Micronesian Islands Research Articles

Taxonomic Review ofCreontiadesDistant in Australia (Hemiptera: Miridae: Mirinae)

ABSTRACTThe two species ofCreontiadesDistant occurring in Australia,C. dilutus(Stål) (Australian endemic) andC. pacificus(Stål) (China, several countries in the Oriental and Australian regions including Tahiti and Micronesian islands) are redescribed, illustrated and their distributions are mapped.Megacoelum modestum(Distant) andC. virescensReuter are synonymised withC. dilutus, andC. pallidifer(Walker) withC. pacificus.Available host plant information is provided for both species.C. dilutus, commonly known as green mirid, is a pest of cotton, potato, stone fruit, lucerne and other crops in certain parts of Australia. the generic limits ofCreontiadesand the closely related, world‐wide distributedMegaceolumFieber are reviewed based on examination of Australian species and the type species.

太平洋島しょ域におけるマングローブ林の立地形成と海水準変動

Geomorphological evolutions of mangrove habitats on the Pacific islands and prediction of the habitat dynamics were discussed using the examples of Kosrae Island in Micronesia, Bohole Island in the Philippines and Iriomote and Ishigaki Islands belonging to the Yaeyama Islands in Japan. Most of the mangrove forests of Kosrae have been developed during the last 2000 years by accumulating mangrove peat with the gradual sea-level rise of 1 to 2 mm/yr. During the period of rapid sea-level rise of about 10 mm/yr between 4100 and 3700 yr B.P., the mangrove forests ceased peat accumulation and retreated landward. These evidences suggest that the critical rate of mangrove peat accretion with sea-level rise is between 2 mm/yr and 10 mm/yr. If the velocity of the anticipated sealevel rise exceeds the critical rate, all of the mangrove forests of Kosrae will retreat landward and reduce rapidly. The mangrove habitats on Bohole Island have been formed by the same processes as on Kosrae Island except the expansion of clay layer overlying a mangrove peat layer during the last several hundred years. The clay deposit, which was inferred to have derived from the deforested slopes, supported Nypa fruticans thicket. Rapid sea-level rise over the critical rate of the mangrove peat accumulation will induce the retreat of mangrove forests from their seaward margin, however, the invasion of mangrove trees into the Nypa habitat will not occur immediately because the habitat conditions of the clay deposited area is no longer suitable for the growth of mangrove species except Nypa. Mangrove habitats of Iriomote and Ishigaki Islands abruptly moved seaward by a relative sea-level fall that occurred about 1000 and 2000 yr B.P., apparently caused by seismic uplift. The thickness of the layers containing mangrove organic materials in present mangrove habitats were less than 1 m. The organic layers have deposited during the last several hundred years. During the last few decades, input of sediments caused by soil erosion has affected the seaward expansion of mangrove forests. However, the sediments supply will result the reduction of mangrove area because the seaward limit of mangrove expansion is restricted by the geomorphological framework.

Development of an agroforest on a Micronesian high island: prehistoric Kosraean agriculture

The impact of the human presence on the fauna of a Pacific island is often immediately archaeologically visible in the slaughter of its land birds seen in the bones. The impact on vegetation is less distinct archaeologically, and many of the Pacific cultigens have soft tissues which rarely preserve. So a study of prehistoric agriculture on one of the high Micronesian islands largely involves pollen and charcoal.

Telemedicine in Micronesia.

Distance and isolation profoundly affect the delivery of health care in the islands of Micronesia. The lack of specialty services on most of the islands has led to a costly off-island referral system that strains health care budgets. Care providers there have incorporated advances in telecommunications to create a telemedicine network amongst themselves and with a tertiary care hospital in Hawaii. They developed an interactive video conferencing system, a still-image transmission network, and a data transfer network for use principally in patient care and continuing education. Patients now receive earlier evaluation by off-island specialists as part of an effort to improve the appropriateness of off-island referrals. Regularly scheduled medical lectures are broadcast from Pohnpei, a main island, to physicians in several more remote locations. Transmission costs are kept low by using, when possible, preexisting public-service satellites, such as the PEACESAT system that serves the entire Pacific basin. The telemedicine system is evolving, and its success depends greatly on the cooperative relationships among the partners.

Geckos of the Genus Lepidodactylus (Squamata: Reptilia) in Micronesia: Description of a New Species and Reevaluation of the Status of Gecko moestus Peters, 1867

Bisexual populations of the gekkonid genus Lepidodactylus from Belau and other Micronesian islands are reviewed taxonomically on the basis of museum and newly collected materials. Specimens from the Ngerukewid Island Group of Belau, having an entire terminal scansor and a few divided or deeply notched subterminal scansors on digits II to V, are distinct from other Micronesian congeneric populations and are assigned to the species group which has previously been known from New Guinea and other Melanesian islands. The Ngerukewid specimens, however, differ from any other members of this species group in several characteristics such as a relatively few body scale rows; and, hence, it is described herein as a new species, Lepidodactylus paurolepis. Remaining specimens from Micronesia, all having a divided terminal scansor on digits II to V, include the parthenogenetic L. lugubris, one bisexual species, and possible hybrids between them. The bisexual form closely resembles L. lugubris and L. aureolineatus from the Philippines but differs from them in having smaller body, characteristic dorsal pattern, and only barely developed lateral serrations on tail. Because the one extant syntype of Gecko moestus Peters, a species first described in 1867 from Belau but subsequently synonymized with L. lugubris, is apparently conspecific with that bisexual form, we designate this specimen as lectotype and resurrect the validity of the species as Lepidodactylus moestus (Peters).

Geographical distribution of Alzheimer's disease cases at birth and the geochemical profile of Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean/Qu�bec, Canada (image project)

Accepting as founded the hypothesis of a multifactorial origin for the Alzheimer's disease (AD), we explore the possible links between the geographical distribution of AD cases according to their birth place and the geochemical profile of the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean (SLSJ) territory in the province of Quebec. The method used for factor analysis of correspondances (FAC) and another one based on the differences between the residential and municipal geochemical concentrations (DRMC) have been used for this purpose. The geochemical matrix of SLSJ relates the highest concentrations of nickel, copper and zinc to the sector surrounding the Jonquiere municipality. Moreover, high concentrations of iron, lead and manganese were found in the northern sector of the Lac Saint-Jean. The DRMC method corroborates this strong correlation between iron, lead and manganese. Furthermore, these concentrations do not differ from the north-american geochemical standards. No single geochemical element seems to be associate with the spatial distribution of cases. It is, however, still possible that a certain synergistic effect between two or several elements could be implied in the development of the disease. According to the results of the soil analysis, there does not seem to be any association between the spatial distribution of cases and the concentration of aluminum, a chemical element that has been thought to be implied in the etiology of AD. These results are compared with those obtained by other workers in the micronesian islands, where abnormally high frequencies of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and parkinsonism dementia have already been observed.

Prelude to an anti‐war constitution∗

IN 1992 PALAU IS THE LAST VESTIGE OF THE TRUSTEESHIPS ESTABLISHED BY THE UNITED Nations after World War II. The capital Koror is centred around one of the archipelago's 200 islands, and is home to 70% of the republic's 15,000 people, who remain under the administrative supervision of a resident Trust Territory Director, appointed by the United States Department of the Interior in 1991. Unlike the other Micronesian island groups that were once joined with Palau in the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, Palau has yet to achieve a non-colonial political status. It is neither a Commonwealth of the United States, like the Northern Marianas, nor in free association with the United States, as are the Federated States of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands. The reason for Palau's

Political Evolution in Micronesia

Anthropology has a longstanding interest in the evolution of social and political systems. Although human cultures are diverse due to their histories and environmental settings, comparative research has established the existence of predominant general evolutionary trends. Among these are: increasing scale of the maximally organized political unit; increasing structural and functional differentiation of organized groups, involving specialization and hierarchical decision-making; and increasing social and economica stratification. These macro-trends may be summarized by stating that the complexity of societies has increased during long time spans. In the cultures of the Pacific basin, Sahlins (1958) was one of the first to realize that the scattered islands of Polynesia offer advantages for investigating the evolution of societal complexity, particularly of stratification. Polynesians, he noted, are phylogenetically closely related: all Polynesian peoples shared the same biological, linguistic, and cultural ancestry. Their common ancestry allowed him to study the diversity of Polynesian social stratification as a process of adaptive variation (Sahlins 1958:ix) that followed the colonization of scattered archipelagos with diverse environments. The degree of stratification in precontact times, he concluded, varied directly with island productivity. Sahlins's study suffered from the problems inherent in his functionalist approach, and he was unable to measure productivity--his main ecological determinant--satisfactorily. But the advantages of comparative studies of phylogenetically related peoples such as Polynesians are now well known. Polynesians shared a common ancestor (at around 3000 B.P., most specialists now believe) and remained largely uninfluenced by other peoples until the time of Western contact. This common cultural ancestry and relative isolation offers a large benefit to evolutionary researchers: we may assume that any differences between these cultures probably arose within Polynesia itself. This makes possible a controlled study of specific evolution, or of adaptive radiation (Kirch and Green 1987). In anthropology, this method was systematized by Eggan (1954) and has come to be known as controlled comparison. One chooses a region where cultures are believed to be descended from the same ancestor and tries to determine the factors that led to the subsequent evolution of differences between these cultures. Controlled comparison is most useful for sorting out the factors responsible for the evolution of cultural differences. Knowing (or assuming with good evidence) that the cultures under study were once the same culture allows us to more rigorously analyze the factors that made them diverse from one another. Researchers can analyze the factors influencing the evolution of differences relatively free from concerns that such differences were caused by the multiple origins and distinct histories of the cultures studied. Conversely, features that are shared within the area are already known to be homologous (similar because of their shared ancestry) rather than analogous (independently evolved) (Kirch and Green 1987). Knowing that similar features are homologous increases our confidence that differences arose as a consequence of environmental conditions or of internal sociocultural dynamics, rather than as a consequence external contacts or fortuitous events. These and other benefits of this method has led to its application to Polynesia (Kirch 1984), Mesoamerica (Flannery and Marcus 1983), and Athapaskan cultures (Aberle 1974; Perry 1983). Compared to Polynesian, Mesoamerican, and Athapaskan peoples, the islands of Micronesia in the western Pacific are less familiar to anthropologists and the public. Yet linguistic, cultural, and limited archaeological evidence suggest that some of these islands offer the same research advantages as those of Polynesia: historical relatedness and relative isolation. …

The ethnography of destabilization: Pacific islanders in the nuclear age

When one thinks of anthropological research in the Pacific, such luminaries as Malinowski, Firth, Fortune and Mead come naturally to mind. Because of the historic twist of fate that caused Malinowski to be stranded in the Trobriands during World War I, we were all enriched by the new ethnography-and especially the revelations about the kula ring--of this century's early anthropological light. Likewise, Fortune's Dobuan sorcerers titillated our images of "the other" in an exotic setting, and Mead's controversial work in Papua New Guinea and Samoa continues to stir heated debate even today. In the immediate post-World War II period, a regiment of applied anthropologists fanned out across the 2,100 islands of Micronesia in what one anthropologist referred to as a "massive ethnographic salvage program2." In what was called the CIMA program ? Coordinated Investigation of Micronesian Anthropology-some 35 anthropologists simultaneously collected data for their Ph.D. dissertations and assisted the Navy Department in the administration of the former Japanese Mandated Islands. According to officialNaval historian Dorothy Richard, the CIMA program (which began in 1947) was intended "to determine precise trends in the local development of governments and to recognize, if possible, incipient conflicts and socially disruptive patterns for correction3." The symbiotic nature of the relationship between the CIMA anthropologists and the U.S. military was captured in the following passage from Goodenough:

Truk suicide epidemic and social change.

Since the early 1970s the Micronesian island group of Truk has witnessed an epidemic increase in the number of suicides among young males. In recent years the suicide rate in Truk has ranked among the highest in the Pacific. A study of the cases shows that the suicides, following clear culturally embedded patterns, occur as a result of trouble within the victim's family. The suicide, motivated primarily by anger or shame, is a resolution to this conflict that follows the lines of traditional withdrawal strategies for dealing with such situations. The various cultural forces that contribute to the attractiveness of suicide among Trukese males are discussed in this article. While intensive studies have shown that there is no direct correlation between suicides and modernization, as measured through most ordinary indices, the rapid change that has taken place in Truk since World War II undoubtedly has a bearing on the suicide epidemic. Changes in the structure of the family have placed new burdensome demands...

Psychiatric consultation in Micronesia: the question of organicity.

The authors report on 37 referrals seen for psychiatric consultation during visits to various islands in Micronesia. A large number demonstrated either organic mental disorders or contributory medical illnesses. Observed differences between males and females are examined. In such cross-cultural settings, the authors emphasize the need for psychiatric expertise responsive not only to the dimension of culture in evaluation and treatment, but also to the importance of vigilance for organic processes that may require special attention.

Cross-Cultural Teaching of Sociology

This article suggests that typical American sociology courses require American or Western literacy, which interferes with non-Americans' grasp of the sociological perspective and inadvertently acculturates them. Using the example of teaching sociology on Yap Island in Micronesia, the article illustrates the literacy problem theoretically, substantively, and in classroom interaction. Solutions include the use of a social change perspective and regionally appropriate history, a focus on developing nations, discussion of the ethnocentrism of sociological terminology, and orientation of courses to the students' cultural background. To implement these solutions, sociology instructors need a comparative background and sensitivity to the needs and potential contributions of international and minority students.

Boiling drinking water: a critical look

Photo: WHO/UN/A. Holbrooke Water temperature and pathogen survival The typical recommendation for disinfecting water by boiling is to bring the water to a rolling boil, for 10 minutes. At higher altitudes, 15 to 20 minutes may be recommended. Aside from the absence of ways to tell the time in a typical village by the female head of household (who will be the one most likely to do this chore), a rolling boil or 100°C of even a few moments will kill most pathogens. government, rural health clinics or other villagers. There are no epidemiologic data that qualitatively show a decrease (or any change) in relative risk to any water related disease due to a boiling drinking water programme. To the author's knowledge no such studies have been reported and although they should bepursued ifthese programmes are to be continued, some of the questions may be somewhat academic. This article proposes that there are a number of negative aspects to boiling drinking water programmes, the extent of which may override the above considerations and may result in a reconsideration of this approach to water quality improvement. reported that 12 per cent of the rural families boiled their drinking water.3 Swaziland has had a recent cholera outbreak,just prior to the KAP survey, yet 5 per cent reportedly boiled their drinking water on some regular basis. In the Micronesian islands ofKosrae, Ponape, Yap and Palau, which are located near Guam in the western Pacific, 38 per cent reported boiling their drinking water, but 80 per cent thought the water supply was safe to drink.2 Data from KAP surveys are based on interviews in which the villager may misunderstand the interviewer or may want to provide the 'right answers' and, therefore, may not be entirely accurate. It would be impractical, however, to determine by simple observation whether people boil their drinkingwater. Nevertheless, it appears that boiling drinking water is not an unknown practice and that people boil their water because they have been advised to do so by the

Hydrogeology of an Atoll Island: A Conceptual Model from Detailed Study of a Micronesian Example

ABSTRACTFindings from a detailed hydrogeologic study of a Micronesian atoll island are combined with published descriptions of the hydrogeology of other atoll islands. The purpose is to propose a conceptual model which describes how the occurrence and flow of ground water in atoll islands are related to the underlying geologic framework. The study island is Deke, a small, uninhabited island on Pingelap Atoll in the Eastern Caroline Islands.Integrated studies on Deke of surface geology and physiography, water levels and their variation, surface geophysics (seismic refraction and resistivity), and subsurface core samples indicate a hydrogeologic system that is more complex than would ordinarily be expected for a small and, at first glance, uncomplicated island. Of utmost importance to the occurrence and flow of ground water is the fact that the island straddles the lagoonward edge of the very firmly indurated reef‐flat plate. This plate is a hard, impermeable substrate beneath the northern portion (ocean side) of the island, occurs at sea level, and is underlain by unconsolidated or loosely cemented sediments. Study results indicate that this reef‐flat plate acts as a confining bed along the ocean side of the lens; elsewhere the lens is unconfined, receives recharge directly, and forms a thicker fresh‐water nucleus.The conceptual model of atoll‐island hydrogeology involves a dual aquifer system: (1) an aquifer of mostly unconsolidated Holocene sediments resting on (2) a once emergent and now very permeable Pleistocene limestone platform. The Holocene aquifer, which is where the island lens occurs, is heterogeneous with respect to its hydraulic properties and is confined in part of the island and unconfined elsewhere, with the location of the two regions depending on where the island sits relative to the pinchout of the reef‐flat plate. In the unconfined region, there is a hydrologically‐important central depression, where low lying sediments are enclosed by ocean‐derived washover fans and a lagoon‐bordering dune. This area is a likely ground‐water sink due to direct evapotranspiration during the dry season. Accordingly, the model includes two flow patterns: a wet‐season pattern radiating outward from the unconfined lagoon‐side of the island, and a dry‐season pattern that includes a superimposed area of centripetal flow at the central depression.

Spatial distance and lexical replacement

SPATIAL DISTANCE AND LEXICAL REPLACEMENT L. L. Cavalli-SforzaWilliam S-Y. Wang Stanford UniversityUniversity of California, Berkeley The 'stepping-stone' model has been used to study genetic similarity of peoples as a function of the geographical distances separating them. A gene is represented by one of several alleles, much as a meaning is represented by one of many words. Based on this parallel, the stepping-stone model is here applied to a body oflinguistic data from a chain of Micronesian islands. The logarithm of the lexical similarity, when plotted against geographical distance, shows a pronounced upper concavity not found in the genetic investigations. This deviation from linearity is largely caused by non-homogeneity of replacement rates in the words studied. Another contributing factor is that the effect of distance on lexical similarity is much greater for the eastern islands in the group. Rates of replacement in space, computed here, show a significant positive correlation with those in time, computed for a related language or for different groups oflanguages.* 1. Introduction. When two speech communities are separated, their languages develop in different ways. The rate at which differences accumulate depends largely on the extent to which the populations continue to interact. The less the interaction, the more rapidly the two languages diverge. Nowadays , contact is greatly enhanced by mass media and fast transportation. But until very recent times, it was the movement of populations and of individuals that generated these interactions. Population movement can affect linguistic change in many ways. For instance , mass movements are important, especially for the macro-geographic distribution of languages. The relocation of a group (or a splinter of a larger group) to a new area is part of the history of settlement of that area, and of the origin of the local language. Usually, however, the history of settlement is complicated and poorly known; pre-existence or later arrival of groups with different languages adds complexity to the picture. But local linguistic differentiation at a micro-geographic level must be affected especially by migration of single individuals or families. Individual migration is a constant phenomenon in all societies, including traditional ones—though it is usually more intense in economically more advanced societies. Relocation of individuals can result from marriage, or can be related to work or other causes; and travel without relocation can be a common event. In earlier times, individual movement must have provided an important social exchange for language. Following the classic work of Hägerstrand 1967, geographers have shown that social exchanges of all sorts tend to decrease regularly with increasing distance. Quantitative study usually supports the validity of simple mathematical functions for the dependence of social contact on spatial distance. Because individual migration is usually maximal at short distances, one can expect * This manuscript was completed while the authors were Fellows at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences. We are grateful for financial support provided by NIH grant GM 20467, NSF grant BNS 76-22943, an Exxon Education Foundation grant, and Alfred P. Sloan Foundation grant 82-2-10. 38 SPATIAL DISTANCE AND LEXICAL REPLACEMENT39 it to exercise most of its influence on linguistic differentiation at a micro-geographic level. According to the classical 'wave theory' of diffusion of linguistic change, innovations spread from their place of origin in concentric, circular waves, generating the 'isoglosses' which have been so frequently described in linguistic geography. If each new, independent innovation spreads independently from earlier ones, the result should be a highly varied set of intersecting isoglosses. Geographic, political, or social barriers which generate discontinuities in social (and therefore also linguistic) exchange put constraints on this free variation; and specific patterns of isoglosses may emerge in response to orographic, hydrographie , or political geography. But wherever these constraints do not dominate the picture, there should be greater similarities, on average, between two languages spoken at a shorter geographic distance. This expectation was recognized early by the proponent of wave theory, J. Schmidt, in 1872. A succinct statement of the theory was given by Bloomfield (1933:317): 'Schmidt showed that special resemblances can be found for any two branches of Indo-European , and that these special resemblances are most numerous in the case...

Micronesia and the Nuclear Pacific Since Hiroshima

MICRONESIA AND THE NUCLEAR PACIFIC SINCE HIROSHIMA Jonathan M. Weisgall O? 6 August 1945 a B-29 Superfortress—the Enoh Gay—took off from the island ofTinian in Micronesia and dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, killing 130,000 people. Three days later, another B-29 from Tinian dropped a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki, killing between 60,000 and 70,000 people.Japan announced its surrender five days later. More than a decade earlier, Japan had closed off and fortified the Micronesian islands to prepare for the attack on the United States and the defense of the Japanese home islands. For the United States, World War II began and ended in Micronesia: The massive Japanese raid on Pearl Harbor that brought America into the war had been staged from the strategic network of islands in Micronesia, and two American planes from Micronesia brought the war to a close. Forty years later, as the world commemorates the first military use of nuclear weapons, Micronesia continues to play a critical role in the nuclear Pacific as it prepares to enter into a new political relationship of free assocatioh with the United States.1 1 . Micronesia is used in this article hi a political sense as a synonym for the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, which includes the four governments of Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands. See page Jonathan Weisgall, a Washington, D.C., lawyer who represents the people of Bikini Atoll, is writing a book on the U.S. nuclear testing program in the Pacific. Mr. Weisgall would like to thank Alison M. Macdonald for her invaluable research assistance. Copyright 1985, Jonathan M. Weisgall. 41 42 SAIS REVIEW A major theme in the four decades of American control over Micronesia is the domination of U.S. policy by military and strategic considerations. As a result, Micronesia has in effect been a U.S. colony since World War II. The newly emerging political relationship between the United States and the Micronesian governments has brought this issues into the open and forced both the United States and Micronesians to come to grips with its implications for the future. Micronesia—literally "little islands"—is comprised of 2,100 islands and atolls in three major archipelagos: the Marianas, the Carolines, and the Marshalls. Micronesia's land and sea area covers roughly three million square miles in the North Pacific Ocean—more than the entire continental United States—but its land area is only 700 square miles, about half the size of Rhode Island. Formerly under Spanish and German rule, Micronesia came underJapanese control at the outbreak of World War I, and in 1920 it became a Japanese mandate under the League of Nations. American forces suffered more than 38,000 casualities in the islands in some of the most bitter fighting of World War II, including the battles of Saipan, Peleliu, and Kwajalein. Toward the end of the war, there was little doubt that Micronesia would remain under U.S. control. The only debate was whether to annex the islands or place them under the trusteeship system ofthe new United Nations. Military leaders urged outright annexation for strategic reasons. Secretary of War Henry Stimson, arguing that "they are not colonies; they are outposts," asserted that U.S. annexation of Micronesia would be "merely the acquisition by the United States of the necessary bases for the defense of the Pacific for the future world." To serve this purpose, he continued, the islands "must belong to the United States with absolute power to rule and fortify them. . . . "2 The emotional appeal was equally strong. "These atolls, these island harbors," said Admiral Ernest King, "will have been paid for by the sacrifice ofAmerican blood."3 Secretary of State Cordell Hull, however, pointed to the principle of no territorial aggrandizement in the Atlantic Charter and in the Cairo Declaration and urged that Micronesia be made a trusteeship under the United Nations. He countered the annexation argument with the contention that "Russia would thereupon use this acquisition as an example and precedent for similar acquisitions by herself."4 45 below. Geographically, Micronesia includes these areas as well...

The Anthropology of Tobacco Use: Tobian Data and Theoretical Issues

An investigation of tobacco use on the isolated Micronesian island of Tobi provides the basis for a general discussion of the role of tobacco in human societies. Although physiological and psychological variables are attended to, the primary focus is on social and cultural aspects of the tobacco complex. All adult Tobians are heavy smokers; all tobacco is imported; all contacts with the outside world are made to yield tobacco. Nevertheless, periodic tobacco shortages occur. Changes in rates and character of interactions are correlated with fluctuations in tobacco supplies, because tobacco use has deeply penetrated patterns of sociability in a variety of ways. This penetration is a result of the understandings that Tobians have of tobacco, the physiological effects associated with smoking, and certain features of their understandings of the self. A complete explanation of tobacco's attraction for humans, therefore, is seen to depend upon more than the simple notion of tobacco as an "addictive substance;" the social and cultural ends to which its rather amorphous arousal are put must also be investigated.

Relationship between blood pressure and modernity among Ponapeans.

In the Micronesian island of Ponape blood pressures were found in 1947 and again in 1953 to be very low and to show no difference between age groups. As part of the US Trust Territory of the Pacific from 1945, the island had begun to change in the direction of modernity, the changes being most dramatic in the capital town of Kolonia, but no part of the island being unaffected. After a generation of modernization, a cross-sectional study was done to assess the impact of changing way of life on blood pressure. Communities were sampled at three levels of impact of modernization: the capital town of Kolonia, an intermediate area, and a remote area. No differences in salt intake were found for the three areas; but the population in the most modern area was younger and heavier. No consistent ecological differences were found in blood pressure level. Since there is considerable variation in modernity within each area, a Guttman-type scale of individual modernity was developed. No trends of variation of blood pressure with modernization were found to be consistent for both sexes and all areas. However, among males in the most modern area both systolic and diastolic pressures increased consistently with increasing modernity, controlling for age. For diastolic pressures, significant increases were found for all males, Kolonia males, and intermediate area males. When body mass as well as age were controlled, the strength of the trends decreased. But among Kolonia males the increase of diastolic pressure with increasing modernity remained highly significant; that of systolic pressure, marginally significant.

Terrestrial runoff as a cause of outbreaks of Acanthaster planci (Echinodermata: Asteroidea)

Outbreaks of adult Acanthaster planci (Linnaeus) have appeared at irregular intervals, arriving 3 yr after heavy rains (>100 cm in 3 months) following droughts (<25 cm in 4 months) or 3 yr after rains exceeding intensities of 30 cm in 24 h. Outbreaks of A. planci follow typhoons that bring heavy rains, but do not follow “dry” typhoons of equivalent wind force. Outbreaks occur around the high islands in Micronesia and Polynesia, but not around the atolls at intermediate locations. Phytoplankton blooms appear off high islands at the beginning of the rainy season in bays with large watersheds and with sufficient residence time of the waters; these are the initial sites of A. planci abundance on Guam. The spawning seasons of A. planci occur at the beginning of the rainy season on both sides of the equator. I hypothesize that, on rare occasions, terrestrial runoff from heavy rains (following the dry season or a record drought) may provide enough nutrients to stimulate phytoplankton blooms of sufficient size to produce enough food for the larvae of A. planci. The increased survival of larvae results in an outbreak of adults 3 yr later. This hypothesis can be tested by predicting future outbreaks. An outbreak of A. planci on Saipan in the summer of 1981 was predicted on the basis of heavy rains in August 1978.

Perspectives for mid-term energy strategies in the Western Pacific Islands

The islands of the Western Pacific have no reserves of petroleum, natural gas, or coal. Nevertheless, the proliferation of energy-consuming devices and the consequent increase in oil imports are regarded as synonymous with progress by the population. During the 1974 oil crisis the delivery of crude oil and petroleum products to the Micronesian islands was cut off. This situation is likely to be repeated in case of another general oil shortage, although Guam, where the supply to military installations will continue, may be less seriously affected than other islands. The realization of this situation has forced islanders to consider alternative energy sources. Sunshine is strong, but is hampered most of the time by heavy cloud cover. Winds are erratic and unpredictable. However, the most promising source of energy appears to be the temperature gradient between the warm surface waters of the ocean and its cool depths. Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) technology, as developed in Japan for small-scale installations, is suitable to the Pacific islands. Contracts to build such plants in several islands are now being negotiated with Japanese firms.