October 8, 1920] 



SCIENCE 



327 



of the botanical and zoological sections in tliis 

 regard, the committee to be appointed by the 

 Chairman of this conference. 



(4) That the conference recommends that 

 systematic statistics of the fisheries be col- 

 lected and published annually and that such 

 statistics be, as far as possible, uniform in 

 character and in such detail as to methods of 

 fishing and geographical distribution as to 

 make them useful in fisheries administration 

 and conservation. It is further recommended 

 that the several governments provide for a 

 joint commission for the arrangement of the 

 details of such statistical compilations. 



2. Recommended Investigaiions in Marine 

 Biology 

 Because of the urgency or importance of 

 certain investigations, this conference 



Becommends : (1) The collection of hottom 

 samples from depths under CJ fathoms, since 

 these are not usually obtained by deep sea 

 expeditions and can be readily obtained at 

 anchorage by simple apparatus. 



(2) The study of the Brachiopod Faunas 

 above the 1,000 fathom line inasmuch as a 

 knowledge of these Brachicpods supplies im- 

 portant evidence on the question of former 

 land connections. 



(3) A systematic and thorough study of 

 Pacific Ocean Algae and of the conditions 

 imder which they occur and of the part they 

 play in their environment; this could 'be 

 obtained by means already employed for cer- 

 tain parts of the Pacific Ocean and would be 

 of great scientific value. 



(4) Because the Hawaiian Islands lie on 

 the margin of the tropical seas, and therefore 

 occupy a critical position for the study of 

 the ecology of marine organisms, among 

 which corals are important; and because dati 

 obtained from ecologic investigations in this 

 locality would be of value to geologists in 

 interpreting the conditions under which fossil 

 faunas lived, the conference recommends a 

 careful study of the ecology of the marine 

 organisms of the Hawaiian Islands, and par- 

 ticularly a study of the corals and of the 

 CTganisms associated with the corals on the 

 reefs. 



3. Land Fauna 



The part played by living animals in the 

 solution of many scientific problems in the 

 Pacific is well recognized. The relationship 

 of their present to their former areas of dis- 

 tribution and to that of extinct allied forms 

 is the key to some of the geological problems; 

 they have direct bearing upon many ethnolog- 

 ical problems and they are the chief source of 

 evidence upon which our ideas of evolution 

 must be built. From a knowledge of the land 

 fauna follow great economic advantages, such 

 as the protection of the human race against 

 many diseases and crops against pests. 



Although in certain continental Pacific 

 areas and some of the larger islands the land 

 fauna is fairly well known, yet in none is our 

 knowledge complete, and in some, such as 

 Polynesia, it is very incomplete. The urgency 

 for this work is great, as large areas are 

 rapidly being swept of their native land 

 fauna. Therefore this conference 



Recommends: (1) That surveys, as com- 

 plete as possible, be made of the land fauna, 

 especially of those smaller islands in which 

 the native fauna is fast becoming extinct, or 

 is likely to be in the near future. 



(2). That the attention of zoologists be 

 called to recently made land areas due to 

 volcanic activity and the importance of the 

 study of ecological development with special 

 reference to the appearance of animal life 

 upon such areas. 



(3) That, since land mollusks are an impor- 

 tant group in zoogeography, recommends that 

 material for a comparative study of the soft 

 anatomy of land snails be obtained from all 

 the high islands of Polynesia, Micronesia and 

 Melanesia, and that faunistic collection be 

 increased as far as practicable by examining 

 islands not now known or only superficially 

 collected over. 



4. Ornithological Survey of the Pacific 

 The conference expresses its gratification 

 at the fact that arrangements have been made 

 by the American Museum of Natural History 

 for the purpose of undertaking and carrying 

 on a comprehensive and intensive ornitho- 



