After a three year hiatus, Micronesica is back in business. As the new General Editor, I feel an explanation is due our contributors and subscribers. Dr. C.E. Birkeland, the last editor of record, relinquished his editorial responsibilities with the last volume published (Vol. 19), in 1984. The succeeding editor was not successful in his endeavors, and I was appointed General Editor in August, 1986. Since then, manuscripts needed to be sorted, reviewed, and revised an additional time. Due to the strength of the Japanese Yen versus the U.S. Dollar, we have been forced to abandon our long-standing contract with a Japanese company, and had to search and re-bid for a new printer. On behalf of Micronesica, I apologize to authors and subscribers for the delay and inconvenience. I hope everything will be back on schedule in the near future, and all will be in order before I pass on the editorial responsibilities to the next editor. I have chosen to use the actual date of issue as the date on this volume (No. 20), to avoid confusion. It should be noted that all of the manuscripts contained herein were submitted and accepted two to three years ago. I also wish to acknowledge C.E. Birkeland for his willingness to come out of a well-deserved "retirement" to assist in getting Micronesica back on track

This anthropological analysis of coconut toddy shows how the production and consumption of palm wine symbolizes the transition to manhood on Ujelang Atoll. Islanders draw parallels between toddy production and processes of maturing which, along with training in processes of toddy manufacture and the unifying actions of a drinking circle, provide one avenue boys follow in their quest to be accepted as men. An historical consideration of toddy consumption links palm wine sharing to newer drinking styles and furnishes a context for understanding recent innovations in the use of alcoholic beverages.

The monocotyledonous plants known to us as occurring or reported to have occurred in Micronesia are listed systematically by families and alphabetically under the families. They belong to 272 genera (in a broad sense). Of the 677 species and varieties included, 367 are considered indigenous, 308 exotic (indicated by an asterisk). Of the indigenous ones, 166 are endemic in Micronesia, so far as we know. The other 204 extend to other lndo-Pacific islands or countries bordering the lndo-Pacilic region. The strand and coastal plants are mostly widespread, some are pantropical. Of the endemics, 135 are restricted to the Caroline Islands, 19 to the Marianas, 11 to both groups, and one to Wake and the northern Marshalls. There are no endemics, (with the possible exception of the poorly known Crinum bakeri) in the central and southern Marshalls, the Gilberts, or the other isolated islands. The affinities of the species are mostly lndo-Malaysian and New Guinean-Melanesian, a few are Australian. For each species and smaller taxon the known distribution by islands is given, as well as basionyms, synonyms, misapplications or misidentilications that have appeared in the Micronesian literature known to us.

Precursory taxonomic and nomenclatural notes to the check-list of Micronesian monocotyledons and to certain parts of the Flora of Micronesia, containing studies of Micronesian species of Crinum (Liliaceae: Amaryllidae)-Crinum asiaticum var. pedunculatum new combination; Dianella (Liliaceae)-Dianella saffordiana new species; Dioscorea (Dioscoreaceae)-Dioscorea esculenta var. tiliaefolia new combination; Curcuma (Zingiberaceae); Didymoplexis (Orchidaceae); Liparis (Orchidaceae)-Liparis yamadae new combination; Habenaria (Orchidaceae)-Habenaria setifera new combination; Malaxis (Orchidaceae)-Malaxis calcarea, M. kerstingiana, M. trukensis, M. volkensii, new combinations; Nervilia (Orchidaceae); Spathoglottis (Orchidaceae); Rhynchophreatia (Orchidaceae)-Rhynchophreatia pacifica, R. carolinensis, new combinations; Taeniophyllum (Orchidaceae); and Trachoma (Orchidaceae). Preliminary keys to the Micronesian species of several of these genera are provided, and specimens are cited.

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.

Critical notes on several Micronesian Cyperaceae are offered, including an arrangement of the Micronesian varieties of Cyperus odoratus L., including var. odoratus, var. attenuatus var. nov., var. curtispiculus var. nov. and var. novae-hannoverae (Boeck.) Fosberg & Sachet, comb. nov., lecto-typification of Fimbristylis autumnalis f. hemisphaerica Kükenthal, and reduction of two subspecies of Machaerina mariscoides (Gaud.) Kern.

Petrolisthes bispinosus Borradaile, P. decacanthus Ortmann, and P. eldredgei n. sp. are closely related crabs (Anomura: Porcellanidae) which inhabit coral reefs in the lndo-West Pacific. They differ from other Indo-West Pacific Petrolisthes species by having two epibranchial spines on each carapace margin combined with unarmed mesobranchial margins. All three species occur from French Polynesia westward to the southern Mariana Islands, and the range of P. decacanthus extends to the western Indian Ocean. Their closest allies are P. rosariensis Werding and P. columbiensis Werding from the Western Atlantic region and P. glasselli Haig from the Eastern Pacific.

Three species of the red algal genus Gracilaria (Gracilariaceae) and four entities, one a new species, of the closely related genus Polycavernosa are recognized from material deposited in the University of Guam herbarium. Gracilaria salicornia, widely reponed under a variety of names from throughout the warm Pacific and Indian Ocean is recognized as morphologically variable, and includes several taxa previously thought to be independent. On the other hand, a specimen from Saipan which might have been identified as G. salicornia on account of its habit shows superficial (Chorda-type) spermatangia which would place it in a different species. Among the four different groups of specimens that are identified with Polycavernosa on account of spermatangial or cystocarpic features, a new species, P. tsudae is described. Taking into account the numerous islands of Micronesia (Marianas, Carolines, Marshalls, western Kiribati, Tavalu) from which few or no algal collections have been made, the seven taxa show a remarkable diversity when compared to the Ryukyus, for example, where repeated collections show 11 species of Gracilaria, and no species of Polycavernosa.

Seeds and fruits of tropical plants capable of floating in sea water are carried by the Kuroshio Current from southeastern Asia and Micronesia to the Japanese archipelago. Twenty eight species of disseminules washed ashore on beaches of the Japanese mainland are described, and fourteen are illustrated. The western coast of the Japan Sea usually receives drift disseminules because surface currents are created by northerly or northwesterly prevailing winds.

Fifty-seven reefs were surveyed over 817 km of the Great Barrier Reef. Tridacna gigas abundance decreased southwards: it is rare south of 19°S while T. derasa was bimodal with peaks in the northernmost and southernmost areas. Distributions of T. gigas suggest that limiting factors may be temperature and seasonal currents, while salinity or turbidity may be factors which limit T. derasa.

Highly significant differences were shown in substratum preference by undisturbed populations of T. gigas and T. derasa at four sites on the Great Barrier Reef. They favored branching Acropora spp. coral.

Significant aggregated distributions were found on two substrata for pairs of T. gigas (Tg-Tg) and one substratum for T. derasa (Td-Td). A significant uniform distribution was found for Tg-Tg in the highly preferred branching Acropora spp. Aggregation in clams was also supported by an experiment at Lizard Is. Research Station which directly tested substratum preference and spatial distribution on two month old H. hippopus juveniles.

Annual natural mortality rates of populations of giant clams at 4 reef localities between 18°15'S and 14°41'S averaged 1.65±0.54% for T. gigas and 2.07±2 .59% for T. derasa.

This monograph will mark a turning point in anthropological thinking regarding the cultures of the Pacific region. The change will not be a rapid deviation, for old habits can be very persistent, but there will be a definite alteration

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