198 



REESE 



great importance both economically and socially (Kiste, 

 1974). Carroll (1975) refers to "homeostasis in the precon- 

 tact populations" in his study of the population of Nukuoro 

 Atoll. It is probable that Pacific islanders were well aware 

 of the dangers of overpopulation, and homeostatic popula- 

 tion controls were actively practiced. Carefully controlled 

 infanticide was a primary mechanism (Bayliss-Smith, 

 1975). 



Taro, Colocasia esculenta, is regarded as the essential 

 staple in estimating carrying capacity because it is the only 

 substantial source of starchy carbohydrate. Abundant pro- 

 tein from the sea seems to have been of less importance. 

 In almost all cases, European contact resulted in sharp 

 declines in island populations due largely to disease. 



Little is known of the populations of the Marshall 

 Islands, much less individual islands, before European con- 

 tact (Hezel, 1983; Howe, 1984; Kiste, 1974), but it is 

 estimated that at the time of European contact in the mid 

 to late 1800s the population of all the Marshall Islands was 

 about 10,000 inhabitants. Today there are about 35,000 

 inhabitants. 



With respect to Enewetak, it is interesting to ask what 

 the p)opulation size was in the past, especially before the 

 major disturbances of World War II. In the late 1800s 

 Hager (1889) reported that there were about 40 inhabi- 

 tants living on Enewetak, probably representing a severe 

 post-European contact decline in the atoll's population. By 

 1896, Irmer reported 60 natives on the atoll. According to 

 a British Naval Intelligence publication of 1945 (Naval 

 Intelligence Division, 1945), the population in 1935 

 amounted to 81 natives and 13 Japanese. This figure is at 



variance with a figure of 121 inhabitants in 1930 given by 

 Emery et al. (1954). Kiste (1974) provides comparable fig- 

 ures for nearby Bikini Atoll. Although Japanese traders 

 lived on the atoll at this time and copra was being pro- 

 duced, the Japanese administration was based in Ponape, 

 and in all likelihood most of the sustenance of the native 

 population was based on the indigenous food resources of 

 the atoll. At the end of World War II, it is said that there 

 were about 130 Enewetak people living on Enjebi Island 

 where they had been moved by the Japanese. Other fig- 

 ures are 136 and 141 people in 1944, at which time they 

 were again living in their two traditional communities 

 located on Enewetak and Enjebi Islands. I am unable to 

 verify these figures with references. According to R. C. 

 Kiste (personal communication), there were 141 people in 

 the Enewetak community in 1947. Based on all these fig- 

 ures, it appears that the carrying capacity of Enewetak 

 Atoll is about 125 to 150 human beings. 



The food web, energy-flow pattern for the Enewetak 

 ecosystem showing major food sources for man, especially 

 from the terrestrial environment, is shown in Fig. 6 and is 

 based on dietary information from Domnick and Seelye, 

 1967; Muri, 1954; Naidu et al., 1981; Niering, 1963; 

 Robinson et al., 1980; Wiens, 1962. The diet pattern de- 

 picted is that of a community (Naidu et al., 1981; Robin- 

 son et al., 1980) which is characterized as follows: 



1. Maximum available local foods 



2. Highly depressed local economy — living within 

 income provided by selling copra 



3. Low population 



4. Little or no ability to buy imported food 



Pigs 

 Chickens 



Sea Birds 



Fish 



Invertebrates 



Turtles 



MAN 



Other Plants 



I 



Land Crabs 

 Pigs 



Rats 



t 



Coconut 



Breadfruit 

 Pandanus 



Tacca 

 and Taro 



Coconut Crabs 

 other Land Crabs 



^ Organic 

 Debris 



Soil 

 Organism 



Insects —" Geckos 



\ 

 Chickens 



Fig. 6 Food web, energy-flow pattern for the Enewetak ecosystem showing major food pathways to man. Marine organisms are 

 to the left and terrestrlid organisms on the right side of the diagram. It has not l)een possible to show all pathways. For example, 

 seablrds and their eggs are consumed by land crabs, rats, and man. Coconut crabs are eaten by man. Only plants are shown as 

 contributing to organic debris, but waste products from animals as well as their remains also contribute to organic debris. 



