In response to unique species in Fiji which are threatened or endangered, and in critical need of effective conservation measures to ensure their survival, author Glenn Aguilar has produced an eMedia publication and learning research tool, called GIS For Conservation.The eMedia website hosts tutorial material, videos and modelling results for conservation management and planning purposes. Users will learn spatial analytical skills, species distribution modelling and other relevant GIS tools, as well as enhance ArcMap skills and the species distribution modelling tool Maxent. Accompanying the GIS For Conservation website is a peer-reviewed research report. The report details the case study and research methods that have informed the eMedia publication, focusing on the development of maps predicting the suitability of the Fiji Islands for longhorned beetles (Cerambycidae) that include endemic and endangered species such as the Giant Fijian Beetle Xixuthrus heros.
In Fiji, few systematic studies have been conducted that describe insect distributions, especially with respect to
ecological gradients (e.g., habitat type, climate, altitude, and seasonality) that are known to influence their diversity
and distribution. In this study, canopy coleopteran assemblages within undisturbed forest in eastern Viti Levu, Fiji, were
intensively surveyed over a range of geographical locations and altitudes, namely lowland Nakobalevu (200–400 m),
upland Waisoi (400–600 m) and cloud montane forest Monasavu (600–1000 m). Dominant beetle families sampled
from the canopy included Curculionidae, Chrysomelidae and Staphylinidae. Multidimensional scaling revealed a division
in the canopy beetle assemblages between lowland forest (<400 m), upland forest (400–600 m) and cloud montane
forests (600–1 000 m). We tentatively conclude that diversity was highest at mid-to-high altitudes represented at
Monasavu. Direct Gradient Analysis (RDA) indicated that 49% of data variability was explained by two axes that
represented altitude and seasonality respectively.
A taxonomic review of the genus Ceresium (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) found within the Fiji Islands is presented. A total of 17 species is treated. Full morphological descriptions and comparative images of each species are included, along with a dichotomous key for their identification.
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