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Anthropogenic impacts to coral reefs in Palau, western Micronesia during the Late Holocene

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Abstract

The Palauan archipelago contains one of the most ecologically diverse coral reef systems in the Indo-Pacific that was as attractive for humans prehistorically as it is today. New evidence is emerging that during the past few thousand years there has been increasing exploitation of coral reef resources, particularly finfish and mollusks, leading to a decline in taxa numbers, richness, and diversity in various locales. This paper examines the historical interactions between human populations and coral reef ecologies in Palau by combining known archaeological data and results from modern biological data of different reef fauna. The integration of these data sources provides a framework for attempting to explain variations in taxa composition between islands in the archipelago and how this may relate to human exploitation or other phenomena through time. By using this perspective to link past events with present-day conditions, we can gain a better sense of the extent to which anthropogenic changes may have affected island environments in western Micronesia during the Late Holocene. The study also illustrates the many difficulties researchers face in attempting to synthesize and explain past and present human predation behavior when using disparate sources of data.

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Notes

  1. Other studies on faunal remains from archaeological sites in Babeldaob and Peleliu also indicate that peoples were exploiting marine resources on these and other islands in Palau prehistorically. However, these data are found in contract or research reports and their accuracy have not been independently confirmed. For the purpose of this paper, they are not included here. Only the results reported in peer-reviewed journals are discussed. It may be prudent, however, to review these reports for indications that humans were overharvesting resources in other parts of the archipelago.

  2. Note that the family Scaridae has been reclassified recently as a subfamily of the Labridae (see Westneat et al. 2005).

  3. The analysis of faunal material by Masse (1989) and Carucci (1992) included those from a number of archaeological sites in Palau from both the volcanic and limestone islands that resulted in over 2,000 fish (MNI) and 100,000 (MNI) mollusks being recovered. The most substantial remains recovered from one site, however, came from Uchularois Cave and are the primary ones referred to in this paper and Masse et al. (2006).

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to L. Colin, P. Colin, T. Emesiochel, F. Gibbons, V. Kanai, A. Kitalong, T. Kloulechad J. Maragos, W. Metes, M. Miko, and R. Olsudong for their assistance, comments, or observations during many of our research endeavors in Palau. Jenna Peterson drafted Fig. 2. Photograph in Fig. 3 was taken by Brian Diveley. Thanks also goes to Richard Pollnac for inviting us to submit a paper to this special issue of the journal and comments made by both the editors and reviewers. This is Contribution No. 597 of the University of Guam Marine Laboratory.

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  1. Department of Sociology and Anthropology, NC State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA

    S. M. Fitzpatrick

  2. University of Guam Marine Laboratory, UOG Station, Mangilao, Guam, 96923, USA

    T. J. Donaldson

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  1. S. M. Fitzpatrick
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Correspondence to S. M. Fitzpatrick.

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Communicated by Guest Editor R. Pollnac.

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Fitzpatrick, S.M., Donaldson, T.J. Anthropogenic impacts to coral reefs in Palau, western Micronesia during the Late Holocene. Coral Reefs 26, 915–930 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-007-0226-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-007-0226-x

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