British Solomon Islands Research Articles

The Nigerian Millitary: a sociological analysis of authority and revolt 1960–1967

The Nigerian Millitary: a sociological analysis of authority and revolt 1960–1967 Get access The Nigerian Millitary: a sociological analysis of authority and revolt 1960–1967, by Robin Luckham. CUP, 1971. xiii+376pp. 43 tables, map, appendices and indices. £6·00. The Nigerian Army 1956–1966, by N. J. Miners. Methuen, 1971. 290pp. £2·25 hardback. £1·40 paperback. The Police in Modern Nigeria, by T. N. Tamuno. Ibadan University Press, 1971. 332pp. Appendices, bibliography, index. £2·50 cased. £1·00 limp. J. H. SMITH J. H. SMITH Secretariat, British Solomon Islands Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar African Affairs, Volume 71, Issue 285, October 1972, Pages 459–461, https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.afraf.a096297 Published: 01 October 1972

New specificity of Australia antigen.

THE immunodiffusion laboratory at the Institute for Cancer Research frequently acts as a reference laboratory to test anti-Australia antigen sera for our colleagues in many parts of the world. Because Australia antigen is known to possess different antigenic specificities1–4, a panel was established which consisted of Australia antigen specimens selected from hepatitis and Down's syndrome patients and from clinically normal residents of the Lau area in Malaita, British Solomon Islands. Sera from normal blood donors without Australia antigen were included as negative controls. All antisera received after August 1971 were tested against this panel to detect heterogeneity among both the antibodies tested and the antigens included in the panel. Immunodiffusion was performed in a seven-hole Ouchterlony pattern with the antiserum in the centre well and a positive Australia antigen control serum from a Pennsylvania Down's syndrome patient in the top and bottom wells. The patterns were cut in a layer of 1.1% agarose in veronal buffer, pH 8.2, on glass lantern slides6,7.

A new species of Aedes from San Cristobal, British Solomon Islands Protectorate.

Aedes (Finlaya) horotoi Taylor, n. sp. is described from 2 females taken biting man at Manitawaniuhi, San Cristobal, Solomon Islands.

First Millenium BC Transport of Obsidian from New Britain to the Solomon Islands

DURING recent archaeological work in New Guinea and the British Solomon Islands we have recovered simple flake artefacts of obsidian associated with a distinctively decorated pottery known as Lapita ware1. This ware had a wide distribution across the south-west Pacific in the first millenium BC, and is known archaeologically from Watom Island, near Rabaul in New Britain, to Tonga, some 4,000 km to the southwest.

A crystal fractionation model for the basaltic rocks of the New Georgia Group, British Solomon Islands

Study of the data provided by Stanton and Bell (1969) for certain basaltic rocks from the New Georgia Group reveals an apparent discrepancy between compositional variation and the sequence of phenocryst phases available for fractionation. The discrepancy none-the-less appears explicable in terms of two low-pressure crystal fractionation mechanisms. The first of these we term compensated crystal settling, a process which, it is postulated, allows a substantial amount of magma undergoing crystal settling to maintain its overall composition since crystals settling from it are continually replaced by compositionally similar crystals which settle into it from higher levels. The second process involves selective fractionation of phases sinking at different rates. Slow sinking of plagioclase relative to ferromagnesian minerals is believed to produce cumulus enrichment in plagioclase in the upper part of the chamber, the resultant magmas being erupted as highly porphyritic, high-alumina, basaltic andesites.

Mendana 1595 and the fate of the lost ‘almiranta’: An archaeological investigation

(1972). Mendana 1595 and the fate of the lost ‘almiranta’: An archaeological investigation. The Journal of Pacific History: Vol. 7, No. 1, pp. 73-91.

Occurrence of Zoned Nodules on Malaita Island, British Solomon Islands

SUB-SPHERICAL zoned nodules of diameter 13 cm to 1 m have been found embedded in well bedded, hard, pure, pelagic, forarniniferal calcilutite of Lower to Middle Miocene age. It is thought that these hitherto undescribed nodules from Malaita Island, Solomon Islands, may provide clues about the origin of chert.

Bats from the Solomon Islands

Summary This paper reports bats obtained in the Solomon Islands by the Oxford University (Department of Zoology) Expedition to the Solomon Islands, 1953, and by the Royal Society British Solomon Islands Protectorate Expedition, 1965. Some range extensions among the islands are recorded : more notably, Emballonura dianae and Miniopterus tristis are recorded from the Solomons for the first time. Further specimens of Hipposideros dinops and Hipposideros diadena demissus are recorded and a brief review of the species of Miniopterus in Australasia has been made.

The Politics of Tradition: Continuity and Change in Northern Nigeria, 1946–1966 by C. S. Whitaker, Jr

Book Review| July 01 1971 The Politics of Tradition: Continuity and Change in Northern Nigeria, 1946–1966 by C. S. Whitaker, Jr The Politics of Tradition: Continuity and Change in Northern Nigeria, 1946–1966. By Whitaker, C. S.Jr. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1970. Pp. 563. $13.50. John Smith John Smith The Secretariat, British Solomon Islands Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google South Atlantic Quarterly (1971) 70 (3): 429–430. https://doi.org/10.1215/00382876-70-3-429 Cite Icon Cite Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Permissions Search Site Citation John Smith; The Politics of Tradition: Continuity and Change in Northern Nigeria, 1946–1966 by C. S. Whitaker, Jr. South Atlantic Quarterly 1 July 1971; 70 (3): 429–430. doi: https://doi.org/10.1215/00382876-70-3-429 Download citation file: Zotero Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search Books & JournalsAll JournalsSouth Atlantic Quarterly Search Advanced Search The text of this article is only available as a PDF. Copyright © 1971 by Duke University Press1971 Article PDF first page preview Close Modal Issue Section: Book Reviews You do not currently have access to this content.

A Discussion of the Results of the Royal Society Expedition to the British Solomon Islands Protectorate.

A Discussion of the Results of the Royal Society Expedition to the British Solomon Islands Protectorate.

The Colonial City:

The Colonial City:

The habits and habitats of the opisthobranch molluscs of the British Solomon Islands

Often bizarre in shape and gaudily coloured, the opisthobranchs of the tropical IndoPacific have always been attractive subjects for the specialist worker and for writers of popular natural history. There is certainly no lack of papers describing their anatomy and systematics (Marcus & Burch (1965) give a fairly full bibliography), but only in those by Risbec (1928 a, b , 1951, 1953) are there descriptions of where or how they live and his statements are brief and rather vague. I collected opisthobranchs so as to record them for the British Solomon Islands for the first time and, whenever possible, I noted their habits and habitats. My observations on gut contents are rather scanty as I did not wish to damage any of the few specimens of each species collected. From an examination of ten different types of reef formation I discovered that opisthobranchs are common in only two places; (1) the crest of a semi-exposed reef where algae occur in pools, and (2) the flat of a sheltered or semi-sheltered reef. At each of these sites several distinct habitats can be distinguished. Unfortunately my recognition of these habitats is not supported by strong numerical evidence as none of the 55 species occurred in large numbers.

Geomorphology of the Marovo elevated barrier reef, New Georgia

W. M. Davis considered that ‘none of the elevated reefs of the Solomon Islands is more remarkable than the emerged barrier reef which skirts the north-eastern side of the long island of New Georgia’ (Davis 1928, pp. 397-398), and this reef was one of the main objects of geomorphic work during the Royal Society Expedition to the British Solomon Islands. Davis did not visit the Solomons and based his discussion entirely on charts, and apart from the Admiralty Pilot , the Pacific Islands Handbook , and brief mention in the publications of the Geological Survey of the British Solomon Islands, the New Georgia reefs have remained entirely unstudied. The Marine Party of the Expedition visited New Georgia three times: first, from 2 to 9 August 1965, concentrating on the northern Marovo Lagoon; secondly, from 26 August to 8 September, when the biologists returned to the same area, and geomorphic work was extended south to the southern end of Japuchajomo and north to Lumaliha; and thirdly, from 14 October to 18 November, when M. V. Maroro was engaged in echosounding and bottom sampling with the writer and Dr P. E. Gibbs in Marovo , Kolo, Togavai and Gerasi Lagoons. A brief visit was also paid by the whole marine party to Ulukoro and Batuona Islands, Wickham Anchorage, en route to Gizo, on 3 September. This paper reports on studies of reef geomorphology carried out during these visits, and includes studies made by diving at Matiu Island in collaboration with Dr S. A. Wainwright. The sedimentological and bottom fauna studies carried out during the coring, dredging and grab-sampling programmes on the lagoon floor will be reported separately.

Earthworms of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate

Fifteen species of earthworms are known from the British Solomon Islands. Of these, 11 are referred to the megascolecid genus Pheretima and one to each of the megascolecid genera Pontodrilus, Dichogaster and Ocnerodrilus , and the glossoscolecid genus Pontoscolex . Four species of Pheretima are known only from the Solomons; all other species are widely distributed peregrine forms. Reasons are given for regarding Pheretima bifida Gates and P. lavangguana Gates as synonyms of P. solomonis (Beddard). Pontodrilus matsushimensis Iizuka is recorded from the intertidal zone of Solomons shores. It is also known from the shores of other Pacific islands and is probably dispersed by ocean currents. Within the Solomons there is no apparent relationship between the distribution of earthworms and contemporary geographic barriers. The small number of species, predominance of peregrines associated with man, and lack of evidence of endemism and adaptive radiation indicate that most, if not all, the species (except P. matsushimensis ) have probably been introduced by man. Geological evidence does not favour former land connexions between the Solomons and any of the adjacent large land masses. The character of the earthworm fauna indicates that any such connexions are most unlikely to have existed. The earthworm fauna is examined in relation to various biogeographic theories, including the equilibrium theory of M acArthur & Wilson (1963, 1967). It is concluded that the earthworms of the Solomons have not attained a state of equilibrium in the sense of these authors’ theory, and that factors not considered in the equilibrium theory are prim arily responsible for the present constitution of the earthworm fauna. Some aspects of the ecology of the intertidal earthworm P. matsushimensis are discussed.

Some geological notes on areas visited by the Royal Society Expedition to the British Solomon Islands, 1965

The British Solomon Islands consist of a double chain of elongated islands in the form of a bow whose apices lie in the single islands of Bougainville in the west and San Cristobal in the east. The length of the main island chain is 650 miles, if Bougainville, which is part of Australian New Guinea, is included. The Royal Society 1965 Expedition field parties visited eight different areas selected to give the widest variation of environment. These areas are well scattered throughout the main islands of the Solomons and are underlain by representatives of all the major geological rock units. To relate the geology of the areas visited to the general geology, a summary is given below. Figure 1 shows the areas visited. On all the main islands in the Solomons except the New Georgia group, the lowest unit of the geological succession is a basalt or basaltic andesite.

Some notes on the climate of the British Solomon Islands

The Solomons are among the wettest regions of the globe. Among twenty-four stations having 7 years or more of complete years’ records to 1963, only four had a mean annual rainfall below 100 in. Pending full analysis of records from a scattered, but growing, network of climatological stations taking upper-air observations in the south-west Pacific, it seems that there is a basic easterly flow of air, with wave-type perturbations, and surface vortical circulations having a generally westerly movement. South of the equatorial perturbation belt, and dominating weather over the Solomons during the larger part of the year, are the south-easterly variables, or ‘trades’, themselves marked by zones of convergence that may be related to passage of meridional fronts along the root-zone of the south-easterlies, far south of the Solomons. These may be responsible for the spells of wet weather that occur during the south-easterly months, during some of which quite exceptional conditions of cloudiness and precipitation occur. The Royal Society Expedition encountered one such in 1965; more than 120 in. of rain were recorded in 2 weeks at a gauge on the southern side of Guadalcanal; severe landslip and flood damage occurred quite widely in the Solomons and adjacent areas

An ecological account of the marine interstitial Opisthobranchs of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate

An account of the marine interstitial opisthobranchs collected during the Royal Society of London Expedition to the British Solomon Islands Protectorate (1965) is given. Information on the numbers and distribution of the animals on the beaches is included together with observations on the animals and their habitat.

Some phytogeographical relationships of the angiosperm flora of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate

From the information at present available it would appear that the angiosperm flora of the Solomon Islands comprises representatives of about 700 genera, of which perhaps as many as 150 are known or suspected to be adventives of one kind or another, leaving some 550 native genera or ‘aboriginal possessors of the soil’. These native genera contain roughly 1750 species, but perhaps as many as 100 of these also are adventive, leaving about 1650 native species, a figure giving almost exactly an average of three species per genus.

Summary of the Discussion

Before I attempt a summary and lose myself in the maze of thought that has grown up in the last three days I want to make clear five points. First, I repeat our gratitude to the Royal Society for this opportunity to re-assemble after having entrusted us with so great an expedition. The consequences are, I fear, inevitable. The Society has opened the gate into a new field. We have explored and we must go back. Then, I would like to thank wives for having allowed us this freedom, in the hope that it will be permitted again. Thirdly, I would like the story of the expedition, the results of this discussion, and our proposals to be conveyed to the Government of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate and to the Solomon Islanders. Next, on behalf of the botanists, I would like to convey through Mr Brenan our great appreciation of the work of his staff in the Herbarium of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in the identification of our collections in time for this meeting. Lastly, I speak for the whole expedition when I recall how much we owed during the preliminary organization in 1964 and in the field-administration in 1965, and how much we owe now for the preparation for this meeting to George Hemmen... [further remarks lost in applause].

Sand cays of eastern Guadalcanal

The cays and reefs of eastern Guadalcanal have never been described, and are hardly referred to in the literature. Brenchley (1873, pp. 274-276) visited Marau Sound in H.M.S. Curacoa in September 1865, but made no observations of value; Guppy unfortunately did not call there; and the work of the Geological Survey of the British Solomon Islands has been confined to the high islands. There is brief mention of some of the cays in the Pacific Islands Pilot , but in effect the cays of east Guadalcanal were unknown at the time of this study. With the exception of studies by Umbgrove (1928, 1947) and Kuenen (1933) in the East Indies, studies of reef islands have largely been carried out on open-ocean atolls or on barrier reefs. Island morphology in these areas has been shown to be dependent on barrier reef geometry and wave energy, the most diverse island types being found in barrier reef areas with a wide range of energy conditions (Steers 1929, 1937; Spender 1930; Stoddart 1965). It had been expected that the Melanesian reefs, with their diverse topography, would show a similar range of island form. Several workers have also attached great importance to a presumed recent negative shift of sea level, both in originating many surface features of reefs and in permitting island accumulation on abnormally high reef flats (Gardiner 1931; Sewell 1935; Cloud 1954). It is doubtful whether such a negative shift in sea level did occur, at least in the Holocene (Shepard et al . 1967), and it was thus of interest to study Melanesian reef islands formed in an area of recent tectonic uplift, local emergence simulating conditions once thought to be more general.