Virtual Issues

Conservation Highlights in the Americas

Broadly, the Pacific can be taken to include the lands and waters of the western Pacific (East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia and Oceania) the north Pacific (including parts of the Russian Federation), and the islands of the central and south Pacific across to countries on the North American and South American continents bordering on the eastern Pacific. The region includes diverse biotas threatened by resource consumption, management of agricultural lands and climate change. The solutions adopted in different Pacific jurisdictions reflect the diverse cultures of the region, some of which are still adjusting to autonomy after periods of colonial administration. In recognition of cultural and linguistic diversity, there are opportunities for scientists from the Pacific to publish abstracts of their work in their indigenous language.

While Pacific Conservation Biology welcomes papers from across the Pacific, many authors from the countries bordering the eastern Pacific may not realise that the journal is a suitable outlet for their conservation publications. For example, as well as publishing studies from Hawaii on topics as diverse as marine invertebrate communities and indigenous perspectives on conservation, Pacific Conservation Biology has included work from the mainland USA’s Pacific near-coastal terrestrial ecosystems. Moving south, papers on off-shore islands near Mexico and multiple contributions on the Galápagos Islands have made important contributions.

This collection focuses on contributions from researchers studying conservation problems and solutions along the eastern Pacific coast, with some contributions from Hawaii also included to illustrate the opportunities for those locations more commonly regarded as the Pacific. The papers from the eastern Pacific coast include both island and mainland examples, confirming that both are considered within the journal’s scope. They illustrate the range and quality of the work published by Pacific Conservation Biology, as well as the journal’s service to the scientific communities of the eastern Pacific coast.

The Natural History of Two Peoples Bay National Park, Western Australia

This collection of Pacific Conservation Biology contains papers about The Natural History of Two Peoples Bay National Park, Western Australia. Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve is one of the most important nature conservation areas along the south coast of Western Australia. Its importance is based on several factors. First, it contains remnant populations of rare fauna and flora of which the best known are the noisy scrub-bird (Atrichornis clamosus) or Jimuluk (Noongar name) and Gilbert’s potoroo (Potorous gilbertii) or Ngilkat. Both were believed to be extinct for about a century until being rediscovered on the reserve in the early 1960s and 1990s respectively. Second, it is a place where considerable research effort has been concentrated since the gazettal of the area as a nature reserve in 1967; therefore, it has the potential to serve as a model for development of management practices for the region. Third, it is one of the few examples where the needs for nature conservation over-rode the needs for commercial development.

This collection of Pacific Conservation Biology had its genesis in 1981 when the Western Australian Department of Fisheries and Wildlife decided to produce a management plan for Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve. In order to do this, there was a need to prepare a comprehensive background document to provide a basis for planning and, at the same time, it was recognised that such a document would encourage further research. As a result, Angas Hopkins and Graeme Smith edited a volume of 23 papers covering a range of subjects from the European history of the establishment of Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve, its geology, climate, biota, and management. The papers were peer-reviewed and laid out in July 1991 as a mock-up for publication. For some reason, the project went no further. Smith died in 1999 and Hopkins in 2016 without seeing their creation to publication.

Denis Saunders took on the challenge of arranging the up-dating of the original papers for publication in this collection of Pacific Conservation Biology. This was no easy task, as of the 22 contributors to the original 1991 bulletin, 13 were either dead, incapacitated, or uncontactable. This special issue is an important collection of papers providing past and current knowledge of the nature reserve.

Guest Editors
A. J. M. Hopkins
G. T. Smith
D. A. Saunders

Publishing Science 101: advice on submitting and promoting your research paper

For research students, the first scientific paper is a rite of passage, marking the transition from being consumers of knowledge to generating new understanding. The rules, though, are tricky, complicated by recent upheavals such as Open Access arrangements, online only publishing and, lurking like a crocodile, the new threat of predatory publishers.

As an editor of a journal that includes many contributions from students as well as leading luminaries, the editorial board and I are keen to assist beginning authors on their journey. After noticing that certain issues recur, we’ve published overviews of the whole journey from writing to proofs to assist new authors.

Additionally, I’ve addressed particular themes in editorials to open the black box of editorial handling and allow authors to peer inside to see how decisions are made and how they can help the progress of their own papers. Topics include the common mistakes authors make in presentation or in misunderstanding what happens in production, fine details of the importance of accurate referencing and proofing, navigating problems with authorship, making decisions about Open Access, and promoting work once it is accepted. With those mysteries solved, authors can concentrate on their science and its wonderful stories.

Mike Calver

Editor-in-Chief, Pacific Conservation Biology

Coral Reefs in the Pacific: Values, Threats and Solutions

In common with the rest of the world, the Pacific contends with human population growth, the challenge of sustainable management of natural resources and global issues of conservation and human welfare such as climate change. Uniquely, the Pacific was profoundly affected by European colonisation over a very short time, causing significant problems of overexploitation and introduction of exotic species alongside the human challenges of governance, sustainability and human rights in a post-colonial world.

The challenges for conservation in the Pacific are sharpest in managing coral reefs. The effects of anthropogenic climate change are already evident, as well as unregulated exploitation, land clearing or agricultural production on adjoining lands (Duffy 2011, Hutchings et al. 2013, Reside et al. 2017). One effective response is implementing marine reserves (Ceccarelli et al. 2011), with monitoring (Drumm et al. 2011, Norman et al. 2016) and encouragement of non-comsumptive industries such as nature-based tourism (Venables et al. 2016). Critical to success is understanding traditional management and natural resource use (Bao and Drew 2017) and integrating this knowledge into community-based management approaches (Albert et al. 2014, 2016). Communities can contribute to research and monitoring too through citizen science (Koss et al. 2009, Chin 2014).

In 2018, Pacific Conservation Biology celebrates 25 years of publication. It is also International Year of the Reef. In this Virtual Issue, we have collated key papers to aid the understanding of the value of, and threats to, coral reefs and their ecosystems, with hope that this research will contribute to a brighter future for our reefs.

Mike Van Keulen and Mike Calver

Pacific Biodiversity: Values, Threats and Solutions

Pacific Conservation Biology is dedicated to conservation in the Pacific region, which is defined broadly as the western Pacific (East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia and Oceania), the north Pacific (including Russia), and the islands of the central Pacific across to countries on the North American and South American continents bordering on the eastern Pacific. In common with the rest of the world, the Pacific must contend with human population growth, the challenge of sustainable management of natural resources, and global issues of conservation and human welfare. Uniquely, the Pacific has been profoundly affected by European colonisation over a very short time period, leading to significant problems of overexploitation and introduction of exotic species alongside the human challenges of governance, sustainability and human rights in a post-colonial world.

This virtual issue addresses conservation issues that are global in relevance but Pacific in context. Catastrophes can lead to extinctions of geographically limited species, as illustrated by the eruption of Bárcena Volcano off the Mexican coast (Brattstrom 2015). Conservation strategies need to be developed and implemented for endangered invertebrates (Brodie et al. 2016), vertebrates (Heise-Pavlov and Gillanders 2016, Pikacha et al. 2016, Kemp 2017), and flora (Huish et al. 2015), while population genetic and phylogenetic studies make important contributions to management (Boseto et al. 2016, Pacioni et al. 2017, Yabaki et al. 2016). Scientific and social disputes need to be resolved regarding the use of biodiversity surrogates and the management of conservation reserves (Chen et al. 2016, Jackson et al. 2016). Lastly, social, political and legal contexts influence conservation decisions (Clemann 2015). Through these papers and others, Pacific Conservation Biology addresses the ‘big questions’ in conservation, providing a forum for conservation scientists, natural resource managers and science communicators to explore the answers in a Pacific context.