Fiji Expedition Broadens Genetic Research

In December 2010, KU Biodiversity Institute graduate student Mike Andersen, and curator of birds, Rob Moyle, completed a three-week expedition to Fiji. This effort marked Ornithology’s third expedition to Fiji, work that began in November 2009.

They collected specimens of 23 species from two locations: the isolated Nakauvadra Range in the extreme northeastern part of Fiji’s largest island, Viti Levu; and the southern island of Kadavu. The Kadavu specimens were the world’s first from this island with associated genetic tissue samples, and the collection included three endemic bird species: Whistling Dove (Ptilinopus layardi), Kadavu Honeyeater (Xanthotis provocator), and Kadavu Fantail (Rhipidura personata), plus numerous morphologically unique island forms such as Golden Whistler (Pachycephala pectoralis) and Collared Kingfisher (Todiramphus chloris).

The Nakauvadra Range is the third locality on Viti Levu where Biodiversity Institute researchers have worked, making it possible to analyze genetic differentiation among avian populations across this oceanic island. Andersen and Moyle are developing the Fiji project in close collaboration with students and researchers in the Institute of Applied Science at the University of the South Pacific. The collections-based research effort forms the foundation for Andersen’s dissertation research on the origins and diversification of the Fijian avifauna, as well as future dissertation projects by Fijian students at the University of the South Pacific. 

—Town Peterson

Aerial photo of Kadavu Island, Fiji showing extensive lowland rainforest extending to coastal coral reef.
Kadavu Honeyeater (Xanthotis provocator) is endemic to Kadavu Island, Fiji, and is the only member of its genus found in Fiji.
Male Whistling Dove (Ptilinopus layardi) is one of four endemic bird species on Kadavu Island, Fiji.