Efate Research Articles

Sedimentary biomarkers of human presence and taro cultivation reveal early horticulture in Remote Oceania

Remote Oceania was among the last places settled by humans. However, the timing of initial human settlements and the early introduction of horticulture remain debated. We retrieved a sediment core close to Teouma, the oldest cemetery in Remote Oceania that reveals evidence of initial settlement, horticulture practice, and concurrent climatic conditions on the island of Efate, Vanuatu. Sedimentary biomarkers indicating human presence (coprostanol and epicoprostanol), and taro cultivation (palmitone), increase simultaneously, attesting to the early introduction of horticulture by first settlers. The precipitation signal preserved in leaf waxes shows that the initial settlement occurred during a period of increasing wetness—climatic conditions favourable for the establishment of horticulture. The timing of these events is constrained by a high-resolution radiocarbon chronology that places the first unequivocal trace of human activity and horticulture at 2800 years ago. These findings advance our understanding of human history in the Pacific.

ADNA, ethnography, and facial approximations of the Teouma Lapita burials (c. 3000BP)

Although ancient DNA (aDNA) cannot predict the facial appearance of skeletal human remains, knowing which extant populations are most closely related to the deceased has proven to be invaluable in rectifying two early facial approximations (popularly known as facial reconstruction) undertaken 15 years ago. These concerned two of the crania excavated from the Lapita burial site at Teouma on the island of Efate, and are associated with the first human arrival in the Vanuatu archipelago approximately 3000 years ago. This experimental revision to incorporate aDNA into both the methods and results has found there are advantages of knowing the genetic affiliation for estimating facial appearance. Specifically, we have found that this knowledge (i) facilitates identifying which of the current statistically valid predictors of the facial features are the most appropriate, (ii) informs the depiction of sexually dimorphic patterns of facial aging, and (iii) guides the portrayal of the subtle facial morphologies that fall outside what is currently provided by statistically validated skull-soft tissue algorithms and inter-relationships.

Acoustic and durational correlates of diphthong contrasts in Nafsan

The phonetic realization of diphthongs, vowels with dynamic productions involving two targets and often described as inherently long, is under-studied cross-linguistically (e.g., Petersen, 2018), including within many well-documented languages. Nafsan, an Oceanic language spoken by around 6000 people on Efate island in Vanuatu, has a vowel inventory with monophthongs of five qualities, all with a length contrast (Billington et al., 2021), and at least six contrastive closing diphthongs (Thieberger, 2006). These include /ei/ and /oi/, and two pairs in which the primary difference is viewed as the height of the second target: /ai/ and /ae/, and /au/ and /ao/. However, there are indications that duration may be an important correlate in these pairs. This presentation reports on a study of the six closing diphthongs based on data collected with six Nafsan speakers in Erakor village, using a wordlist of mostly monosyllabic words with diphthongs in both open syllables and syllables closed with a coronal consonant, produced in an utterance-medial frame. Results show that, in addition to differences in second formant frequency, /ae/ and /ao/ are significantly longer than /ai/ and /au/, raising questions about whether the contrast is best interpreted as a length contrast similar to that found among monophthongs.

The vowel inventory of Nakanamanga

Nakanamanga is an Oceanic language spoken by approximately 10,000 speakers in central Vanuatu (Lynch and Crowley, 2001), including northern Efate island and Nguna and other small islands to the north. Previous work on Nakanamanga indicates that it has five distinctive vowel qualities (/i,e,a,o,u/), as is typical of Oceanic languages, and some evidence of long vowels (Schütz, 1969). However, whether vowel length is contrastive remains unclear, and there are suggestions that vowel length exhibits complex relationships with consonantal and prosodic patterns (Schütz, 1969; McClintock, 1991; Schmidt, 2023). We present findings of a pilot study targeting vowel length in Nakanamanga, based on phonological evidence and acoustic phonetic data. A wordlist consisting of words of CVCV structures was designed after consultation with a native speaker, and recorded with the speaker in Mere-Sauwia village on Nguna. Data was processed and analysed using Praat, EMU-SDMS and R (Boersma and Weenink, 2023; Winkelmann et al., 2017; R Core Team, 2023). Results for vowel duration and first and second formant frequency at vowel midpoints provide strong evidence that Nakanamanga has ten distinct vowels, with a length contrast for all five vowel qualities. Findings lay the groundwork for larger-scale investigations of the phonetics and phonology of Nakanamanga.

The intentional variability of Lapita pottery fabrics

Results from petrographic and chemical analysis of decorated Lapita pottery from Vao, Vanuatu show that the majority was manufactured locally but that several variations of local raw materials were used. This indicates that temper material was collected from a range of settings, most of them accessible locally on Malakula. Two samples have temper corresponding with raw materials expected from the island of Efate in central Vanuatu where other significant Lapita sites are located. This pattern of fabric variability parallels recurrent practices documented at other founder Lapita sites, including Teouma on Efate. We propose that mobility and experimentation are not the only explanations available to justify the greater initial variability in raw materials used for pottery manufacturing at founder Lapita settlements. We argue that the variability of raw material results from a purposeful strategy guided by cultural norms or rules similar to those directing other behaviors associated with decorated Lapita pots, such as decorative motifs, paint application, vessel forms, and deliberate burial.

Hoteliers’ Perceptions of and Responses to Climate Variability and Change in Antigua and Efate

Many economies in small tropical islands are built on tourism, using their sun, sea and sand to entice visitors. However, climate variability and climate change are affecting these small islands, threatening many livelihoods and their fragile economies. There is limited information on the adaptation strategies and perception of climate change within key sectors of these economies, including the accommodation sector. Hence a study which examines the experiences of Antigua Island in the Caribbean and Efate Island in the South Pacific. The uniqueness of this study is that there are few published articles on this topic especially those comparing two islands. This study found that whilst all hoteliers perceived changes in precipitation, temperature and sea level only a limited number implemented few adaptation measures. We conclude that there is need for government regulation of the accommodation sector as it relates to managing the impacts of climate change, to help build resilience within the sector and wider economy.

Smoking and drinking behavior, knowledge, and attitudes among urban and rural public-school students in Efate Island, Vanuatu: a comparative study

BackgroundUnderage smoking and drinking are public health issues in Vanuatu. This study aims to describe the behavior, knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of parents, siblings, and peers regarding smoking and drinking among urban and rural public-school students in Vanuatu.MethodsThis cross-sectional study included 358 students (urban, 217; rural, 141; aged 12–14 years) from the public schools in Efate Island, Vanuatu. Data were collected using self-administered questionnaires. Chi-square and Mann–Whitney U tests were used to determine the rural–urban differences.ResultsUrban students showed a higher prevalence of ever smoking (13.5%), ever drinking (16.9%), intention to smoke (11.1%), and intention to drink (14.0%) compared to rural students (10.3%, 8.3%, 5.8%, and 9.5%, respectively); although a significant difference was only observed in the prevalence of ever drinking. Urban students were more likely to be aware of the health hazards of substance use and showed higher self-efficacy to refuse tobacco and alcohol compared to rural students. Parents in rural areas were less likely to talk about the health hazards of substance use with their children and were more likely to offer tobacco or alcohol to them compared to parents in urban areas.ConclusionsThe results provide evidence of rural–urban differences in the behavior, attitude, knowledge, and perceptions of parental behavior regarding smoking and drinking. The findings suggest that issues related to underage smoking and drinking differ between urban and rural students. Future intervention programs for reducing underage smoking and drinking should be adapted in recognition of urban and rural differences.

Water circulation and impact on water quality in the southwest of Efate Island, Vanuatu

In Small Island Developing States (SIDS), water pollution is not monitored or assessed frequently enough to fully understand the processes, impacts of water quality issues and what solutions are available This study investigated flushing time in Erakor lagoon and Port Vila Bay, Vanuatu using a numerical model developed in Delft3D. Microbial contamination by Escherichia coli was detected in multiple locations in the lagoon system with counts exceeding thresholds related to human health concerns. Modelling demonstrated a poor flushing time overall with a further decrease as the influence of waves and wind increased, especially in Vila Bay. Sea level rise resulted in an increase in flushing time downstream of the lagoon near the open sea, while with a decrease upstream and in Vila Bay. Based on these results, we recommend long-term continuous monitoring and identification of higher risks areas to prioritise decisions around wastewater management.

Nafsan

Nafsan (ISO 639-3: erk, Glottocode: sout2856), also known as South Efate, is a Southern Oceanic language of Vanuatu. It is spoken in Erakor, Eratap and Pango, three villages situated along the southern coast of the island of Efate (Figure 1) (Clark 1985, Lynch 2000, Thieberger 2006). Nafsan is also closely related to Eton, Lelepa, Nakanamanga and Namakura, spoken further to the north on Efate and some smaller neighbouring islands.1 Nafsan is often described as the southernmost member of the North-Central Vanuatu group of languages, and the Nafsan and Eton-speaking communities are noted to be at the core of ‘an unmistakable area of innovation’ compared to their northern neighbours (Clark 1985: 25). Though crosslinguistic comparisons suggest a clear boundary between North-Central Vanuatu languages and languages of the Southern Vanuatu group, there is evidence that Nafsan speakers have both linguistic and cultural links to the southern islands, suggestive of complex historical relationships between the populations of the central and southern regions (Lynch 2004; Thieberger 2007, 2015). In terms of the sound system, Nafsan is noted to be of particular interest because it ‘forms a transition between the phonologically more conservative languages to the north and the more “aberrant” languages to the south’ (Lynch 2000: 320), and exhibits phonotactic patterns which are complex and typologically uncommon, particularly among Oceanic languages (Thieberger 2006).

Seasonality, abundance and spawning season of milkfish Chanos chanos (Forsskål, 1775) at Teouma Bay, Vanuatu

Aquaculture of milkfish (Chanos chanos) has been proposed by FAO as an option to address food security and meet the increasing food protein demand in the Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs). One aquaculture method proposed in PICTs relies on wild fry collection for farming purposes. This study describes for the first time the seasonality and abundance of milkfish fry in the coastal shoreline of Teouma Bay at Efate Island in Vanuatu, South Pacific Ocean. The fry sampling was done weekly for one year, using a bulldozer net. The annual milkfish fry seasonality was from october to may, with two frequency peaks, one in november and the other in april. The fry were significantly more abundant in the wet season (november – april) compared to the dry season (may – october). Milkfish fry mean total length was 12.8 ± 1.2 mm, and age ranged from 13 to 25 days old. The long fry seasonality in Vanuatu might be advantageous for milkfish aquaculture; however, due to the very low abundances documented in this study, a more thorough assessment at multiple sites is recommended with attention to strengthening the implementation of relevant ecological and socio-economic policies that regulate the integrity of coastal ecosystems supporting potential food sources.

Assessing intertidal seagrass beds relative to water quality in Vanuatu, South Pacific

Seagrasses are globally important, but their extent is decreasing due to the impact of human activities and changing climatic conditions. Seagrass meadows provide vital services, but their condition and distribution are not yet well known, particularly in many small tropical Pacific islands. In 2018, observations and samples were collected from intertidal seagrasses of Efate Island, Vanuatu (South Pacific). Observations included canopy height, percentage cover, growth rate and species variety. Water quality samples were also collected in some locations. Our seagrass metrics suggested more challenging conditions for the seagrasses near Port Vila, the main urban area in the island, where water quality analyses indicated higher levels of dissolved inorganic nitrogen and suspended solids.

Three Phases of Ancient Migration Shaped the Ancestry of Human Populations in Vanuatu

The archipelago of Vanuatu has been at the crossroads of human population movements in the Pacific for the past three millennia. To help address several open questions regarding the history of these movements, we generated genome-wide data for 11 ancient individuals from the island of Efate dating from its earliest settlement to the recent past, including five associated with the Chief Roi Mata's Domain World Heritage Area, and analyzed them in conjunction with 34 published ancient individuals from Vanuatu and elsewhere in Oceania, as well as present-day populations. Our results outline three distinct periods of population transformations. First, the four earliest individuals, from the Lapita-period site of Teouma, are concordant with eight previously described Lapita-associated individuals from Vanuatu and Tonga in having almost all of their ancestry from a "First Remote Oceanian" source related to East and Southeast Asians. Second, both the Papuan ancestry predominating in Vanuatu for the past 2,500 years and the smaller component of Papuan ancestry found in Polynesians can be modeled as deriving from a single source most likely originating in New Britain, suggesting that the movement of people carrying this ancestry to Remote Oceania closely followed that of the First Remote Oceanians in time and space. Third, the Chief Roi Mata's Domain individuals descend from a mixture of Vanuatu- and Polynesian-derived ancestry and are related to Polynesian-influenced communities today in central, but not southern, Vanuatu, demonstrating Polynesian genetic input in multiple groups with independent histories.

Baseline assessment of coastal water quality, in Vanuatu, South Pacific: Insights gained from in-situ sampling

Nearshore deterioration of water quality in Pacific coastal waters is a growing problem, associated with increasing urban and industrial sewage discharges, and agricultural runoff. Published water quality studies in the Pacific region are limited in both number and scope, making it difficult to resolve the extent of the issue or quantify the variability of water quality across Pacific islands and countries. This study collected water quality measurements over three years in the coastal waters around the Island of Efate (Vanuatu) with majority of work carried out in Port Vila, its capital. Port Vila is the key urban centre for Vanuatu where the increasing population and pollution inputs are placing substantial pressure on the coastal environment. Highest concentrations of dissolved nutrients and suspended sediments were measured adjacent or near the urban drains that enter the coastal areas along the capital's seafront, highlighting many of the issues around anthropogenic inputs are linked to the increasing urbanisation in Port Vila Bay. We provide baseline data that explores variability of coastal water quality and these types of datasets for Pacific islands are a first step towards facilitating development of long-term monitoring programmes and informing coastal zone management decision making.

A Household Survey to Evaluate Access to Surgical Care in Vanuatu.

Surgical care is an integral part of any healthcare system, yet there is a paucity of data on the burden of surgical disease, surgical capacity and access to surgical services in the Pacific region. This study aimed to evaluate access to surgical care through a pilot household survey in the Vanuatu island of Efate and five of its surrounding islands. The 2009 Vanuatu census' GPS coordinates were used to randomly select 150 rural and 150 urban households from Efate and its surrounding islands. A total of 143 urban households and 142 rural households were available for inclusion in this study. A household questionnaire was developed to evaluate access to surgical care and included information regarding household demographics, socio-economic indicators and perceived and realised barriers to accessing care. The questionnaire was administered by local health workers, and data were collected electronically. Questionnaires were completed by 285 households. Two hundred and forty-one out of 254 (94.8%) households reported being able to access Port Vila Hospital, if required. The most commonly cited potential barriers to accessing surgical care were financial constraints (42.4%) and transport (26.4%). Our results provide important insights into the geographic, sociocultural and economic barriers to seeking, reaching and receiving surgical care in this region of Vanuatu. Identifying specific areas and communities with poor access to care, alongside the determinants of access, will help in designing both clinical and policy interventions to improve access to surgical care.

Coastal Processes within a Coral Reef Lagoon System: Erakor Lagoon, Efate Island, Vanuatu

Faivre, G.; Vieira da Silva, G.; Aimbie, J.; Ware, D.; Tomlinson, R.; Mackey, B., and Hong, Z., 2020. Coastal processes within a coral reef lagoon system: Erakor lagoon, Efate Island, Vanuatu. In: Malvarez, G. and Navas, F. (eds.), Global Coastal Issues of 2020. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 95, pp. 1427–1432. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in the South Pacific are highly vulnerable to climate change and development pressure due to their small size, isolation and exposure to natural hazards. Much of the Pacific SIDS population reside within the coastal zone as does the majority of critical infrastructure where resilience is challenged by exposure to natural hazards including inundation and erosion, and impacts from cyclones and tsunamis,. During extreme events, wave energy is a significant damage vector whose impact on populations and infrastructure is mediated by the presence and structural characteristics of adjacent coral reefs. Understanding the role of the structural characteristics of reefs in the dissipation of wave energy is critical to planning climate change resilience for SIDS given climate change will alter water levels, waves climates and the condition of coral reefs. The aims of this paper are to understand (1) the wave dissipation over a coral reef and hydrodynamic circulation within a coral reef lagoon in Erakor lagoon, Port Vila the capital of Vanuatu, and (2) the impact of sea level rise on the wave energy, wave runup and impacts to the shoreline. The information from this assessment can help inform coastal adaptation planning in response to climate change and rising sea levels. The approach is based on using field data to calibrate a numerical model of coastal processes. A wave buoy and five pressure sensors were deployed to measure wave dissipation over the Erakor lagoon's reef and current meters used in the lagoon to measure circulation and residential time. Data processing shows the importance of the reef geomorphology and water levels on wave dissipation.

Exploitation and utilization of tropical rainforests indicated in dental calculus of ancient Oceanic Lapita culture colonists.

Remote Oceania, which largely consists of islands covered in tropical forests, was the last region on earth to be successfully colonized by humans, beginning 3,000 years ago. We examined human dental calculus from burials in an ancient Lapita culture cemetery to gain insight into the early settlement of this previously untouched tropical environment, specifically on the island of Efate in Vanuatu. Dental calculus is an ideal material to analyse questions of human and plant interactions due to the ingestion of plant-derived microparticles that become incorporated into the calculus as it forms throughout a person's life. Most of the microparticles identified here are from tree and shrub resources, including a ~2,900 calibrated (cal) BP example of banana in Remote Oceania, providing direct evidence for the importance of forests and arboriculture during the settlement of Remote Oceania.

General and post-disaster mental health servicing in Vanuatu: A qualitative analysis

BackgroundNatural disasters contribute to the burden of mental illness, increased poverty and environmental degradation in developing Pacific countries. The aim of this study was to review the attitudes and opinions in relation to the delivery of post-disaster and general mental healthcare in Vanuatu. MethodThis qualitative study design applied semi-structured interviews to collect data from key informants. A total of 11 participants were involved in 11 interviews. The sample group consisted of; i) four government health representatives; ii) four non-government participants with knowledge of mental healthcare in Vanuatu; and iii) three community members from the village of Emua, Efate Island. NVivo qualitative data processing software assisted with thematic analysis of the transcribed data. ResultsThe key findings of this study were associated with mental healthcare in Vanuatu and exhibited themes including: i) low levels of mental health literacy; ii) a deficiency of general and post-disaster mental health services; iii) the increased prevalence of mental health disorders following a disaster; and iv) strategies to improve general and post-disaster mental healthcare. ConclusionFindings indicate a range of challenges impeding the provision of mental healthcare in Vanuatu. Future actions should aim to: i) enhance levels of mental health literacy to diminish the stigma associated with mental illness; and ii) facilitate decentralised mental healthcare to enable the development of community based services. Increased levels of mental health literacy and improved access to community services will assist the identification and treatment of mental health disorders in Vanuatu.

Freshwater fishing among Lapita people: The Sleepers (Teleostei: Eleotridae) of Teouma, Vanuatu

The study of the ichthyofaunal corpus yielded by the archaeological site of Teouma, Efate Island, Vanuatu, has revealed the unexpected presence of a significant number of bones of Eleotridae (Sleepers) on the site, as early as 2920–2870 cal. B.P. Out of the 8560 identified fish remains associated with the Lapita layers, which document the period of initial settlement of the archipelago, 1368 have been determined as belonging to eleotrids, including species of the genera Giuris, Ophiocara and Eleotris. They represent 16% of the corpus and occupy second place among the dominant families in an assemblage composed otherwise of a wide-range of marine coastal and reef-associated taxa. Even though the Lapita economy is characterised by an intensive and broad-spectrum exploitation of all terrestrial and marine resources available and readily procurable, the eleotrids of Teouma are the first clear evidence thus far of the exploitation of freshwater environments by Lapita communities anywhere in their range. A river and a swamp are present in the vicinity of the site, and hooks and lines and/or multi-pronged spears could have been used. Passive gear such as weirs, fish-traps or nets might have been applied as well, enabling the capture of sleepers in larger quantities. The results presented here offer an original insight of an unknown facet of Lapita subsistence strategies and aim to highlight the antiquity of freshwater fishing at a regional scale.

Mean Dietary Salt Intake in Vanuatu: A Population Survey of 755 Participants on Efate Island.

Non-communicable diseases are responsible for 63% of global deaths, with a higher burden in low- and middle-income countries. Hypertension is the leading cause of cardiovascular-disease-related deaths worldwide, and approximately 1.7 million deaths are directly attributable to excess salt intake annually. There has been little research conducted on the level of salt consumption amongst the population of Vanuatu. Based on data from other Pacific Island countries and knowledge of changing regional diets, it was predicted that salt intake would exceed the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommended maximum of 5 g per day. The current study aimed to provide Vanuatu with a preliminary baseline assessment of population salt intake on Efate Island. A cross-sectional survey collected demographic, clinical, and urine data from participants aged 18 to 69 years in rural and urban communities on Efate Island in October 2016 and February 2017. Mean salt intake was determined to be 7.2 (SD 2.3) g/day from spot urine samples, and 5.9 (SD 3.6) g/day from 24-h urine samples, both of which exceed the WHO recommended maximum. Based on the spot urine samples, males had significantly higher salt intake than females (7.8 g compared to 6.5 g; p < 0.001) and almost 85% of the population consumed more than the WHO recommended maximum daily amount. A coordinated government strategy is recommended to reduce salt consumption, including fiscal policies, engagement with the food industry, and education and awareness-raising to promote behavior change.

Salt-Related Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behaviors on Efate Island, Vanuatu.

In Vanuatu, mean salt intake exceeds the recommended maximum daily intake, and contributes to the high proportion of deaths attributable to cardiovascular diseases. Understanding salt-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of the Vanuatu population can inform appropriate interventions. This cross-sectional study was conducted as part of the 2016–2017 Vanuatu Salt Survey. In total, 753 participants aged between 18 and 69 years from rural and urban communities on the Island of Efate were included. Demographic and clinical data were collected and a salt-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors survey was administered. Knowledge relating to the need to reduce salt consumption was high, but reported behaviors did not reflect this knowledge. A total of 83% of participants agreed that too much salt could cause health problems, and 86% reported that it was “very important” to lower the amount of salt in the diet. However, more than two-thirds of the population reported always/often adding salt to food during cooking/meal preparation and at the table, and always/often consuming processed foods high in salt. Strategic, targeted, and sustained behavior change programs in parallel with interventions to change the food environment to facilitate healthier choices should be key components of a salt reduction program. Actions should implemented as part of a comprehensive strategy to prevent and control non-communicable diseases in Vanuatu.