Notes on the natural history, taxonomy, and conservation of the endemic avifauna of the Samoan Archipelago

Pratt, H. Douglas; Mittermeier, John C.

doi:10.1676/wils-128-02-217-241.1

Cited by 12 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…2). Critically, the low level of divergence of the Samoan subspecies P. p. pusilla compared to other subspecies and species in the Pacific robin radiation is not consistent with recognizing this taxon as a distinct species as recently proposed based on their distinctive behavior and song (Pratt and Mittermeier 2016).…”

Section: Taxonomic Implicationscontrasting

confidence: 59%

Complex mosaic of sexual dichromatism and monochromatism in Pacific robins results from both gains and losses of elaborate coloration

Kearns

Joseph

Austin

et al. 2020

Journal of Avian Biology

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Pacific robins exhibit one of the most complex range‐wide mosaics of sexual dichromatism and monochromatism. The evolutionary origins of this geographic mosaic remain poorly understood despite long‐standing interest from ornithologists, and its influential role in the development of Ernst Mayr's theories on speciation and the 'Biological Species Concept'. One factor limiting our understanding of the evolution of sexual plumage variation in Pacific robins is a lack of well‐resolved taxon boundaries and phylogenetic relationships in the group. Here, we use primarily historical museum specimens to obtain dense sampling of mtDNA, nuclear DNA, plumage color and morphometrics from all named taxa in the radiation in order to infer taxon boundaries and relationships. We use these data to test hypotheses about colonization history, plumage evolution and reduced island dichromatism. Our data show that the Pacific robin radiation comprises four distinct lineages, which warrant recognition as separate species – the previously recognized Norfolk robin P. multicolor and red‐capped robin P. goodenovii, and two new species we propose to name: ‘Solomon robin’ P. polymorpha Mayr, 1934 for the populations on Solomon and Bougainville Islands, and ‘Mayr's robin’ P. pusilla Peale, 1848 (in honor of Ernst Mayr's detailed work on the southwest Pacific robins) for the populations on Vanuatu, Fiji and Samoa. Our data suggest that the common ancestor of the entire Pacific robin radiation was most likely sexually dichromatic and that the radiation‐wide mosaic of sexual plumage color arose via repeated losses of elaborate plumage in males and gains of elaborate plumage in females on separate islands.

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Section: Taxonomic Implicationscontrasting

confidence: 59%

Complex mosaic of sexual dichromatism and monochromatism in Pacific robins results from both gains and losses of elaborate coloration

Kearns

Joseph

Austin

et al. 2020

Journal of Avian Biology

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“…In line with the suggestions based on SEK (Beichle 2006, MNRE 2006, Butler 2012, Pratt and Mittermeier 2016, the present study provides further and complementary evidence that Manumea has sharply declined in recent decades. Most hunters claimed that major cyclones occurring during period 1990-1991 were the main cause for the decline, consistent with the findings of Tarburton (2001) and MNRE (2006).…”

Section: Conservation Status Hunting Threat and Current Occurrencesupporting

confidence: 90%

“…comm., Serra 2017). The situation was summarised by Collar (2015) who stated "The great difficulty throughout this century has simply been to find even a single representative of the species […]" while Pratt and Mittermeier (2016) state that Manumea has turned into "an immediate conservation priority" for Samoa. This paper reports on part of a biodiversity survey run between October 2015 and June 2016 funded by the Global Environment Facility Trust Fund (Serra 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Traditional ecological knowledge of the Critically Endangered Tooth-billed Pigeon Didunculus strigirostris, endemic to Samoa

Serra

Sherley²,

Failagi³

et al. 2017

Bird Conservation International

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SummaryTraditional ecological knowledge (TEK) rigorously collected in four Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) of Samoa provided conservation and ecological insights about the endemic and evolutionarily distinctive Tooth-billed Pigeon Didunculus strigirostris. This study confirmed the 2006 estimate of a sharply declining population, supporting the recent conservation status assessment of Critically Endangered. Birds are killed as bycatch during hunting for the sympatric Pacific Pigeon Ducula pacifica, suggesting that this activity may be a key threat. The Tooth-billed Pigeon was observed by selected reliable indigenous hunters in several forest areas targeted in the present study, from a few months to several years ago. In the field, it was detected acoustically and identified through TEK and a mix of a TEK-scientific approach in four forest areas within three Samoan KBAs. Detection of the bird in the field is an issue due to its highly cryptic behaviour and because its call largely overlaps with one of the calls of Pacific Pigeon. Original TEK about the behavioural ecology of this species, including the fruiting trees mostly used and its terrestrial habits is reported. Short-term conservation recommendations are provided based on the findings.

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“…These trills are seemingly always present (while absent in birds of the Fiji group). different vocaliation: manuae: has sometimes trills in its song, and song may be slightly longer with more whistled notes (it is however not obviously higher-pitched than the Samoa group, contra Pratt et al 2016).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

411. Notes on the vocalizations of Polynesian Starling (Aplonis tabuensis)

Boesman¹

2016

Orn. Notes

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In the following we briefly analyze and compare voice of the different races of Polynesian Starling (Aplonis tabuensis). We also try to quantify the extent of any vocal differences using the criteria proposed by Tobias et al. (2010), as a support for taxonomic review. We have made use of sound recordings available on-line from Xeno Canto (XC) and Macaulay Library (ML). An overview of vocalization per region, illustrated with sonograms: Fiji group: song is fairly simple, consisting of 1 (or occasionally 2) high-pitched whistles followed by a few (1-3) much lower-pitched whistles.

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Notes on the natural history, taxonomy, and conservation of the endemic avifauna of the Samoan Archipelago

Cited by 12 publications

References 35 publications

Complex mosaic of sexual dichromatism and monochromatism in Pacific robins results from both gains and losses of elaborate coloration

Complex mosaic of sexual dichromatism and monochromatism in Pacific robins results from both gains and losses of elaborate coloration

Traditional ecological knowledge of the Critically Endangered Tooth-billed Pigeon Didunculus strigirostris, endemic to Samoa

411. Notes on the vocalizations of Polynesian Starling (Aplonis tabuensis)

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