134 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1947 



Dr. Gkover C. Pitts, Naval Medical Eesearcli Institute at Bethesda, 

 spent a very short period on the island because of difficulty in getting 

 off in the midst of important research at that great Medical Center of 

 the Navy. Hastily, he writes as follows : 



"Let me review my objectives and results in visiting the island. By 

 profession I am a physiologist with strong leanings toward natural 

 history. Consequently, the purpose of my short visit was to gain 

 some familiarity with a tropical fauna and flora and to explore the 

 possibilities of making studies in comparative physiology there. A 

 secondary object was to determine what the island might have to offer 

 the Naval Medical Research Institute for purposes of field research. 

 Though I am now out of the Navy, I continue my affiliation with 

 NMRI as a civilian. 



"Some results were obtained with regard to each objective. I iden- 

 tified and gained some familiarity with the following organisms, all 

 new to me : 52 species of birds, 14 species of mammals, 5 species of 

 reptiles, and an undetermined number of species of plants and inver- 

 tebrates. 



"This is at least some indication of what a worker can accomplish 

 who desires to gain familiarity with the tropical biota and has only 

 1 week at his disposal. 



"With regard to the opportunities for studies in comparative physi- 

 ology, they are legion. More studies in temperature control of the 

 type that Peter Morrison did are indicated. In the past I have done 

 some work on diurnal rhythms in various physiological functions. 

 The island with its many dirunal, nocturnal, and crepuscular crea- 

 tures offers boundless material for this type of study. One would 

 have to bring most of the specialized equipment needed, but the 

 usual laboratory facilities are available. I hope to pursue one of 

 these problems when time and finances provide the opportunity." 



A, V. Regnier, Jr., of Little Rock, Ark., visited the island for the 

 purpose of preparing a motion picture of the wildlife, preparatory 

 to a much longer stay later on. He exposed some 1,200 feet in color 

 during the 3 weeks. He also included 2 weeks in Chiriqui, where 

 he went in quest of the beautiful quetzal. Mr. Regnier reports : 



"The finished film with titles and animated maps is about 900 feet 

 in length. The sequence on the island opens with the launch coming 

 in to the landing followed by a view of those arduous steps. Then 

 in quick flashes, the mango, banana, coconut, lime, lemon, and 

 orange trees. Following are scenes of Erikson and myself walking 

 along one of the trails looking up at the air plants on one of the 

 giant Bombacopsis trees. Other subjects are the tamandua, tree for- 

 micaria, three-toed sloth, marmosets, howlers, toucans and other birds, 

 the sensitive mimosa, the zebra swallowtail, the Heliconia, the beau- 



