Introducing a New Series: History, Biology, and Conservation of Pacific Endemics

The Pacific region is home to a wide range of endemic plants and animals, many of which are increasingly threatened with extinction. Others remain more or less common, but they play critical roles in delivering ecosystem services or in providing food or other goods for people. With an increasing pace of global change and loss of natural habitats, the need for basic information about these species has never been greater. Following on the success of our continuing series on the Biology and Impacts of Pacific Island Invasive Species, our new series, History, Biology, and Conservation of Pacific Endemics, seeks to highlight unique biota of the Pacific. Each paper in the series will assemble and synthesize information from a diversity of sources to “tell the story” of the species, beginning with the earliest recorded knowledge up to the most recent information on the species’ conservation status and prospects. Information on biology and human uses will be synthesized to provide a valuable reference for conservation and management, and to identify key knowledge gaps that need to be filled.

The first paper in the series, which immediately follows this announcement, is by Gildas Gâteblé. It is the fascinating story of the royal creeper (Oxera pulchella), a New Caledonian ornamental plant with showy, pendent bell flowers (see cover of this issue). Gâteblé details the discovery of the royal creeper by European naturalists and its subsequent export around the world as an ornamental in the 1800s. Subsequently, the New Caledonian endemic was largely forgotten, but as Gâteblé explains, it has great potential today as a “new” gem among ornamental plants. At the same time, its conservation within New Caledonia is an increasing concern due to habitat loss. We hope that this first paper in the History, Biology, and Conservation of Pacific Endemics series will help attract interest in the royal creeper and its conservation, value, and research needs.

Researchers interested in contributing an article to the series should make an offer to the series editor, Dr. Edward Webb (Department of Biological Science, National University of Singapore [e­mail:ted.webb@nus.edu.sg]). Offers can be made by individuals or groups and should include the following: (1) the proposed species, (2) why a review of this species represents an appropriate and important contribution to the History, Biology, and Conservation of Pacific Endemics series, and (3) details of the author’s (or authors’) qualifications in terms of writing the review. If the offer is approved, the author(s) will be expected to submit the review within one year for the normal Pacific Science review process. Detailed instructions to authors, including the format for the series, will be available on the Pacific Science Web site: http://www.uhpresshawaii.com/journals/ps/. Prospective authors may also want to examine other articles in the series and /or consult the series editor regarding formatting.