Serum protein patterns were studied in 186 female and 147 male adults from the Yap Islands. Total proteins were determined by the Biuret Test and relative amounts of different serum proteins were obtained by scanning electrophoretic patterns. Immunoglobulins A, G, and M were determined in 63 randomly selected samples from this group and Immunoglobulin E from 28 randomly selected samples.

In company with other indigenous populations of the tropical regions of the Pacific, there is an increased mean gamma globulin and decreased albumin in comparison with values from Australian caucasians. A moderately elevated Immunoglobulin G and a marked Immunoglobulin E value was observed in sera from Yap Islands people. The possible reasons for these results are briefly discussed.

A new species of Orchidaceae, Nervilia jacksoniae from the Mariana Islands of Rota and Guam is described. The plant is small, seasonal, characterized by a reniform, hirtellous leaf and a uniflorous inflorescence with a deeply folded, fimbriate lip.

Collections from Palau, Philippine and Caroline Islands, Guam and the Great Barrier Reef contain 15 (including 2 that are new) of the 20 didemnid species known to contain algal symbionts. With the exception of the Fijian species (Diplosoma multipapillata) and two species known only from the Atlantic and eastern Pacific (Trididemnum solidum and T. della vallei), all the known species have a wide geographic range in the western Pacific and some extend into the western Indian Ocean. Populations of several of the species suggest a degree of isolation, but not speciation. The known geographic ranges of all but the most conspicuous species are affected by patterns of collecting. A key to identification of species is based on features of both the zooids and the colony and its contained spicules. Species descriptions complement those of Kott (1980).

This study documents the fishing practices and local knowledge of marine resources of a group of Polynesian Tikopians who were resettled to Nukufero Village in the Russell Islands in the 1950s. Both the exploitation of the marine resources and cultural attitudes associated with the resource utilization in their new location are described. Technological advances like the use of monofilament lines, metal fishhooks, and iron spears have been incorporated into the fishing practices. Marine organisms have provided food, materials for tools and utensils, weapons, ornaments, and medicine for many generations for this society. With the introduction of commercial fishing there has been a gradual change in the perception of the utilization of marine resources. The people of Nukufero are presently reevaluating the values they place on their marine resources and considering ways that traditional approaches to the resource exploitation can be respected and yet development can proceed without damage to either cultural values or fish stocks.

Varanid lizards (goannas, monitors) are wary and difficult to capture. We designed a baited trap consisting of multiple monofilament snares tied in a grid pattern on wire mesh (chicken wire), and used this design to capture mangrove monitors (Varanus indicus) on Rota, in the Northern Mariana Islands. We trapped 21 individuals during sporadic trapping in 1998-99, including 7 recaptures; most trapped individuals suffered no apparent ill effects. This trap design is inexpensive and easy to transport, but requires approximately one hour of construction time per trap. This trap has the potential to provide standardized non-lethal methods for estimation of density of varanid lizards in areas where visual counts are difficult. The trap should not be used in areas where threatened non-target species (especially mid-sized carnivores or scavengers) may be captured, as nooses may injure or kill less hardy species.

Studies of ecological separation between insects breeding in decaying fruits have rarely determined how generalist feeders can coexist. The present study tests whether two generalist and presently cosmopolitan species of fruitfly, Drosophila ananassae and Drosophila melanogaster, differ in their ability to breed on a highly acid, and possibly toxic, fruit, cucumberfruit (Oxalidaceae, Averrhoa bilimbi). Yeasted Averrhoa bilimbi fruits and yeasted banana (Musa species) fruit baits were placed out on Guam as oviposition substrates for local Drosophila species. An analysis of variance on the number of male flies of each species that eclosed from these two baits revealed a strong statistical interaction between Drosophila species and host-plant species (fruit type) (p<0.0001). The great majority of male flies eclosing from cucumberfruit were D. ananassae. In contrast, D. melanogaster was the principal species eclosing from bananas. Possibly, the geographic overlap between cucumberfruit and D. ananassae may have allowed D. ananassae to evolve a tolerance for cucumberfruit, which contains a high concentration of oxalic acid. The ability of at least some individuals of D. ananassae to breed on a common fruit that is not used by most D. melanogaster may permit coexistence of these generalist feeders on Guam and possibly other tropical Pacific Islands.

Oxygen uptake rates in air and water were measured at 26.0 and 32.0°C for common mudskipper Periophthalmus kalolo collected from sun-exposed mudflats, and barred mudskipper Periophthalmus argentilineatus taken from shaded mangal zones on Hoga Island, Sulawesi, Indonesia. Mass-adjusted oxygen consumption rates between mudskippers were statistically similar, with both species exhibiting higher uptake in air than water. Periophthalmus kalolo at 26.0 and 32.0°C had respective uptake values of 0.295 and 0.358 mg g^(0.75)−1 hr⁻¹ in air, and 0.198 and 0.241 mg g^(0.75)−1 hr⁻¹ in water. Periophthalmus argentilineatus at 26.0 and 32.0°C had oxygen uptake values of 0.262 and 0.343 mg g^(0.75)−1 hr⁻¹ in air, and 0.199 and 0.246 mg g^(0.75)−1 hr⁻¹ in water. While metabolic rates increased significantly in both species following an acute increase in media temperature, the change was not large, indicating a reduced metabolic response to increasing environmental temperatures. Respective temperature quotients calculated from aerial and aquatic metabolic rate data were 1.38 and 1.39 for P. kalolo, and 1.56 and 1.42 for P. argentilineatus. The data reveal that P. kalolo and P. argentilineatus exhibit similar metabolic responses when exposed to changes in media and temperature, even though each experiences markedly different diel habitat temperature profiles and insolation patterns.

 

In 1966, Alan Raymond Olsen (1946 - 2018) told a psychologist working for the newly formed Peace Corps that a particular Rorschach “ink blot” test looked like an amblypygid. The psychologist was likely confused upon hearing a reference to this obscure order of arachnids, but luckily they approved Olsen to join the first class of Peace Corps volunteers sent to Micronesia. Olsen soon found himself in a village in Palau’s Ngatpang State where almost no one understood any English, all electricity was from a diesel generator, and Palauans had not yet widely started to use chairs in their houses. He would spend much of his three years in Palau teaching English and learning about the organisms and environments of Babeldaob. Olsen split his Peace Corps days between Ngatpang and Ngerchelong States, where he met future collaborators and supervisors, including Faustina Rehuher and the late Demei Otobed, as well as his future wife Angelina Smaserui. 

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Early genetic studies in Micronesia focused on the use of protein electrophoresis to identify species and to measure genetic diversity within and among species. With the development of DNA sequencing techniques, many terrestrial species were discovered to be distinct from species on neighboring islands that share similar morphologies. With mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequencing, and also DNA profiling (microsatellites), a number of endemic and introduced species were found to have lost genetic variation upon colonization and even to have undergone subsequent genetic bottlenecks.  Other species were shown to have wide distributions maintained by considerable gene flow among islands.  DNA sequencing and microsatellite studies have also been important in ongoing research to determine the geographic origin of agricultural pests and vertebrate invasive species.  The ability to document the amount of genetic variation present in endangered species, keystone species, and invasive species offers important insights into the potential adaptability of these species to a changing environment. Considerable research opportunities exist for future population genetic studies, including the application of more advanced genetic methods, such as detection of natural polymorphisms, genome sequencing and gene expression studies.  Such investigations could be of considerable value in conservation planning, environmental management, and sustainable resource use in Micronesia through the identification of the genetic basis of specific environmental adaptations.

We review the sponge fauna of the Mariana Islands based on new and existing collections, and literature records. 124 species of siliceous sponges (Class Demospongiae) and 4 species of calcareous sponges (Class Calcarea) have been identified to date, representing 73 genera, 44 families, within 16 orders. Several species are adventive. Approximately 30% (40) of the species encountered are undescribed, but not all are endemics, as the authors know them from other locations. Approximately 30% (38) of the species are known from diverse locations within the Indo West Pacific, but several well-known, widespread species are absent. The actual diversity of sponge fauna of the Marianas is considerably higher, as many species, especially cryptic and encrusting taxa, remain to be collected and studied.

Detector dog inspection of outbound cargo is one of several control methods applied to deter brown tree snake dispersal from Guam. In the two and a half months following the passage of Supertyphoon Paka over Guam, an increase in brown tree snake discoveries during detector dog inspections was observed. We report here on the circumstances of those discoveries and their management implications.

Sixteen species of reptiles and amphibians are known from Tinian, Mariana Islands and include Bufo marinus, Chelonia mydas, Eretmochelys imbricata, Gehyra oceanica, G. mutilata, Perochirus ateles, Hemidactylus frenatus, Lepidodactylus lugubris, Nactus pelagicus, Carlia fusca, Emoia caeruleocauda, E. slevini, Cryptoblepharus poecilopleurus, Lamprolepis smaragdina, Varanus indicus, and Ramphotyphlops braminus. Twelve of these species were found during a field survey in 1984 and 1985. Historic evidence indicates that at least six species have been introduced to the island.

Loss of zooxanthellar symbionts from coral hosts, or “bleaching” has been increasingly noted since the 1980’s, and often attributed to elevated sea water temperatures. Here we document the first bleaching events recorded in Micronesia, one on Majuro Atoll in 1992 and another on Guam in 1994. The first caused up to 99% mortality of Acropora, altering the community structure of affected lagoonal fringing reefs from Acropora-and-Porites-dominated to Porites-dominated. Mortality of other scleractinians was low, but the common soft coral Lobophytum pauciflorum underwent large-scale dieback. Mortality in Majuro lagoon increased from west to east, peaking in the metropolitan area at the east end. The bleaching event on Guam was island-wide, in the warm season but not associated with unusually high temperatures, and associated with little mortality. Fifty-one of 75 surveyed taxa of corals bleached on Guam and 15 of 25 taxa on Majuro. Both scleractinians and alcyonaceans exhibited consistent species-specific sensitivity to bleaching among these and other locations in the tropical Pacific basin. The cause of these bleaching events is unclear, but the pattern on Majuro is suggestive of anthropogenic influence. Lack of bleaching at rural Mili Atoll 25 km from Majuro and lack of above average temperatures on Guam and Majuro suggest that regional ocean warming was not involved in either event.

 

The distribution of "Sphenomeris biflora (Kaulf.) Tagawa'' as indicated by Kramer, in Blumea 18:162-163, 1970, seems unusual among Micronesian species, being found in Guam and Alamagan, as well as farther north and west outside Micronesia. Collections from other Micronesian islands (Palau and Saipan) he places in Sphenomeris chinensis (L.) Maxon, an enormously widespread species, said by him to be lacking from the two above-mentioned islands.

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This concludes our report of Palauan hepatics which bas been so ably assisted by Dr. Hiroshi Inoue. A list of specimens examined and of species previously reported follows. Spellings of place names are according to Gressitt (1954) wherever possible. Occasional specimens sent for study are cited in the enumeration but, as most were derived from the Miami University Expeditions, a synopsis of localities is given so that only collection numbers are cited for each species. Micronesian and extra-Micronesian distributional data are derived from diverse sources seen in the Literature Cited and are not individually documented here.

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A critical discussion and taxonomic treatment of the species of Timonius DC. occurring in Palau, Western Caroline Islands, recognizing and describing T. corymbosus Val. with two varieties, corymbosus and takamatsui (new), T. korrensis Kaneh., T. mollis Val. with three varieties, mollis, submollis (new), and villosissimus (new comb.), T. salsedoi (new), T. subauritus Val. with two varieties, subauritus and strigosus (new), and T. timon (Spreng.) Merrill (introduced) is presented.

The functions of latte structures in Guam and the Marianas have been treated in two significant perspectives that deserve examination relative to their monumental character. The classic ethnographic and ethnohistoric perspective interpreted latte structures as part of village complexes with both residential and communal functions. Materialistic interpretations have characterized latte structures as chiefly houses with size possibly denoting relative power or rank among villagers and villages in the Marianas. However, examination of paleoenvironmental data, recent migration models depicting dispersal of matrilineal clans from the eastern Caroline Islands westward throughout what is now Micronesia, along with data from site surveys, excavations, and linguistic and ethnographic sources demonstrate that latte period settlement and architecture of the second millennium A.D. shares architectural styles, material culture, and lifeways with Micronesian islands to the east in what may have been a second and diffuse migrational movement through the region. In this model latte architecture expresses shared inter-village identities and mechanisms for conflict resolution rather than competition, warfare, and socio-economic ranking.

 

It is certain that the life-form of vascular plants characterizes the physiognomy of an island ecosystem. Plant life-form may be a reflection of climatic conditions and/or edaphic factors in ecological character in a given ecosystem, and it may sometimes be considered as a climatic indicator of the ecosystem. To the Micronesian region the writer made explorations 7 times from 1933 to 1941. As one of the results of vegetation studies the writer would illustrate the relation of life-form of vascular plants to the climatic conditions of Micronesian Islands.

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Calcareous algae are important components of the limestone deposits of antiquity. Such deposits are often associated with petroleum reserves and, for this reason, calcareous algae have attracted attention from a broad spectrum of workers that includes geologists, phycologists and paleontologists. While nearly all have agreed that calcifying algae of modern depositional habitats are abundant, diverse and ecologically important, critical quantitative information is scarce and these organisms are in nearly every respect poorly known. Most of our knowledge of biological calcification comes from studies of bone and shell producing animals. Much of the present information on calcareous macroalgae concerns the location, appearance and degree of calcification, but the mechanisms and ultrastructural features are only beginning to be explored (see for examples Marszalek, 1971; Borowitzka, Larkum and Nockolds, 1974). Reasons for this lack of research are varied, but the naive presumption that calcium deposits in plants are fortuitous or by-products of photosynthesis and other metabolic reactions has contributed heavily.

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A survey of terrestrial wildlife in the Ngerukewid Islands Wildlife Preserve of southwestern Palau detected one species of frog, 13 species of reptiles, 28 species of birds, and two species of bats. Fifteen species of native forest birds probably breed in the preserve, but eight other species known from adjacent limestone islands in Palau are absent. The preserve supports relatively dense populations of Micronesian megapodes, Micronesian pigeons, Nicobar pigeons, and Micronesian fruit bats, all of which are hunted extensively elsewhere in Palau. Four active nesting mounds of megapodes were found in the preserve, with an additional two mounds present in the nearby Kmekumer Islands. Six species of seabirds are present, with brown noddies, black noddies, and bridled terns breeding in moderate numbers. Hawksbill sea turtles appear to nest regularly in the area, but illegal egg collecting is a problem. Densities of skinks and geckos are low throughout the preserve. Only one introduced species of vertebrate, the greater sulfur-crested cockatoo, was recorded in the preserve, suggesting that the island group's original fauna is still largely intact.

Change is part and parcel of human history; it is affecting the whole world including American society, the so-called model of democracy. Change in Micronesian society is being sculptured both intentionally and unconsciously, to fit American society. When Americans talk about development in Micronesia, they are quick to point out that the United States, despite its shortcomings in the administration of Micronesia, has done much.

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The introduced shrew, Suncus murinus, was discovered on Guam in May 1953. Its spread was rapid and probably facilitated by the transport of goods. The shrew was discovered on Saipan in August 1962 and spread from an area of about four square miles around the harbor to cover the rest of the island in about 18 months. Subsequent successful invasions have been reported for Rota (1966) and Moen, Truk Atoll (1967). The shrew has had no observable impact on ground-nesting birds. A marked decline in trap success for Mus musculus on Guam from 1958 to 1969 is the only measured change in the vertebrate fauna that can be attributed to the shrew, although changes in densities of skinks may have occurred.

The Norway rat, Rattus norvegicus, was known to be present in Saipan and certain other islands for many years, but the first record for Guam was not obtained until 1962, apparently a few years after its introduction. In contrast to the shrew, the spread of the Norway rat has been slow-the spotty records covered no more than 20 square miles by 1969. The first record for the Norway rat on Babelthaup, Palau, is noteworthy because of the apparent feral status of the species. Reasons for the different levels of success shown by the shrew and the Norway rat in Micronesia are not known.

Quantitative analyses of epifaunal and infaunal polychaete assemblages from an intertidal windward reef bench at Enewetak Atoll revealed increases in species richness and abundance along a shoreward to seaward transect. The importance of refuges (shallow pools and algal turf) to the polychaete fauna was examined. Species diversity and richness and polychaete abundance were lower near shore where shallow pools, lined with sand, were the only refuges for soft-bodied invertebrates during periods of environmental harshness. Towards the ocean the bench was almost entirely covered by a thick algal turf which harbored a sizeable standing crop of polychaetes (up to 8.2 g dry wt./m²). Tube dwelling, suspension feeders and detritivores of the Sabellidae and Spionidae are most abundant in the shoreward pools while cirratulids, opheliids, errant amphinomids, and nereids, dominated the seaward samples. Thirty-one syllid species were recognized, contributing 35% of the polychaetes from epifaunal samples and the family was well represented in all algal turf and bench rock samples. Boring and burrowing polychaetes were more abundant as infauna in reef rock and coralline ridge samples as compared to samples of filamentous and turf-forming algae, and fine sediments scraped from the reef rock substratum where they were relatively few in number. The carbonate rock offered a third habitat dimension for cryptic and boring species including Dodecaceria laddi, eunicids and the spionid Polydora armata. Overall polychaete abundance and standing crop was approximately eight times greater in the algal mat habitat than in nearshore areas lacking macrothalloid algae. Shoreward refuges (shallow pools) harbored a richer polychaete fauna than the surrounding bench. Despite the harsh environmental conditions that exist nearshore during low tides, polychaete abundance was rather high (400-24,200 worms/m²). Algal turf scraped from the seaward section of bench contained an estimated 32,700 worms/m² in one of these samples, while blocks of reef rock including the overlying turf had 82,000-100,300 worms/m². These estimates indicate an increase in polychaetes with increasing macrothalloid algal cover and additionally with inclusion of the underlying hard substratum. Reef rock samples from the crest had a less abundant polychaete fauna composed of different species than those from the algal-covered section of bench. Data show that refuges affect the distribution, abundance, and composition of polychaete assemblages on an intertidal, tropical bench.

Forty three resident islanders contributed their knowledge on the status of sea turtles on Pohnpei, Micronesia during an island-wide survey in 1999. The green turtle (Chelonia mydas) and the hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) are the two most common turtles in Pohnpei. Local islanders hunt turtles regularly and take them opportunistically while fishing, often disregarding size limits, closed seasons, and other restrictions. Nesting occurs rarely (more frequently in the past than now), and is limited to a few beaches on some of the lagoon islands; the main island is surrounded by mangroves. The leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) has been recorded from time to time, mainly outside the reef. The Pohnpeian name oarkalahp is used for putative green turtle/hawksbill hybrids.