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PolyCone Project
PolyCone - Integrated and sustainable regulation of cones in Eastern Polynesia. The principal goals of the PolyCone project are to establish sustainable practices for the utilization of cone snails in French Polynesia. Funds from the Belmont Forum and the National Science Foundation are supporting this work. The PolyCone Project is authorized by French Polynesia and French Polynesia is the supplier of resources used. A short video overview of the project can be seen below.
DUDA LAB CONTRIBUTIONS
To achieve some of the aims of the PolyCone project, members of the Duda Lab are characterizing diets, evaluating reproduction seasonality, and determining presence of cryptic species of cone snail species in French Polynesia. This work includes field studies and collections at locations throughout French Polynesia and laboratory investigations at the University of Michigan.
Field studies were conducted at Huahine in the Society Islands (September 2022), Rangiroa in the Tuamotu Islands (November 2022), Rurutu in the Austral Islands (May/June 2023), and Makemo in the Tuamotu Islands (October/November 2023). Laboratory investigations are currently still underway.
FIELD REPORTS
• Huahine, Society Islands [Tahitian] [French] [English]
• Rangiroa, Tuamotu Islands [Tahitian] [French] [English]
• Rurutu, Austral Islands [Tahitian (coming soon)] [French] [English]
• Makemo, Tuamotu Islands [Tahitian] [French] [English]
Takurua Parent provided Tahitian translations and Diana Vergara and Matthieu Pittavino provided French translations of field reports.
OTHER PRODUCTS
Compiled information on Conidae of French Polynesia (last revised June 2023)
PROJECT PUBLICATIONS
Teillard, Valentin, Gache, Camille, Dutertre, Sebastien, Bambridge, Tamatoa, Salvat, Bernard, Planes, Serge. 2024. Description of the feeding rhythm of cone snails in French Polynesia. Journal of Molluscan Studies, Volume 90, Issue 2, eyae013 [Link to publication]
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