Green turtles Chelonia mydas are listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, yet in the South Pacific few conservation-relevant data are available for the species, especially relating to foraging and habitat use. Here, in situ observations and stable isotope analysis (δ13C and δ15N) were used to evaluate green turtle diet and recruitment patterns at Yadua Island and Makogai Island, Fiji. Juvenile green turtles (N = 110) were hand-captured, measured, and sampled. Stable isotope analysis was performed on skin samples and on putative prey items. ‘Resident’ turtles versus ‘recent recruits’ were classified based on their bulk skin tissue isotope values, which were compared with stable isotope values of local prey items and analyzed via cluster analysis. Green turtle diet composition was estimated using MixSIAR, a Bayesian mixing model. Recent recruits were characterized by ‘low δ13C/high δ15N’ values and ranged in curved carapace length (CCL) from 25.5 to 60.0 cm (mean ± SD = 48.5 ± 5.7 cm). Recruitment mostly occurred in summer. Green turtles identified as ‘residents’ had CCLs ranging from 43.5 to 89.0 cm (mean ± SD = 57.4 ± 9.0 cm) and were characterized by ‘high δ13C/low δ15N’ values; mixing model results indicate they fed primarily on invertebrates (40%), fishes (31%), and marine plants (29%). This study confirms the value of seagrass pastures as both an essential habitat and a primary food source for green turtles, and can serve as a baseline for evaluations of natural and anthropogenic changes in local green turtle aggregations.

Resilience of food systems is key to ensuring food security through crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic presents an unprecedented shock that reveals varying levels of resilience of increasingly interconnected food systems across the globe. We contribute to the ongoing debate about whether increased connectivity reduces or enhances resilience in the context of rural Pacific food systems, while examining how communities have adapted to the global shocks associated with the pandemic to ensure food security. We conducted 609 interviews across 199 coastal villages from May to October 2020 in Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Tuvalu to understand community-level impacts and adaptations during the first 5–10 months of the COVID-19 crisis. We found that local food production practices and food sharing conferred resilience, and that imported foods could aid or inhibit resilience. Communities in countries more reliant on imports were almost twice as likely to report food insecurity compared to those least reliant. However, in places dealing with a concurrent cyclone, local food systems were impaired, and imported foods proved critical. Our findings suggest that policy in the Pacific should bolster sustainable local food production and practices. Pacific states should avoid becoming overly reliant on food imports, while having measures in place to support food security after disasters, supplementing locally produced and preserved foods with imported foods when necessary. Developing policies that promote resilient food systems can help prepare communities for future shocks, including those anticipated with climate change.

In this study we assessed the breeding population, or Management Unit (MU), origin of green turtles ( Chelonia mydas ) present at Yadua Island and Makogai Island foraging grounds in Fiji, central South Pacific. Based on analysis of mitochondrial (mt) DNA sequences from 150 immature green turtles caught during surveys carried out in 2015–2016, we identified a total of 18 haplotypes, the most common being CmP22.1 (44%) which is a primary haplotype characterizing the American Samoa breeding population. Results of a Bayesian mixed-stock analysis reveals that the two foraging grounds are used by green turtles from the American Samoa MU (72%, Credible Interval (CI): 56–87%), New Caledonia MU (17%, CI: 6–26%) and French Polynesia MU (7%, CI: 0–23%). The prominence of the contribution we found from the American Samoa MU compared to that of French Polynesia, both which have historic telemetry and tagging data showing connectivity with Fijian foraging areas, may reflect the current relative abundance of these two nesting populations and draws attention to a need to update population surveys and identify any significant nesting in Fiji that may have been overlooked.