490 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1956 



of paint was applied, the name Lenore and the George Vanderbilt 

 Foundation insigne inscribed on her bows, and the boat was ready 

 for launching. She was both speedy and seaworthy, and in her we 

 could make trips to outlying islands and return to the laboratory the 

 same day, a distinct advantage when perishable specimens must be 

 promptly preserved. 



When the Lenore was fully loaded for a day's work, there was 

 scarcely room left for us. Nets, containers large and small, inflatable 

 floats for receiving specimens as we took them from the water, spray 

 apparatus for distributing the poison we used to stupefy fishes and 

 other active specimens, tools for digging and breaking up coral, pre- 

 servative, cameras and, often, bulky diving apparatus loaded the boat 

 to capacity. 



The self-contained diving apparatus was useful not only for col- 

 lecting in water too deep for free diving, but also in shallow-water 

 areas where we wanted to see the exact situation under which certain 

 animals were living, or to observe their behavior at length. When- 

 ever possible, both the habitat and the inhabitants at collecting sta- 

 tions were photographed in detail, both in color and in black-and- 

 white, using reflex cameras in waterproof casings (pi. 7, fig. 2) . These 

 excellent cameras greatly minimized waste of film by enabling us to 

 watch moving specimens until they were in range and focus. 



Because one of our chief aims was to get as complete a biological 

 sample as possible, every available means of collecting specimens was 

 employed, from hand capture and hook-and-line to explosive charges. 

 Although different situations required different techniques of sam- 

 pling that had to be carefully decided upon before attempting to col- 

 lect, the most generally useful method of obtaining active specimens 

 was by the use of the vegetable poison rotenone. In liquid form this 

 is extremely potent, so it must be diluted with water in a spray pump 

 and distributed over the area to be collected. Fishes, crustaceans, 

 cephalopods, and certain other types of animals are suffocated by it 

 and are soon made helpless. When we used this technique, we needed 

 every available hand to collect specimens before they were swept away 

 by the current or eaten by larger fishes not affected by the poison. 

 Often we enlisted the aid of youthful spectators, who are character- 

 istically good collectors, and they would scurry about in response to 

 Sumang Y.'s commands, enjoying all the bustle of excitement, 



IWAYAMA BAY 



Our program of faunal sampling took us the length of Palau, from 

 Arekolong Peninsula at the northern end of Babelthuap to Peleliu, 

 but one of the most fascinating and complex areas in the islands was 

 virtually in our own front yard. The Japanese scientists of the 



