonization of new continents. Taken together, these results suggest more complex mechanisms than temperature change or ecological opportunity have controlled macroscale patterns of passerine speciation.

Variation in habitat and microhabitat can affect salamander populations. We systematically surveyed terrestrially active salamanders in an old forest tract and a young forest tract at the Powdermill Nature Reserve in southwestern Pennsylvania during 2009–2011. We examined the effect forest age had on the 2 salamander assemblage structures. While species compositions were similar, assemblage structures were uneven in both the old and young forest sites. Differential use of survey coverboards across species was detected at both sites. This difference in use may be best explained by ground-moisture levels as a function of coverboard distance to water. Counterintuitive findings of low numbers of Desmognathus ochrophaeus (Mountain Dusky Salamander) and Plethodon cinereus (Red-backed Salamander) compared to past studies at these 2 sites appears most likely related to differences in trapping methodology. Patterns of differential use of coverboards and inter-site differences in seasonal activity patterns point to P. glutinosus (Northern Slimy Salamander) as the least restricted species in terms of microhabitat conditions and most seasonally variable in activity.

Treefall gaps play important roles in tropical rain-forest ecology. But studies rely increasingly on models, remote sensing, and a few intensively studied research sites, mostly in the neotropics. We studied the basic parameters of gap dynamics (size, causes, and frequency) of treefall gaps in a lower montane primary forest on the southern flank of the central range of Papua New Guinea. We found 40 treefall gaps formed on 10.4 km of transect sampled annually over 3 yr. Mean proportion of forest under new gaps was 0.015/yr. Mean area of treefall gaps ≤1 yr old was 312 m2, and gap area was positively correlated with diameter of the fallen tree. Mostly only large trees (diameter at breast height [DBH] = 53 cm) fell as snapped (n = 23) or uprooted (n = 17), creating both single (n = 34) and multiple (n = 6) treefall gaps. There was no strong directionality in the bearings of treefalls. This study provides some of the first information on gap dynamics in Papua New Guinea, where such data can be used ...

In a much-cited recent article, Obermeyer, Murray, and Gakidou (2008a) examine estimates of wartime fatalities from injuries for thirteen countries. Their analysis poses a major challenge to the battle-death estimating methodology widely used by conflict researchers, engages with the controversy over whether war deaths have been increasing or decreasing in recent decades, and takes the debate over different approaches to battle-death estimation to a new level. In making their assessments, the authors compare war death reports extracted from World Health Organization (WHO) sibling survey data with the battle-death estimates for the same countries from the International Peace Research Institute, Oslo (PRIO). The analysis that leads to these conclusions is not compelling, however. Thus, while the authors argue that the PRIO estimates are too low by a factor of three, their comparison fails to compare like with like. Their assertion that there is “no evidence” to support the PRIO finding that war deaths have recently declined also fails. They ignore war-trend data for the periods after 1994 and before 1955, base their time trends on extrapolations from a biased convenience sample of only thirteen countries, and rely on an estimated constant that is statistically insignificant.

Most tropical trees producefleshy fruits that attract frugivores that disperse their seeds. Early demography and distribution for these tree species depend on the effects of frugivores and their behavior. Anthropogenic changes that affect frugivore communities could ultimately result in changes in tree distribution and population demography. We studied the frugivore assemblage at 38 fruiting Elmerrillia tsiampaca, a rain forest canopy tree species in Papua New Guinea. Elmerrillia tsiampaca is an important resource for frugivorous birds at our study site because it produces abundant lipid-rich fruits at a time of low fruit availability. We classified avian frugivores into functional disperser groups and quantified visitation rates and behavior at trees during 56 canopy and 35 ground observation periods. We tested predictions derived from other studies of plant‐frugivore interactions with this little-studied frugivore assemblage in an undisturbed rain forest. Elmerrillia tsiampaca fruits were consumed by 26 bird species, but most seeds were removed by eight species. The most important visitors (Columbidae, Paradisaeidae and Rhyticeros plicatus) were of a larger size than predicted based on diaspore size. Columbidae efficiently exploited the structurally protected fruit, which was inconsistent with other studies in New Guinea where structurally protected fruits were predominantly consumed by Paradisaeidae. Birds vulnerable to predation foraged for short time periods, consistent with the hypothesis that predator avoidance enhances seed dispersal. We identified seven functional disperser groups, indicating there is little redundancy in disperser groups among the regular and frequent visitors to this tropical rain forest tree species.

As an order, Parrots (Psittaciformes) are both the longest lived birds and among the most endangered. Palm Cockatoos (Probosciger aterrimus) have an extremely slow life history, including one of the lowest rates of breeding success reported for parrots. Here we use population viability analysis (PVA) to examine whether populations of Palm Cockatoos are viable in the long term with such low rates of reproduction. We built PVA models for two field sites with robust data on reproductive success and availability of nest-hollows: Iron Range on Cape York Peninsula (Queensland, Australia) and Crater Mountain (Eastern Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea). Our Iron Range models incorporate a fluctuating resource base of nest-hollows resulting from natural losses from fire, wind and tree decay and natural replenishment through tree breakages in tropical cyclones. The number of females allowed to breed each year in the simulations was limited by the availability of hollows. Our Iron Range models suggest that the population is only viable if juvenile and adult mortality rates are very low, and that at least some birds in the population live to 100 years old. Based on known maximum lifespans in the Cacatuidae, we conclude that Palm Cockatoos at Iron Range are unlikely to live for long enough on average to support their low rates of reproduction, and highlight the possibility that the population may be in decline. At Crater Mountain, where nestlings are harvested for food by local people, the models suggest that the reported current rate of 40% of nestlings taken is not sustainable.

Although herbivores may account for a significant source of seed and seedling mortality in many tropical tree species, plant species differ in their response to seed damage. Here we investigate the relative effects of seed predation on the regeneration of five tree species in a mid-elevation Papua New Guinean rain forest. Exclosure treatments and shade-house experiments were monitored from November 2004 to March 2006 to assess the differential effects of seed predation on seed viability and seedling growth. Results indicate that although seed predators attack all five focal species, they influence the seedling populations in two, Cerbera floribunda and Microcos grandiflora, and minimally affect the seedling populations of Terminalia impediens, Pandanus penicillus and Endiandra latifolia in the years measured. Predation and germination frequencies were compared to the abundance of focal species at several life stage classes to explore potential correlations between species-specific seed mortality patterns and life stage distributions. We found that the species-specific influence of mammalian seed predators correlated with abundance distributions in three life stages. Species with high survivorship after seed predator attacks displayed a significant decrease in abundance from the seedling-to-sapling transition, while those species with high seed mortality demonstrated relatively even distributions of seedlings, saplings and adults (> 10 cm dbh). These contrasting patterns suggest that differential seed predation effects on regeneration may play a key role in the recruitment of individuals to the sapling stage.

Summary Hummingbirds in the tropical rainforests of southwestern Costa Rica face intense competition from stingless bees Trigona that steal nectar from hummingbird flowers. Here we document both interference and exploitative competition between bees and hummingbirds at scarlet, hummingbird pollinated flowers of Passiflora vitifolia. Aggressive stingless bees prevented Long-tailed Hermit Hummingbirds Phaethornis superciliosus from feeding at nearly one-third of the passion flowers approached. In exclusion experiments, bees and hummingbirds each removed most of the nectar from treated flowers. Experimental exclusion of bees also increased hummingbird use of both natural and artificial flowers.

Two new species of the ceratobatrachid frog genus Platymantis are described from the Admiralty Archipelago, Papua New Guinea. Platymantis admiraltiensis sp. nov. and P. latro sp. nov. have been confused with P. gilliardi Zweifel, 1960 which is known with certainty only from New Britain in the Bismarck Archipelago. Platymantis admiraltiensis sp. nov. differs from P. gilliardi in its much longer legs (TL/SV 0.54–0.60 vs 0.51 in the holotype of P. gilliardi), and from all species of the morphologically conservative P. papuensis complex by its advertisement call, a long series of slowly-repeated (~ 0.4–1.9/s) yapping notes lasting up to 44 seconds. Platymantis latro sp. nov. differs from P. gilliardi and all other members of the P. papuensis complex in having a broad dark stripe laterally on the head and an advertisement call consisting of a single biphasic note with 10–20 short, irregularly spaced pulses followed by one long, musical pulse. Both new species are known only from the Admiralty Archipelago. This study confirms the utility of advertisement call structure for distinguishing among morphologically similar ceratobatrachid taxa.

Numerous New Guinea birds, mostly psittaciforms and columbiforms, have been recorded feeding on soil. This study documents geophagy in the Crater Mountain Wildlife Management Area (CMWMA) in the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea. We present the first documented case of geophagy in the palm cockatoo Probosciger aterrimus and in up to 11 other species. Soil from the site where geophagy by palm cockatoos was recorded was highly weathered and acidic, with a mixture of kaolin, gibbsite, goethite and illite in the clay fraction. Analyses may support the hypothesis that soil is ingested to counterbalance the effects of toxic compounds in fruit. We suggest that the accessibility of the site (an exposed bank), rather than the nature of the soil itself, prompted its use by birds. At another site, a blue-coloured soil on which cassowaries fed was rich in vivianite (an iron phosphate) and contained an iron-rich smectite, and some kaolin and mica in the clay fraction. Why cassowaries feed on this particular soil is unclear, but they may obtain trace elements from it, or take advantage of its high iron or phosphorus content. Obtaining other elements, in particular calcium and sodium, may also be important. Alternatively, there may simply be an attraction to its blue colour, which also attracted the interest of local people and folklore. Birds were also reported to drink salt water within the CMWMA. Taken together, there may be quite different reasons for ingestion of minerals/soils among as many as 23 bird species from five families.

We describe a method for measuring gut passage time and seed dispersal distance for a large terrestrial frugivore. We attached temperature data loggers to radio transmitters in baits that were ingested by free-ranging cassowaries. The resulting data yielded information on how fast the unit passed through the gut (3–4 h) and how far they were moved (240–325 m), an analog for dispersed seeds. Additionally, the data loggers revealed that cassowaries reingest fecal matter, the first observation of coprophagy in wild cassowaries.

This article argues that the academic conflict research community has far less impact on the policy community than the importance of its work deserves. This is so for a number of reasons. First, the scholarly and policy communities communicate badly - the former rarely seeking to make their work more accessible to the latter. This is particularly true of the work of the econometricians, which few in the policy community understand. Second, the still-dominant realist academic security studies community continues to focus on interstate wars, while tending to ignore the 90% plus of armed conflicts that take place within, not between, states. Realist theories are, moreover, largely irrelevant to the task of explaining civil wars. Third, few policymakers recognize that probabilistic theories cannot be refuted by one or several counter-examples, leading them to reject important findings for the wrong reasons. Fourth, the conflict datasets used by quantitative researchers have no official standing, are often incommensurate, are unavoidably inaccurate and ignore key measures of violent conflict. Fifth, while there is some consensus with respect to findings on the causes of civil war, there are also fundamental disagreements. Little effort appears to have been made to resolve the differences. Policymakers have neither the time nor the expertise to choose between competing explanations themselves. Sixth, while there is growing consensus that the causes of civil strife are to be found in the interrelationships between development, governance and security, divisions of labour between academic disciplines and between departments in both governments and international institutions constrain both interdisciplinary and interdepartmental collaboration. The article concludes with a number of recommendations to improve the policy impact of conflict research.

The large seeds of Aglaia mackiana (Meliaceae) germinate and produce vigorous seedlings under closed canopies or in large gaps. To assess seedling ecology after germination, we measured growth, herbivore damage, and survivorship of seedlings over one year. The sample included shaded seedlings from dispersed seeds, undispersed seeds under parent trees, and seedlings transplanted to gaps. We quantified the light environment using hemispherical canopy photographs taken above seedlings at the beginning and end of the one–year study. Seedlings transplanted to gaps grew faster and had more leaves, larger total leaf surface area, longer secondary roots, and greater root mass than shaded seedlings. Seedlings in gaps did not differ from shaded seedlings in survivorship or amount of herbivore– and pathogen–caused leaf damage. The canopy photographs taken one year apart suggest there is a rough equilibrium in closed canopies with slight changes occurring around an average light level. Sites with 0.06 ISF tended to close; few gaps grew larger. Seedlings under parenr trees and seedlings away from parent trees had similar amounts of leaf damage and virtually identical survivorship after 18 months, but seedlings under parent trees had slower growth rates and smaller total leaf surface areas. Dispersal did not strongly benefit seeds via escaping high levels of mortality or comperition around the parent.

Although large seeds might be more attractive and apparent to seed predators, large seed size could enable tolerance of seed predators. If seeds are large enough to sustain damage that would kill smaller seeds yet still produce viable seedlings, investment above the minimum by the maternal plant could be advantageous. I tested this hypothesis by removing 0-80 percent of the cotyledons of four large-seeded (4-180 g) tree species from Papua New Guinea and monitoring germination and seedling growth for eight months. All species showed little negative effect on seedling size with up to 50 percent removal of cotyledons and the larger species showed a less serious effect on growth than smaller-seeded species above 50 percent removal. Large-seeded species clearly have more than the minimum-required cotyledonary reserves. Observations of viable seedlings with heavily damaged cotyledons suggest that these species withstand attack by rodents and beetles by virtue of their large size.

Physical disturbance, such as falling debris, is an important cause of mortality to rain forest seedlings. I used artificial seedlings to quantify physical disturbance in a rain forest at the Crater Mountain Biological Research Station in Papua New Guinea. Single (N = 418) and clustered artificial seedlings (N = 428) were placed on eight transects spanning varied topography to assess the area's disturbance regime, to test if ground slope affected disturbance, and to test if clustering affected the incidence of damage. Two transects showed a significant departure from random in the spatial distribution of damaged seedlings within the transect, suggesting that some areas of experience more disturbance than others. Artificial seedlings on level ground experienced damage less often than artificial seedlings on slopes; disturbance increased with ground slope. Artificial seedlings in dry washes experienced the greatest probability of damage. Artificial seedlings in clusters experienced significantly less damage than single ones, suggesting clustered seedlings might be less vulnerable to damage than lone seedlings. The disturbance rate at this site (34.7% damaged in one year) was markedly lower than that measured at the La Selva Biological Reserve in Costa Rica (82.4%).

SummaryVulturine Parrots Psittrichas fulgidus are endemic to the island of New Guinea. A review of the literature and specimen holdings indicate the species mostly occurs 500 to 1800 m a.s.l. Observations suggest the species occurs in low densities. The species is a highly specialized frugivore feeding on just a few species of figs (Ficus, Moraceae). These parrots are heavily exploited (often by destroying scarce nesting cavities) in Papua New Guinea for their feathers, used in traditional adornment. This practice might not be sustainable and four possible conservation measures are suggested: (1) increase field studies; (2) restrict transport of live birds on domestic flights; (3) replace use of Psittrichas feathers with dyed chicken feathers; (4) instruct tourists not to purchase handicrafts containing Psittrichas or other animal parts.

All mature individuals of Aglaia aff. flavida (Meliaceae) were mapped in a 260 ha study area at the Crater Mountain Biological Research Station in Papua New Guinea. Sixty-four reproductively mature trees were found in an aggregated distribution with a mean inter-tree distance of 88.9 m. The sample consisted of 35 female and 29 male trees with a mean shortest distance between sexes of 232 m. Seed production and seed removal of 22 female trees was monitored throughout the 1992 fruiting season. Female trees with in 200 m of male trees generally produced large seeds crops (> 100 seeds) whereas trees farther than 200 m from the nearest male had small seed crops (< 100 seeds) regardless of female size (DBH). Most seeds (63.2%, n = 3312) produced in a sub-sample of 22 trees came from the five most fecund trees, which also produced 74.1% of the seeds that were removed by vertebrate dispersers. Where a minority of a population of rare tropical trees produce the majority of progeny, sustainable harvest practices would be most effective where highly fecund individuals are identified and conserved.

During 1989-93, 170 species of birds were observed and 1787 individuals captured in mist nets at the Crater Mountain Biological Research Station, Chimbu Province, Papua New Guinea. Populations of many species fluctuated on annual or supra-annual schedules; 46 species were considered transients. Areas of the forest where many understorey trees had been removed exhibited reduced mist net capture rates. Comparisons among four other sites insouthern Papua New Guinea reveal striking similarities among sites in number of species and trophic organisation. Range extensions, weights and natural history observations are reported for many species. Feeding observations of nectarivorous and frugivorous birds at over 50 species of plant are reported.

To determine the sources of dispersed seeds I inserted unique tags in fallen Aglaia aff. flavida seeds before dwarf cassowaries (Casuarius bennetti) ate the fruits containing the seeds. Thirty naturally-dispersed, marked seeds were re-located in cassowary droppings in a 400 ha study area. The distribution of seed dispersal distances did not differ significantly from a normal distribution with a mean dispersal distance of 388 m, SD=196.8. Mean distance of dispersed seeds to nearest mature conspecific tree was 170 m, SD=108.4 ; dispersed seeds usually landed closer to other conspecifics than their parent. The estimated distribution of all seeds (including many undispersed seeds) was leptokurtic, creating high densities near source trees (> 0.035 seeds m -2 within 100 m of bole) that quickly tapered off ( 100 m from the bole) ; any density dependent effects are liable to be manifest only near parent trees. Cassowary movement patterns and resting behavior caused non-random dispersal of seeds. Seeds were preferentially moved to level sites uphill from their source trees along routes that did not cross steep terrain. Undispersed seeds generally landed downhill from source trees. This population of Aglaia would probably contract downhill into smaller, fragmented populations in the absence of cassowary-mediated dispersal.

(1995). The evolving security discourse in the Asia‐pacific. The Washington Quarterly: Vol. 18, No. 1, pp. 123-140.

The rapid disruption of tropical forests probably imperils global biodiversity more than any other contemporary phenomenon(1-3). With deforestation advancing quickly, protected areas are increasingly becoming final refuges for threatened species and natural ecosystem processes. However, many protected areas in the tropics are themselves vulnerable to human encroachment and other environmental stresses(4-9). As pressures mount, it is vital to know whether existing reserves can sustain their biodiversity. A critical constraint in addressing this question has been that data describing a broad array of biodiversity groups have been unavailable for a sufficiently large and representative sample of reserves. Here we present a uniquely comprehensive data set on changes over the past 20 to 30 years in 31 functional groups of species and 21 potential drivers of environmental change, for 60 protected areas stratified across the world's major tropical regions. Our analysis reveals great variation in reserve `health': about half of all reserves have been effective or performed passably, but the rest are experiencing an erosion of biodiversity that is often alarmingly widespread taxonomically and functionally. Habitat disruption, hunting and forest-product exploitation were the strongest predictors of declining reserve health. Crucially, environmental changes immediately outside reserves seemed nearly as important as those inside in determining their ecological fate, with changes inside reserves strongly mirroring those occurring around them. These findings suggest that tropical protected areas are often intimately linked ecologically to their surrounding habitats, and that a failure to stem broad-scale loss and degradation of such habitats could sharply increase the likelihood of serious biodiversity declines.

New Guinea is a biologically diverse island, with a unique geologic history and topography that has likely played a role in the evolution of species. Few island-wide studies, however, have examined the phylogeographic history of lowland species. The objective of this study was to examine patterns of phylogeographic variation of a common and widespread New Guinean bird species (Colluricincla megarhyncha). Specifically, we test the mechanisms hypothesized to cause geographic and genetic variation (e.g., vicariance, isolation by distance and founder-effect with dispersal). To accomplish this, we surveyed three regions of the mitochondrial genome and a nuclear intron and assessed differences among 23 of the 30 described subspecies from throughout their range. We found support for eight highly divergent lineages within C. megarhyncha. Genetic lineages were found within continuous lowland habitat or on smaller islands, but all individuals within clades were not necessarily structured by predicted biogeographic barriers. There was some evidence of isolation by distance and potential founder-effects. Mitochondrial DNA sequence divergence among lineages was at a level often observed among different species or even genera of birds (5–11%), suggesting lineages within regions have been isolated for long periods of time. When topographical barriers were associated with divergence patterns, the estimated divergence date for the clade coincided with the estimated time of barrier formation. We also found that dispersal distance and range size are positively correlated across lineages. Evidence from this research suggests that different phylogeographic mechanisms concurrently structure lineages of C. megarhyncha and are not mutually exclusive. These lineages are a result of evolutionary forces acting at different temporal and spatial scales concordant with New Guinea's geological history.

Seed and fruit size are important to rain forest trees because they limit what can disperse their seeds and they influence what type of defenses and nutrient reserves their seedlings will acquire, Where establishment conditions might favor larger seeds, maximum seed size can be constrained by disperser size. Because the Paleotropics have larger frugivores than the Neotropics, I predicted more large fruits would be found in the Paleotropics. In eight pantropicai, endozoochorous plant families, the Old World representatives tended to have more taxa with larger fruits than the New World representatives. In all families the mean and range of fruit sizes were greater in the Old World, which suggests that the evolution of large fruits and seeds might be more tightly constrained in the Neotropics owing to the relative scarcity of large frugivores there.

In an ongoing confrontation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), North Korea has triggered a crisis that could lead it into full-scale confrontation with the international community. The crisis, which has no obvious solution, was catalyzed by Pyongyang's repeated refusal to allow IAEA inspectors access to two suspicious sites at its controversial nuclear complex at Yongbyon, north of Pyongyang. In response, the IAEA made a formal demand that the North accept a "special inspection" of the suspect sites-a demand unprecedented in the U.N. agency's history. The North again refused, claiming that the facilities in question were "military objects" that had "nothing to do with the nuclear problem." It denounced the IAEA demands as "brigandish" acts of spying made in response to "sinister" US pressures.' On February 25, 1993, the IAEA's board of governors issued an ultimatum to the North: accede to inspections by March 25 (later extended to March 31) or face "further measures." The reference to further measures was a clear warning that the issue could be taken to the U.N. Security Council (UNSC), which has the power to impose economic sanctions on the North-an option that has frequently been discussed in Washington, Tokyo, and Seoul. Pyongyang warned that any attempt to impose inspections could plunge the peninsula into "a holocaust of war." Then came its shock announcement of withdrawal from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The North said that this was a "self-defensive measure" taken to defend its "supreme interests." The unprecedented withdrawal announcement, which will not take legal effect for three months, means that North Korea has reneged on its inter

We surveyed mitochondrial DNA haplotype divergence within and between populations of six species of North American chickadees (Parus, Subgenus Poecile) with the following results. (1) Genotype diversities (range 0.3 to 0.7) and low nucleotide diversities (range 3 to 27 × 10-4 ) within populations were typical of known vertebrates. (2) The two widespread, northern species (atricapillus and hudsonicus) exhibit little mtDNA genetic differentiation throughout their previously glaciated continental distributions, most likely because of recent, postglacial range expansions. (3) Newfoundland populations of atricapillus and maritime province (Newfoundland plus Nova Scotia) populations of hudsonicus have distinct mtDNA haplotypes which differ from continental haplotypes by single restriction site changes. (4) Haplotypes of the southeastern U.S. species P. carolinensis divide into eastern and western sets which have diverged by three percent. This heretofore unrecognized, divided population structure may correspond to the Tombigbee River/ Mobile Bay disjunction known in some other vertebrate taxa. (5) Allopatric populations of the southwestern species sclateri and gambeli exhibit divergences of one and three percent respectively. (6) Prevailing interspecific divergence distances of three to seven percent suggest speciation early in the Pleistocene rather than during late (e.g., Wisconsin) glaciations. (7) Phylogenetic analyses suggest that North American taxa include two clades, hudsonicus-rufescens-sclateri versus carolinensis-atricapillus-gambeli and that carolinensis and atricapillus are not sister species.

The most serious barrier today to a major improvement in relations between Tokyo and Moscow is the long-standing and bitter dispute over a number of small islands lying between the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido and the USSR's Kamchatka Peninsula. The territories in question-Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan and the Habomai Islands-are claimed by both the Japanese and the Soviets, but have been occupied by the latter since the end of World War II. The first two are the most southerly of the Kuriles, a chain of islands that stretches for around a thousand kilometres between Hokkaido and the Kamchatka Peninsula, and are sometimes known as the southern Kuriles. Shikotan and a cluster of small islands known as the Habomais lie off the northeastern coast of Hokkaido (see Map 1). Japan refers to these islands as the Northern Territories and asserts that their return is the sine qua non for the negotiation of a peace treaty with the USSR to end the formal state of war between the two countries and for the development of good relations with Moscow. The Northern Territories comprise about 5,000 square kilometers, with the southern Kuriles making up 90% of the total land area. No Japanese citizens currently reside in the Kuriles, some 16,000 having been repatriated after the Soviet occupation at the end of World War II. The former Japanese inhabitants had worked on the islands as fishermen, hunters, and agricultural workers, and the abundance of fish in the area also attracted many seasonal workers from Hokkaido during the summer fishing season. With the exception of access to fisheries, the Northern Territories are not, however, of great economic importance to either Japan or the Soviet Union. Their real significance lies in the realms of politics and strategy.

The flora at Crater Mountain Biological Research Station in Papua New Guinea is very diverse: 228 tree species ( 10 cm DBH) on a single hectare. However, the vertebrate fauna (169 bird and 31 mammal species) is less diverse than many tropical sites. At least 47% of bird species and 29% of mammal species are partially frugivorous. Using data on relative abundance, mass, and degree of frugivory for all frugivorous vertebrates at Crater, we generated a crude “index of importance” for each species. Using the fruit size and mass data from 400 plant species, we exclude fruits either too large or too heavy for each frugivore to disperse, yielding a “possible diet” for each species. Four species (a cassowary, a hornbill, a h fruit pigeon and a flying fox) stand out as being crucial dispersers for a large subset of the plant community. The frugivore with the highest importance ranking, Casuarius bennetti, is highly effective as a disperser. Cassowaries appear to be a keystone frugivore, especially for large-fruited plant species (67 species > 50 g at our study site). The method employed is fairly simple and quickly identifies candidates for keystone frugivore status. However, further life history studies are recommended for confirmation of f importance when using this method.

By the end of the 1990s, following a series of embarrassing failures, the utility of the UN Security Council’s two primary collective security enforcement mechanisms—military force and sanctions—was being subjected to increasingly serious critique both in the research and in the policy communities. Resort to force by the Security Council in the second half of the 1990s was constrained both by doubts about its efficacy, following the debacle in Somalia, and by the reluctance of member states to put the lives of their citizens at risk in distant UN operations where no perceived vital national interests were at stake. The increase in the resort to sanctions in the 1990s should be seen in this light—as a substitute for, as well as a precursor or complement to, the use of force.

Relatively few studies have examined the evolution of the mutualism between endozoochorous plants and seed dispersers. Most seed dispersal studies are ecological and examine the role of fruit pulp in promoting seed dispersal. This interaction is often assumed to have originated due to selection stemming from seed dispersers. Here I suggest a "defence scenario" wherein fleshy fruits originated as mechanisms to defend seeds and secondarily became structures to promote seed dispersal. I suggest that frugivory followed from herbivores that specialized on consuming seed defensive tissues and that enhanced seed dispersal was initially a consequence of seed defence. The proposed defence scenario is not posited as an explanation for the sequence that led to all modern frugivores. However, it is suggested that seed predation was the initial source of selection that led to fleshy fruits; the necessary precursor to frugivory. Support is described from the fossil record and from modern structures and interactions. Testable predictions are made in hope that greater interest will be focused on the defensive role of fleshy fruit pulp both in modern interactions and historically.

Estimations of survival rates of small mammal populations that occur on the island of New Guinea are crucial for conservation and management strategies. Here, we used mark-recapture data in programme MARK to estimate apparent survival and detection of two murid species in a tropical rainforest in Papua New Guinea. The most parsimonious model allowed survival and recapture probability to vary by species. Across the two species, Rattus verecundus generally had lower survival rates, but higher recapture probabilities, whereas Paramelomys platyops had higher survival rates but lower recapture probabilities. Since many small mammal species that occur in New Guinea are already listed under the IUCN red list for Threatened Species, similar studies can be replicated targeting the threatened species to provide information to wildlife managers for management and conservation decision.

Although some birds can detect wavelengths in the infrasound range, there has been litle evidence that birds produce very low frequencies. We made nine recordings of a captive Dwarf Cassowary (Casuarius benneti) and one recording of a wild Southern Cassowary (C. casuarius) near Crater Mountain, Papua New Guinea. Both species produced sounds near the floor of the human hearing range in their pulsed booming notes: down to 32 Hz for C. casuarius and 23 Hz in C. benneti. Recordings of C. benneti indicate four levels of harmonics with the 23 Hz fundamental frequency. Such low frequencies are probably ideal for communication among widely dispersed, solitary cassowaries in dense rainforest. The discovery of very low-frequency communication by cassowaries creates new possibilities for studying those extremely secretive birds and for learning more about the evolution of avian vocalizations.

In a recent editorial, H. Recher presents some history on why there is not currently an Australasian conservation biology society. He asserts that a motion to create such a society was abandoned because the Ecological Society of Australia (ESA) and the Australian Institute of Biology (AlB) promised to assume greater roles in conservation biology and obviated the need for a separate society, but that these organizations have not fulfilled this promise. The Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) has initiated a drive to develop a regional Australasian chapter and Recher raises the question: "is it better to form an independent body, or will an Australasian branch of the SCB fill the advocacy void left empty in 1993?" This is a fair question.

Restriction enzyme analyses of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of the Black-capped Chickadee (Parus atricapillus), Carolina Chickadee (P. carolinensis), and Tufted Titmouse (P. bicolor) indicate substantial genetic divergence (p = 0.04-0.09). Eleven of 14 enzymes produced fragment patterns that distinguish the two chickadees, revealing a bounty of markers for studies of these sibling species.