T r u s t T e r r i t o r y of t h e P a c i f i c Islands

ATOLL RESEARCH BULLEPIN

---

No. 56

A t o l l s v i s i t e d during t h e f i r s t year of t h e P a c i f i c Islands Rat Ecology Project

'JY

J. T. Marshall, Jr.

Issued by

THE PACIFIC SCIENCE BOARD

National Academy of Sciences-National Research Council Washington, D. C .

September

15, 1957

Atolls Visited During t h e F i r s t Year of t h e P a c i f i c Islands Rat Ecology P r o j e c t

J. T. Viarshall, by Jr.

I. Acknowledgments

I n connection r.iith s t u d i e s of r a t s on a t y p i c a l P a c i f i c high i s l a n d , Ponape, comparative observations were made on outlying a t o l l s . The P a c i f i c Islands Rat Ecology p r o j e c t , supported by t h e National Science Foundation and t h e

U.

S. Public Health Service, i s administered by t h e P a c i f i c Science Board, with t r a n s p o r t a t i o n provided by t h e Office of Naval Research and t h e

U.

S . T r u s t T e r r i t o r y of t h e P a c i f i c Islands. These notes do not include d e f i n i t i v e information on the r a t s , which w i l l be t r e a t e d i n t h e o f f i c i a l r e p o r t s of t h e P i r a t e Project. Rather, they a r e intended t o give a general impression of t h e little-known animal l i f e of t h e a t o l l s . I thank M r . Del H. Nucker, High Commissioner of t h e T r u s t T e r r i t o r y , and h i s s t a f f f o r innumerable c o u r t e s i e s and a s s i s t a n c e which made t h i s work possible and a pleasure; I thank a l s o Eir. Henry Hedges, Ponape D i s t r i c t Administrator,

and h i s s t a f f f o r f a c i l i t i e s and f o r transportation. I an indebted t o Oliver Nampei and C. E. Howell f o r h o s p i t a l i t y and passage t o and from Ant Atoll, and t o Yeswo and P e t e r biarshall f o r a s s i s t a n c e i n t h e f i e l d work. I am g r a t e f u l t o t h e r e s i d e n t s of t h e various i s l a n d s f o r t h e i r h o s p i t a l i t y . 11. General Remarks

I n c o n t r a s t V~ith krno A t o l l i n t h e l i a r s h a l l islands, t h e a t o l l s of t h e Ponape D i s t r i c t have a r i c h e r f l o r a , providing a g r e a t e r v a r i e t y in t h e shapes and s i z e s of t h e plants. The vegetation i s denser, t h e t r e e s a r e t a l l e r , t h e undergrowth i s l u x u r i a n t , and t h e r e a r e m r e epiphytes

-

a l l i n d i c a t i n g a much more humid climate. There a r e more nesting sea birds.

Because of t h e i r nearness t o high i s l a n d s such as Ponape, Kusaie, and Truk, t h e r e i s a g r e a t e r chance f o r the occurrence on them of land birds. The usual r e s i d e n t noddy t e r n s (two s p e c i e s ) , black-naped t e r n , c r e s t e d t e r n , and f a i 5 y t e r n were seen on high and low islands a l i k e . Nan-breeding shorebirds rrere generally d i s t r i b u t e d : P l w i a l i s dominica', Num6hius t a h i t i e n s i s ( r a r e ) , Heteroscelus incanus, Arenaria i n t e r p r e s ; on t h e o t h e r hand wintering

A c t i t i s hppoleucos and C a l i d r i s acuminata were seen only on Ponape. The toad Buf o marinus vas found only on Guam, Ponape and Lele I., Kusaie. The land

-

_snail Aahatina f u l l c a was seen only a t Ponape, Truk and

Guam.

111. Descriptions of Certain Caroline Atolls Mokil A t o l l

I v i s i t e d Kalap Island from 8 a . m. t o

4

p. m. of November

29,

1955. liokil Village i s a r r e s t i n g i n t h e beauty of i t s b l u e and white wooden houses on s t i l t s , t h e o r d e r l i n e s s of i t s c o r a l pavements, t h e p r e c i s e con-

-2-

struction of i t s stone landing piers and beautif* thatched boat how=

and cooking houses (the same community organization and p i d e is reflected i n t h e MokiL homesteading area at ona ape). For an a t o l l i s l e t , Kslap i s unusual i n i t s great width,

high elevations (hiUa of perhap 25 feet),

and enonnous taro swamp, with the huge taroe planted i n rows.

In the t a l l forest, coconut husks, fronds and branekos,- though-neatly piled a t intervals, provided habitat f o r rats. One Rattus exulans

lars

shot as it climbed a tree. About the town were dwmeatic cats, pigs, ducks, and chickens. Reef h e m

( D d

r e t t a sacra) are kept a s pets, and are venbrated (as the species name imp I?+- es as a= o r l~ancestors~l of certain families.

Carl ^Dsnnis, an educated Mokilese with extensive training

88

a sanitarian and a s an assistant t o the Rat'E0ology project, stated that the Japanese used -ton I s l e t as a wharf and warehowe area, and t h a t it

wss

a t W over-run with large rats, presumably R$ttus rattus; whereas he suspected that Kalap had possibly

only

B. ^exulana. He stated that the white-browed

r a i l ( ~ o l i o l h a s cinereus), which he well knew from l i v e trapping a t Ponape (specimens, not previously recorded frem Ponape) occurred

in

the taro s w p . Although I saw none in the few minutes I looked there, I consider

his

report

reliable.

Pinnelap Atoll

Like Mokil, Pingelap has a tiny lagoon and broad land area fop an atoll. There is a mangrove swamp i n the lagoon. Huge pandanus t r e e s lirhng the shore screen the village. During visit f r a t 1:30 t o 5:00 p.

m.

on November 28, 1955, which

was

s u m and clear, there was a strcag breeze.

^,

But t h e a i r was dead s t i l l i n the tall jungle of huge coconut

palms,

bread- f r u i t s ,

pandanus and bananas of t h e interior. Ferns abounded both

on the ground and up t h e trunks of the trees. There was much clearing of undergrowth,

~ d t h

the brush, logs, and hwks piled i n long rows. Again t h i s neat arrange- ment offered better hiding-places f o r rats than

if

the material had been l e f t scattered.

A

f a i r l y large r a t , possibly Rattus rattus, ran along such a

w a l l

of branches; and a young

R. exulans was

taken from a nest

in

a coconut stump.

As

a t Mom, huge skMcs T m albofasciolata) prowled among the pigs i n t h e i r penned areas. A tame reef heron and a pet booby

(S-)

were seen i n the village.

Anous 4enuirostr5.s and &is alba were nesting i n the breadfruit trees a t t h e

- outakFr*ts of town.

"Atoll Strand'! of Kusaie

Around the south and east border of Kusaie ia a narrow c o r a l strand with coconut

palms,

piles of coconut husks, Scaevola, t a l l pandanus,vines, and ran.? mdergrowth. It i s exactly l i k e a n n e r e f o r e , and

I

mention i t

here

+:

E ~ O N

what land animals

and

btrds occur i n a typical a t o l l envix.c~ur.rnt which i s very close to a source of colonists.

Bfy

v i s i t a t this

"corai skrrand'l was only during November 25-26, 1956, and I cannot be certain

that a l l the

land

birda l i v e permanently there. All a r e species *ich made

long f l i g h t s over t h e lagoon. Yeswo and I trapped and c o l l e c t e d on a p a r t of t h i s strand connected t o Lele I s l e t by a rock causeway. On t h e ocean s i d e of t h e s t r a n d i s a sand beach, t h e n a lagoon, then an o u t e r r e e f ; on i t s i n n e r border i s mangrove swmp, then a rushing t i d a l r i v e r , t h e n t h e s t e e p f o r e s t e d mountains of Kusaie proper.

On Kusaie i t s e l f a r i c h l y tawny o r reddish form of Rattus r a t t u s occurs. But t h e Rattus r a t t u s c o l l e c t e d on t h e s t r a n d were predominately t h e black or plain brown v a r i e t i e s . rihich p r e v a i l on Lele, t h e port; these were seen crossing t h e causeway i n broad daylight. This means t h a t t h e r a t population of the s t r a n d i s considerably i s o l a t e d from t h a t of the mainland.

Ant Atoll; Southern Portion

Peter Karshall and I stayed a t Pohn Sanghi Village on t h e i s l e t c a l l e d Pukennge (Nikalap Aru I. on hydrographic c h a r t ) from December 9 t o 12, 1955.

We v i s i t e d Imuntiati Village and hiked t o t h e western extremity of t h i s i s l e t , Panruk. Coconut p a l m a r e throughout planted i n rows with varying heights of undergrovrth according t o , t h e time s i n c e trimming. A t i n t e r v a l s along t h e shore, every 50 yards o r so, a r e l a r g e n a t i v e t r e e s , in which most of t h e land b i r d s were found. Breadfruits and t a l l s y n e t r i c a l pandanus t r e e s a r e present.

The smallest i s l e t s , u i t h b e a u t i f u l sand beaches, have denser stands with more n a t i v e t r e e s such as Scaevola and Uesserschmidia, 2nd t h e r e a r e Peralphis

and a few S o n n . e r s t g along t h e lagoon beach. A t t h e broad vrest portion of Panmuk'was a dense jungle, overgrown from f o m e r coconut plantings, vLth l a r g e semaining f o r e s t t r e e s (with holes i n v~hich lo r r i e s were evidently nesting), a l u s h undergrowth including f e r n s and a t a r o swamp. There vias much r a i n during our stay. Doubtless Ant g e t s much r a i n from t h e clouds rihich con- c e n t r a t e a t windward Ponape.

Roof r a t s

(IZ. --

r a t t u s ) raided copra drying sheds by day; these and i'l.

5 x 2 2 ~

were trappgd i n abuqdance. None mas seen i n t r e e s during night

-

hunting. Domestic c a t s , dogs, ?i~;s, and chickens occur.

A

school of porpoises played a t t h e entrance t o t h e lagoon; these animals performed double f l i p s and double tviists u i t h ease i n t h e i r jumps out of t h e water.

knt A t o l l , Alona (Ylolauna) I s l e t

This remote i s l e t a t t h e northvrest corner of the a t o l l was v i s i t e d from iiay

14

t o 16, 1956 by P e t e r i.;arsnall, Yeswo and n y s e l f , i n order t o see what animals might occur i n t h e untouched n a t u r a l vegetation. A l l kinds of vascular plants t h a t I could see riere collected, and i d e n t i f i e d by F. R.

Fosberg ( I inadvertently missed hiorinda, which vas comnon, judging from

f r u i t l y i n g on t h e ground). The configuration of t h e vegetation may be judged from t h e follov~ing notes on t h e p l a n t col.l.ections:

No. 153 Derris t r i f o l i a t a Lour.

Small seedling g r o v j n ~ i n coral sand ^{jnst, wi.i;hin} siood1.anrl edge a t shore. Fo others seen.

Terminalia samoensis Rsch.

Large t r e e , shiny leaves, trunk 2 f e e t

i n

diameter. Abundant a t periphery of i s l e t , b u t back of Messerschmidia.

Pol.wodium scolopendria

Burn.

f .

Growing from rhSzcanes i n patches i n shade

on

c o r a l ground.

Also on l a r g e horizontal trunks of Messerschmidia. Common.

Cenchrus echinatus L.

-

Creeping and eroct on c o r a l ground a t edge of woods j u s t behind usual camp ground. Onlfthe one patch, 1 0 f e e t across.

Pisonia arandis R.

Br.

Smooth pale bark, roots sprawl over coral, many v e r t i c a l shoots from big trunks. Abundant i n i n t e r i o r .

Messerschmidia areentea (L.f

.

^{) Johns}

^t.

Large t r e e in bloom, flowers white, and

small

green berries.

checkered dark bark. Abundant jusLa1ong shore. -

Pandanus t e c t o r i u s Park.

Only one individual present. Few prop roots,

j u s t

about

8

inches off t h e ground. Tree 1 2 f e e t

tall,

s i n g l e trunk pale, - bulges a b w e ground. Leaf

64

f e e t long. -

&lemA- L.

IIuge luanr. grmving on c o r a l ground i n shade. Leaves 4$

f e e t long. Only 2 others

seen,

both near t h i s one: one of them was dwarfed and-was growing oui of

a

half coconut a h e l l .

Cocos nucifera b.

-

Four o r

^-- 5

old t r e e s

i n

c e n t e r of i s l e t , other seedlings planted and ringed with c o r a l walls; other s e e U n g s a t

jar

. shore look as though t h e nuts have washed ashore and grown.

Note: Mo Scaevola s e r i c e a was seen on t h i s i s l e t .

a r l y e l l i p t i c a l i s l e t

i s

about

400

f e e t long.

It i s

composed' of ,jagged c o r a l boulders b u i l t up t o a peripheral rim w i t h gravel a d sand, but

sunkti:> and e x p ~ s e d i n the i n t e r i o r sink. The shore

i s

of coarse sand and gravel suwounded by a hard c o r a l pavement covered

at

high t i d e

and

strewn with black c o r a l boulders. A long white coarse sand s p i t extends southward

t a

seemed t o have been r o l l e d by l a r g e colony of ThalasseG b e a s had abandoned

- a

high t i d e . The birds our presence and dived a t us but never returned t o t h e i r eggs.

G&is

-.

^'alba

--

and AnoUs t e n u i r o s t r i s nested i n t h e t r e e s ; many of t h e l a t t e r

---- ---

dense populai;ion were dead and ~ y i n g . Droppings vrere profuse but

I

savi he m a t e r i a l seems t o drain out from t h e ' C o r a contribute t o t h e r a i s e d dark sandy border. The

, < . ,. .;:,y., ^~ . ; <,. ^~ .- . ... ^.-.A. .. - '

,

,;.6,&2pl

&?!-\.

&i?.

,;;>,::;

.

^{. 7, .,} :,.: ^,

., ^A.

^!

.

^L??.

:$j w , ~ < . < ; &,; ^.

+&;,

^;i.:

*+

^&-,,

_.

^{"x:. 2f ,.*. , %h.T,? .~} ::.->:.it>

"-'.<.

^.<:,4

- F : 4~-*

*-

^,.r

^.

^{5- .,,- 5 . .}

. . . .

.

^{,.. i}

dominant vegetation i s the dense c l o s e d canopy of Terminalia Pisonia, and -

-

^{. ..}

--,

Ibiesserschmidia about 30 f e e t hiyjh. _{A l l} other p l a n t s seem t o be a c c i d e n t a l or l o c a l . P a r t of the r a i s e d loamy border i s c l e a r and parb-like beneath the canopy; e i t h e r bare or with "lawns" of Polypodium.

In l a t e afternoon hundreds of f r i g a t e b i r d s (Fregata minor) and boobies

-

(specimen s e n t t o USW) gathered, c i r c l i n g overhead, and a f t e r dark they began t o land. i ? the trees, a l l cominp i n from the same d i r e c t i o n .

Five o r s i x reed warblers ( ~ c r o c e p h a l u s

-

l u s c i n i a )

,

a l a r g e population f o r s o small an i s l e t , sang, constantly

i n

t h e t r e e s . C n l y a couple of house f l i e s were noted despite the numerous dead nodd.ies. _Fiif were b i t t e n by long- legged d e l i c a t e f l i e s a l i t t l e smaller than t h e house f l y . Cockroaches and a n t s ( i n c l u d i n s a b i t i n g kind) swarmed over the whole i s l e t . h e earthworm uas seen. Small crabs s e t off most of t h e rat t r a p s and t i n y hermit crabs abounded. Ro herons, r a t s , b a t s , toads o r s n a i l s riere found.

.

Oroluk A t o l l

Yeswo and

I

v i s i t e ? Oroluk on June

5-6,

1956. This huge a t o l l i s mostly an e l l i p t i c a l r e e f , with only a small: i s l e t a t one end. This has a n a t u r a l f o r e s t with Pandanus understory a t the west end, open plantings of coconut palms i n the c e n t r a l p a r t , and a l a r g e papaya garden witin t a r o s and dense weeds. A t the edge of t h e beach is Messerschmidia and some dense grass.

Pisonia grandis, Morinda, Calophyllum and Asplenium nidus mere seen.

-

The ground i s of white sand a t t h e beach, followed inland by l a r g e r c o r a l f r a g - ments, and t h e i n t e r i o r has s t i n k i n g black mud from b i r d droppings. Three men from Kapingamarangi riere s t a y i n g a t t h e i s l a n d ; they had captured 27 a d u l t female green t o r t o i s e s , which were taken back t o Ponape. These had been laying eggs i n the beach san?. Others % e r e seen ^{i l l} p a i r s i n t h e lagoon.

Domestic pigs and chickens were present. ^Sieve-, roof r a t s ( R . r a t t u s ) were trapped, mostly i n the thatched. buildings. These we're a l l rema- a l i k e i n color even t o a white s p o t on t h e chest. This gives t h e impression of inbreeding within the progeny of perhaps a s i n g l e recently-introduced preg- nant female

--

i n marked c o n t r a s t t o t h e heterogeneity t y p i c a l of a l l ot'ner r a t populations I have trapped i n Yicronesia.

Invertebrates noted were small day-biting mosquitoes, l a r g e coconut crabs (which c a r r i e d off the r a t t r a p s ) , purple square land crabs, ghost crabs on the sand, hermit crabs, katjrdids. m e r e was a l a r g e nesting colony

of Iiregata minor and boobies (Sula

- ^--

apparently both S .

- -

s u l a a ~ d

2.

1 e u c o g a S t e r Z t h e native t r e e s t o the north.

I estimated the dense population of s t a r l i q g s (Aplonis Op=) a t about 400, 95% a d u l t s . They d i f f e r e d v i s i 5 l y i n s i a e and c o l o r , suggesting a mixed stock. Families of juveniles begging food from t h e i r parents were

dusky v e n t r a l l y uiGh i n d i s t i n c t st;realti.ng. But I saw a t l e a s t one grown b i r d whose ventral. color vas white with c l e a r h3.acllr s t r e a k s . Some o f t h e

c a l l s of these s t a r l i n g s d i f f e r e d from those on Ponape. ^Biey were s1iaI)by.

as i f heavily p a r a s i t i z e d ( a s were mj specimens with m i t e s ) .

These tame b i r d s entered t h e houses. They spent much of t h e i r time i n t h e very l a r g e papaya gardens and l e f t none of t h e f r u i t f o r human consumption. The Kapingamarangi people used a slingshot a g a i n s t t h e birds, with which I c o l l e c t e d two. Both had mended s e r i o u s bone f r a c t u r e s y e t were of n o r m 1 behavior. This s t a r l i n g a l s o occurs on Kapingamarangi Atoll, reported by Niering in A t o l l Res

.

^{Bull. 110. 49,}

Conclusions on nesting and roosting oceanic birds.

- - --

Unlike t h e small noddy t e r n s and f a i r y t e r n s (which r o o s t and n e s t successfully on inhabited a t o l l i s l e t s ) t h e l a r g e boobies, f r i g a t e s , and t e r n s a r e limitod t o seldom v i s i t e d i s l e t s such a s d o n a and Oroluk.

Native p o l i c i e s of preserving n e s t i n g s a n c t u a r i e s f o r t u r t l e s and l a r g e oceanic birds should be encouraged.

IV.

D i s t r i b u t i o n of Resident Land Vertebrates on Caroline A t o l l s , 1955-56.

On t h e accompanfing t a b l e t h e fauna of t h e high i s l a n d s , pre- sumably t h e source of some of t h e animals of a t o l l s ,

i s

entered f o r com- parison a s i s t h a t of Arno Atoll, l i a r s h a l l Islands. Kusaie was v i s i t e d November 23-27, 1955, Ponape from August 1955 t o J u l y 1956; lioen

I.,

Truk from June 20 t o 28, 1956. f i l l t h e follov~ing were observed i n numbers and a r e presumed t o be permanently established and a b l e t o c a r r y out t h e i r e n t i r e l i f e cy-le on t h e i s l a n d indicated. The Ponape mountain s t a r l i n g i s s t i l l estahizsiied over a l a r g e a r e a of f o r e s t , but i s v e r y r a r e .

Table 1.

D i s t r i b u t i o n of resident larid v e r t e b r a t e s .

(Islands a r e arranged from west t o e a s t , d i s t a n c e s apart i n miles entered between t h e i r names).

M u s musculus : +i. : : it :

Rieropus (large, not molossinus): 0 : : O : + + : : 0 :

~

Deer (2 species) ^{: it :}

Cat. f e r a l : O : :

~- -

Pig, f e r a l

. _ .

Dasia smaragdina : 0 : i t : . . : K : % : . I ~ : G : ~ : . ~ L :

Emoia of Truk ^{K :}

Emoia b o e t t g e r i :

: * :

l i 3 : - . 9 - i t : I f . O * :

Emoia arnoensis : i s :

Leiolopisma noctua ? ^{. .} : 0 :

^.

. ^_)L . O : ^,

.

^{A % I'}

. .

--.-.

Specimens c o l l e c t e d and deposited i n U. S. National Museum, some d u p l i c a t e bird s k i n s a r e i n t h e c o l l e c t i o n of t h e S o u t h e ~ t , e r r i Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology, Los Angales.

0 Observed but not c o l l e c t e d

-8-

Table 1. (cont 'd)

Riopa albof a s c i a t a : O : O : : * : : $ : o : a : : ~t : Gehyra oceanica : 0 : ^{: i i} 6 - x - : 3 ~ :

: o : - x - :

Perochirus a r t i c u l a t u s

. .

: 4 - i i : ,

.

^:

* :

Lepidodactylus lugubris : 0 : ⁱ 0 : o : O : a :

Gymnodactylus p e l a ~ i c u s : : i i : : : K :

Demigretta sacra : 0 : :

9 :

0 : : 0 : 0 : 3 5 :

Nycticorax caledonicus : 0 :

Ixobrychus s i n e n s i s : 0 : : : t

Anas s u p e r c i l i o s a : 0 :

. . . .

Gallus g a l l u s , f e r a l i n jungle : 0 : : 3 5 : : : 0 :

Poliolimnas cinereus : " : ? :

Ptilinopus porphyraceus : 0 : :

: * :

^: : 0 :

Ducula oceanica : : : O : * : :

. . : 0 :

* :

Gallicolornba xapthonura : O : ^{: : i t :} Trichoglossus rubiginosus : :

9 : " :

Asio flammeus : :

* :

Collocalia i n q u i e t a : 0 : : K : : : i t : i t :

-9- .

, . . . . Table 1. (cont Id)

Animals

Halcyon cinnamomina : : : : O ; * c :

. ^{. . .}

Edolisorna t e n u i r o s t r e

. . . .

^{: a :}

Acrocephalus l u s c i n i a : 0 : : 0 : i c : ~ r :

Rhipidura r u f i f r o n s

. .

^{Q : . :}

Myiagra oceanica : 0 : 9 :

Metabolus rugensis : 0 :

. . . . . . . .

Aplonis p e l z e l n i ^{: Q :}

Kwomela c a r d i n a l i s ^: 0 : : $ .I :

' a

^:

.

^{Q ~ C : :}

Zosterops c o n s p i c i l l a t a : 0 : : i? :

Zosterous cinerea ^: ic : : : 0 :

Rukia sanf o r d i : : : K :

Erythrura t r i c h r o a : 0 : : Q :

Lonchura nigerrima : : ~ r :

*c Specimens collected and deposited i n U. S. National Museum, some d u p l i c a t e s b i r d skins a r e i n t h e c o l l e c t i o n of t h e Soutk~%~cst,erri Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology, Los Angeles.

0 Observed but not c o l l e c t e d .

Conclusions on r e p t i l e s .

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There i s no impoverishment of t h e l i z a r d fauna on s i z e a b l e a t o l l s remote from t h e high i s l a n d s ; f o r instance, t h e faunas of Ponape and Arno ( A t o l l Res. Bull. #3) a r e p r a c t i c a l l y i d e n t i c a l , and have t h e same number of s p e c i e s , though each has one species not found on t h e other. Therefore t h e l i z a r d faunas of a t o l l s a r e independent of proximity t o high islands.

Inasmuch a s t h e 1955-56 l i z a r d c o l l e c t i o n s have not y e t been i d e n t i f i e d by experts, I merely assume, through f a m i l i a r i t y in t h e f i e l d , t h e i r i d e n t i t y with species on Arno. I n case my suppositions a r e wrong, t h e following descriptions a r e offered f o r provisional i d e n t i f i c a t i o n :

Diurnal Skinks

smaragdina l a r g e green (with c o l o r polymorphism:

o l i v e , broum, blackj ; t r e e s .

Truk

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b o i a medium-small, brwm above, l i g h t gray beneath;

ground and vines.

Fdnoia b o e t t a e r i medium, brown above, yellow below; ground.

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Fnoia arnoensis medium, black; ground.

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Emoia cyanura small, d o r s a l l y s t r i p e d , bluish t a i l .

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S t r i p e d

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Emoia small, bronze back, s t r i p e d sides, p a l e venter;

ground.

Leiolopisma noctua? small, bronze back, blackish s i d e s , pink beneath; under l e a f l i t t e r .

a l b o f a s c i o l a t a very l a r g e , dusky above, pink beneath, black hash-marks along lower jaw d i s t i n g u i s h even t h e _- - - juveniles; ground.

Nocturnal Geckos

Gehsra oceanica l a r g e , t a i l narrow; arboreal.

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Perochlrus a r t l c u l a t u s medium, t a i l l i k e arrow-head; houses.

Lepidodactylus lugubris small, t a i l l i k e arrowhead; houses, t r e e s .

G.mnodactylus pelagicus medium, no f r i l l s on toes; ground.

Tentative conclusion on birds,-- Several kinds of land b i r d s can occupy

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t h e a t o l l enviroiment where a high i s l a n d is a nearby source of replenishment (within s i g h t , a s a t Ant).

V. Non-native b i r d s on a t o l l s

Kwa,ialein I., Kwajalein Atoll, 1;arshall Islands.- On June 11, 1950 I saw a m y n a h 7 ~ c r i d o t h e r e s i n a i r p o r t building.

During s e v e r a l daysf s t a y i n J u l y 1956, 1 noted a t l e a s t a half-dozen a t t h e gardens around t h i s sane building, no:) used as a nursery. They were e a t i n g papayas.

Wake,Island.- During a sojourn on J u l y 19-21, 1955 I sav a male English sparrow, Passer dornesticus, a l i g h t on t h e quonset a t t h e west end of t h e Transocean Airlines BCQ a r e a on J u l y 20th.

The ease with which non-native animals a r e now being transported

i s

i l l u s t r a t e d a t Guam, where t h e follotring were unheard-of i n 1945. I saw a t the U. S . Naval Hospital (June 28-July 15, 1956) s e v e r a l p a i r s of t r e e sparrows, Passer montanus, and a small f l o c k of r i c e birds, h e

oryzivora. I n a d d i t i o n t h e musk shrew, Suncus murinus,

i s

now cormon, and t h e r e a r e r e l i a b l e reports from s a n i t a t i o n o f f i c i a l s of a l a r g e green snake and a n anopheline mosquito.