SECRETARY'S REPORT 137 



scribed from the island. Dr. Lowy was most fortunate in obtaining 

 excellent specimens of Cordiceps. He was not limited by his special 

 interest in the fungi, but collected also many of the higher plants, and 

 obtained rich material and notes particularly on the unique saprophyte 

 Ophiomeris panamensis and the very rare achloriferous Apodanthes 

 -flacourtiae of the family Rafflesiaceae, known only from the island, 

 growing on Xylosamau 



Dr. Nicholas E. Collias, of the zoology department of the University 

 of AVisconsin, spent several months studying the population density 

 and social organization of the island's howler-monkey clans, for 

 comparison with the studies made 18 years ago by Dr. Carpenter. 

 He had with him as collaborator Charles Southwick, graduate student 

 of the University of Wisconsin, Department of Wild Life Manage- 

 ment. The study showed significant changes in the number of indi- 

 viduals, location and size of the clans, reduced sex ratio, and proportion 

 of young in each clan. Detailed studies of the daily locations and 

 movements of the Lutz clan were made over an extended period, 

 preliminary to the census. The task was much greater than it would 

 seem at first, and suggests the desirability of asking scientists who are 

 on the island, with time to do so, to make similar observations of this 

 particular clan. These data should, over a period of years, yield 

 information that may explain why there are such significant changes. 



During his stay Dr. Collias also definitely identified 123 species of 

 birds, including several new to the island list. Charles Southwick, 

 who assisted Dr. Collias, made significant observations on many of 

 the other mammals. In this work the two covered the entire island. 



Dr. Lorus J. Milne, professor of zoology, and Dr. Margery Milne, 

 assistant professor of zoology, of the University of New Hampshire, 

 came to the island to study the light-sensitive structures of animals, 

 particularly the invertebrates. While on the island and in its vicinity, 

 they exposed more than 3,000 feet of 16-mm. Kodachrome movies, and 

 a large number of 35-mm. color stills and 4-x-5 black and whites, 

 which comprised a well-documented account of the plants and animals 

 of this part of the American humid Tropics. They also had the oppor- 

 tunity to study in great detail the rare Peripatus. 



Dr. Hazel R. Ellis, head of the biology department of Keuka Col- 

 lege, Keuka Park, N. Y., spent considerable time on the island study- 

 ing the bird life, particularly nesting habits and songs. Although she 

 noted 76 species, her interest was not in the number of different kinds 

 of birds, but rather in observing how they live and behave. In detail 

 she studied the fruit crow {Querula purpurata) , of whose habits little 

 is known. She also made lengthy notes on the nests of the tinamou, 

 Hicks's seedeater, the double-toothed kite, the boat-tailed flycatcher, 

 the tityra, the spotted antbird, and the Nicaraguan hermit humming- 

 bird. Dr. Ellis also made observations on most of the more common 



