Mara A. Mulrooney

High-precision dating of colonization and settlement in East Polynesia

Wilmshurst et al. (1) proposed recent and rapid colonization of East Polynesia based on analysis of 1,434 radiocarbon determinations. We commend the development of rigorous and replicable radiocarbon protocols that emphasize accuracy and precision, but we found (i) inaccuracies in their originally published supplementary data table, (ii) problems with their criteria for exclusion and inclusion of valid colonization estimators (i.e., Class 1 dates), and (iii) biases in their statistical analysis.

Rapid reproductive analysis and length–weight relations of three reef fishes (Actinopterygii: Perciformes and Tetraodontiformes) from a remote site in Papua New Guinea

We present length–weight relations (LWR) and use rapid, low-cost histological methods to describe the reproductive biology of three reef fi shes from a remote area in Papua New Guinea: the striped monocle bream, Scolopsis lineata Quoy et Gaimard, 1824; the Indian goatfi sh, Parupeneus indicus (Shaw, 1803); and the blackbelly triggerfi sh, Rhinecanthus verrucosus (Linnaeus, 1758). The LWR for Scolopsis lineata is W = 0.0191FL3.02. Male L50 is 11.2 and female L50 is 13.5 cm FL. Overall sex ratio is female biased; however, for mature individuals, females dominate size-classes from 13 through 15 cm and males dominate smaller and larger size classes. This species is a batch-spawning, protogynous hermaphrodite. The LWR for Parupeneus indicus is W = 0.00904FL3.25. Male Lm is 14.7 and female L50 is 18.4 cm FL. Overall sex ratio is 1 : 1; however, for mature individuals, females dominate size-classes from 17 through 22 cm and males dominate smaller and larger size classes. This species is a batch-spawning gonochore. BF = 4.62FL2.95. The LWR for Rhinecanthus verrucosus is W = 0.0257TL2.97. Male L50 is 13.0 and female L50 is 14.1 cm TL. Overall sex ratio is female biased; however, mature individuals are male biased ≥ 16.1 cm TL and, effectively, exclusively male ≥ 17.6 cm. This species is a batch-spawning gonochore. BF = 3.35 ∙ 10–19TL19.4. * Correspondence: Dr. Ken Longenecker, Department of Natural Science, Bishop Museum, 1525 Bernice Street, Honolulu, HI, 96817, USA, phone: +1 808 847 8273, fax +1 808 847 8252, e-mail: (KL) klongenecker@bishopmuseum.org, (RL) langston@hawaii.edu, (HB) holly@bishopmuseum.org, (MM) mara@bishopmuseum.org.