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\SbS W88/ ATOLL RESEARCH BULLETIN NO. 494 'r*r f :f **^P\r *™*' t'^*T'' "*USE&>'"^^sfe^'^v 'j^L'^^'Jii, 'MjftEramJL'*' till ^^^?[^^^^ ^^M^ B«p.Wx . v .f . ... y. -ft : ?^T...v^v.-"r*7}v' - ATOLL ATOLL RESEARCH BULLETIN GOLDEN ISSUE 1951-2001 RESEARCH Edited by Ian G. Macintyre BULLETIN Issued by NATIONAL MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S.A. DECEMBER 2001 ATOLL RESEARCH BULLETIN NO. 494 ATOLL RESEARCH BULLETIN GOLDEN ISSUE EDITED BY IAN G. MACINTYRE ISSUED BY NATIONAL MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A. DECEMBER 2001 11 The Atoll Research Bulletin is issued by the Smithsonian Institution to provide an outlet for information on the biota of tropical islands and reefs and on the environment that supports the biota. The Bulletin is supported by the National Museum of Natural History and is produced by the Smithsonian Press. This issue is partly financed and distributed with funds from Atoll Research Bulletin readers and authors. The Bulletin was founded in 1951 and the first 117 numbers were issued by the Pacific Science Board, National Academy of Sciences, with financial support from the Office of Naval Research. Its pages were devoted largely to reports resulting from the Pacific Science Board's Coral Atoll Program. All statements made in papers published in the Atoll Research Bulletin are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Smithsonian nor of the editors of the Bulletin. Articles submitted for publication in the Atoll Research Bulletin should be original papers in a format similar to that found in recent issues of the Bulletin. First drafts of manuscripts should be typewritten double spaced and can be sent to any of the editors. After the manuscript has been reviewed and accepted, the author will be provided with a page format with which to prepare a single-spaced camera-ready copy of the manuscript. COORDINATING EDITOR Ian G. Macintyre National Museum of Natural History MRC-125 ASSISTANTS Smithsonian Institution Washington, D.C. 20560 William T. Boykins, Jr. Kay Clark-Bourne Patricia K. Buckley EDITORIAL BOARD Stephen D. Cairns (MRC-163) National Museum of Natural History Brian F. Kensley (MRC-163) (Insert appropriate MRC code) Mark M. Littler (MRC-166) Smithsonian Institution Wayne N. Mathis (MRC-169) Washington, D.C. 20560 Jeffrey T. Williams (MRC-159) Joshua I. Tracey, Jr. (MRC-137) Warren L. Wagner (MRC-166) Roger B. Clapp National Museum of Natural History National Biological Survey, MRC-111 Smithsonian Institution Washington, D.C. 20560 David R. Stoddart Department of Geography 501 Earth Sciences Building University of California Berkeley, CA 94720 Bernard M. Salvat Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes Labo. Biologie Marine et Malacologie Universite de Perpignan 66025 Perpignan Cedex, France PUBLICATIONS MANAGER A. Alan Burchell Smithsonian Institution Press ATOLL RESEARCH BULLETIN GOLDEN ISSUE in 1951-2001 NO. 494 PAGES PREFACE Ian G. Macintyre THE PACIFIC ISLAND MAPPING PROGRAM OF THE U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Frank C. Whitmore, Jr. 1 WORKING IN THE PACIFIC Joshua I. Tracey, Jr. 11 REMINISCING John E. Randall 23 AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL NOTES OR FUN WITH FIELD WORK Roger B. Clapp 53 OCTOCORAL RESEARCH - —PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE Frederick M.Bayer 81 REFLECTIONS Charlie (J.E.N.) Veron 109 EASTERN PACIFIC CORAL REEFS: NEW REVELATIONS IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY Peter W. Glynn 119 GEOBIOLOGICAL CORAL-REEF STUDIES Ian G. Macintyre 161 EXPLORING NEPTUNE'S GARDENS: FROM LANDLUBBER TO REEF BIOLOGIST Klaus Rutzler 177 MARINE BOTANICAL STUDIES Mark M. Littler and Diane S. Littler 199 SCIENTIFIC DIVING ON CORAL REEFS: A PERSONAL ACCOUNT Michael A. Lang 219 BE OF GOOD CHEER, MY WEARY READERS, FOR I HAVE ESPIED LAND David R. Stoddart 235 ISSUED BY NATIONAL MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A. DECEMBER 2001 ! t H^» fk J F. Raymond Fosberg 1986 1 1 ^ ^ * ) 1 "4 * Photo V. Krantz Marie-Helene Sachet 1979 Photo V. Krantz ATOLL RESEARCH BULLETIN GOLDEN ISSUE PREFACE This Special Golden Issue of the Atoll Research Bulletin commemorates the fiftieth year of the publication of this journal. Since 1951 there have been 97 issues with a total of 493 numbered articles. The journal was the brainchild of F. Raymond Fosberg, who saw it as an outlet for information on coral islands. Ray was particularly concerned that all data collected on Pacific islands during the many postwar projects sponsored by the Pacific Science Board, including the Coral Atoll Program, would be lost in unpublished reports. Eventually he persuaded the Board to support the publication of the Atoll Research Bulletin. The initial issues contained articles describing work supported by the Coral Atoll Program on Arno, Onotoa, Ifalik, and Raroia. Ray was the first editor, but as time went on Marie-Helene Sachet, his research assistant, took on much of the work of editing and assembling this journal. The Bulletin gradually expanded to include reports on research in the Indian Ocean and the Western Atlantic. For a time, it was supported by the National Academy of Sciences until both Ray and Marie-Helene left the Academy in 1966 to work at the Smithsonian Institution under the auspices of the Tropical Biology Program. It now continues to be supported by the Director's Office of the National Museum of Natural History. David R. Stoddart, formerly with Cambridge University, England, and now with the University of California, Berkeley, joined the editorial board in 1969, followed by me in 1979. This editorial board has gradually expanded to include authorities in a number of disciplines who are involved in tropical island and coral reef research. Their names appear on our acknowledgment page. Sadly, Marie-Helene died in 1986 and Ray seven years later in 1993. The history of the Atoll Research Bulletin, and the contributions of Ray and Marie-Helene, are documented in Mary McCutcheon's excellent index issue (No. 347) and memorial issues for Marie-Helene (Nos. 293-305) and Ray (Nos. 390-96). It seems fitting on this historic occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the Atoll Research Bulletin to publish some personal overviews of various fields of research centered on tropical islands and coral reefs. These essays not only help put a face on those scientific endeavors but also remind us of the many accomplishments that have occurred largely during the period that this journal has been published. With a total freedom of format, each author has discussed his or her own field of interest in their own unique way. Two people have provided valuable assistance in assembling this special issue. Kay Clark-Bourne has helped with the editorial chores and William T. Boykins has played a critical role in scanning and printing illustrations and helping with the final layout. On the production side, this journal has benefited enormously from the advice and assistance of A. Alan Burchell of Smithsonian press for the last 24 years. In addition, special thanks go to my wife, Venka V. Macintyre, for suggesting the personal historical review topic for this issue and assisting with the final editing. Ian G. Macintyre Editor Frank C. Whitmore Jr. 1965 THE PACIFIC ISLAND MAPPING PROGRAM OF THE U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BY FRANK C. WHITMORE, JR. A little-known aspect of the U.S. Geological Survey history is its involvement in preparing terrrain intelligence reports during World War II. The Survey's Military Geology Unit was in charge of compiling these reports on areas of possible military operations. Maps were the main part of these studies; they were compiled from existing maps, geologic and soils literature, aerial and ground photographs, and travelers' accounts. Compiled geologic and soils maps served as basic data for interpretative maps on such subjects as construction materials, water supply, road and airfield siting and construction, and cross-country movement by tanks. Many of the Strategic Engineering Studies, as these intelligence reports were called, dealt with islands in the western Pacific Ocean. In the course of preparing these, it became apparent that geologic, soils, and even topographic information on the islands was sparse. Furthermore, American engineers were not well informed about some aspects of the tropical environment, such as the behavior of laterite soil when disturbed by earth-moving equipment. After the war, the Office of the Engineer, Far East Command, U.S. Army, was responsible for the construction and maintenance of bases in the western Pacific. Also, the United States had assumed responsibility for the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, including the Caroline, Gilbert, Marshall, and Palau Groups and the islands of Yap. Members of the U.S. Geological Survey, assigned to the occupation forces in Tokyo, were consulted about construction and water-supply problems in the islands. The Army's continued interest in Pacific island geology coincided with a long- cherished hope of Harry S. Ladd, who in 1946 was Assistant Chief Geologist of the USGS. In the 1920's Ladd, with J. Edward Hoffmeister, had mapped the geology of Fiji. Ladd, an invertebrate paleontologist, had become interested in the Tertiary paleogeography of the Pacific Basin and in the origin and history of atolls; the latter was demonstrated in subsequent years by his involvement in deep drilling on Bikini and Eniwetok. In 1945 Ladd conceived the idea of a long-term geologic mapping program in the islands of the western Pacific, and in January, 1946, he went to Tokyo to discuss the idea with officers of the Office of the Engineer, Far East Command. Their response was encouraging, and Ladd returned to Washington, where the approval of the Office of the USGS Associate, Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560-0137 Chief of Engineers was soon given.