Introduction 



Ernst S. Reese 



University/ of Hawaii at Manoa 

 Honolulu. Hawaii 96822 



The first volume of The Natural Histori/ of Enewetak 

 Atoll provides a summary of the research carried out over 

 the 30-year period from 1954 to 1984. The frontispiece 

 illustrates the dramatic contrasts between the immensity of 

 the lagoon and the seemingly fragile necklace of small 

 islands which surrounds it, and also between the sea condi- 

 tion on the windward, seaward side of the reef and the 

 relatively sheltered waters of the lagoon. 



The first chapter discusses the history of research at 

 Enewetak Atoll. The reasons behind the establishment of 

 the Enewetak Marine Biological Laboratory are described. 

 The authors, Philip Helfrich and Roger Ray, have been 

 associated with activities at Enewetak from the very early 

 days. They conferred with Robert W. Hiatt, the first direc- 

 tor of the laboratory. In Chapter 2, Robert C. Kiste, a 

 foremost authority on the f)cople of Micronesia, provides a 

 history of the Enewetak people to whom these volumes 

 are dedicated. 



The next four chapters deal with the physical environ- 

 ments of Enewetak Atoll. In Chapter 3, Patrick L. Colin 

 describes the physiography of Enewetak. Colin served as 

 resident scientist in charge of the laboratory from 1979 to 

 the end of 1983 when all resident scientific staff left the 

 atoll. Following the description of the atoll, Byron L. Rist- 

 vet, a frequent scientific visitor to Enewetak, provides a 

 summary of the geology and geohydrology in Chapter 4. 

 Next, in Chapter 5, Marlin J. Atkinson describes the 

 oceanography. Under the direction of Stephen V. Smith, 

 Atkinson participated in an important study of the lagoon 

 circulation. Chapter 6 on the meteorology and atmos- 

 pheric chemistry is the final chapter in the group of 

 chapters dealing with the physical environment of 

 Enewetak Atoll. Written by John T. Merrill and Robert A. 

 Duce, the chapter is based on the results of the SEAREX 

 Project. Duce served as the director and principal investi- 

 gator of the project. 



The next four chapters are devoted to the marine 

 ecosystem and its biota. They summarize the large amount 

 of research carried out at the Mid-Pacific Research Labora- 

 tory in the marine environment. All of the authors were 



frequent visitors to the laboratory, and they have done a 

 splendid job of reviewing the research carried out in their 

 area of interest. In Chapter 7, Patrick L. Colin describes 

 the subtidal environments of Enewetak and reports on the 

 research done on the subtidal biota. This is followed in 

 Chapter 8 by Alan J. Kohn's masterful summary of 

 research in the intertidal environment. Kohn has been a 

 student of tropical intertidal ecology for 30 years. He tack- 

 led a particularly difficult task because of the extensive 

 study of the intertidal environment and its biota by many 

 scientists over the years. 



Chapters 9 and 10 deal with processes and relation- 

 ships in the marine environment. In Chapter 9, James A. 

 Marsh, another frequent visitor to the laboratory and a 

 recognized authority on coral reef processes, reviews the 

 extensive work which was carried out at Enewetak on the 

 community metabolism of coral reefs and related topics 

 such as calcification processes, nitrogen and phosphorus 

 cycles, and the role of detritus in the ecosystem. Nelson 

 Marshall and Ray P. Gerber extend the ecosystem 

 approach in Chapter 10 to include the entire atoll. They 

 discuss the trophic relationship between the shallow reefs 

 and the lagoon. Both Gerber and Marshall conducted 

 research at Enewetak. 



The final three chapters are devoted to the terrestriEd 

 environment. Because fewer scientists applied to conduct 

 research in the terrestrial environment, less work was 

 accomplished, and an integrated overview is not possible. 

 In Chapter 11,1 rep>ort on the life history, behavior, and 

 ecology of land crabs, review what is known about atoU 

 soils, and conjecture on the carrying capacity of an atoll 

 such as Enewetak. For a description of the vegetation, the 

 reader is referred to Chapter 3 in Volume II by Janet O. 

 Lamberson. William B. Jackson, a frequent visitor to 

 Enewetak over the years, and his co-workers Stephen H. 

 Vessey and Robert K. Bastian report on their long-term 

 study of the rodents in Chapter 12, and Andrew J. Berger 

 summarizes our knowledge of the bird life of the atoll in 

 Chapter 13. Berger, a noted ornithologist and the 

 foremost authority on Hawaiian birds, made a number of 

 trips to Enewetak. 



1 suspect that few readers will read this volume from 

 cover to cover, but those who do will gain an appreciation 

 for the complexity of the atoll ecosystem and a better 



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