we found a quantity of driftwood, lying just on the edge of the bank of 
coral slabs* Some of the trunks were very large, being fifty or sixty feet 
in length, and from two to three feet in diameter. —— The locality in 
which these large trees are found, would show that there is at times a 
very great rise of the waters, which must submerge the islands altogether* 
This account was botanically accurate and gives much valuable data with 
which to make comparisons. In 19&4 the channel mentioned by Wilkes was 
no longer evident represented by a narrow area on the HE side behind which 
there occurs a low lagoon flat covered with Sesuvium* Portulaoa and Era- 
grostis .In the latter half of the nineteenth century guano mining was 
carried out on Enderbury Island. According to Hutchinson (1950) about 
100,000 tons were removed chiefly fgga the northern portion* Much of the 
low flat area around the lagoon and-covered with stands of Sesuvium — 
Eragrostis were also mined probably lowering the soil level to hardpan. 
During the 1930’s colonists were established on the island by the U# S* 
, Department of the Interior. Attempted plant introductions were not 
\ V\successful.,, The estimated amount of guano taken from Enderbury Island 
Wdoes not seem compatible with the present numbers of nesting sea birds* 
The guano areas of the island and at the edge of a lagoon which has 
probably dried up, or, at least been closed off in the- recent times* The 
discovery of recently deposited marine mollusks supports this contention* 
The bluefaced booby is the chief nester along the lagoon rim but the pre¬ 
sent population would need a very long period with maximum populations in 
order to deposit 30 cm*, of guano (Hutchinson, 1950) • /it seems necessary 
to suppose a possible shift in waters of high productivity near Enderbury 
and a drop in the population of guano depositing bird populations. The 
other alternative is to suggest a shift in rainfall patterns and a subse¬ 
quent dying out of a Pisojiia type -vegetation tinder which guano deposition 
seems to occur on many of the wet islands (Posberg, 195?)• No remnant 
population of Pisonia occurs on Enderbury Island but a comparably dry 
island (Malden) "does have a few Pisonia which are adjacent to the large 
guano works on that island* Oceanographic research in the Phoenix Islands 
may help favor one or the other of the above suppositions./lt seems highly 
probable that the genera Sula and Fregata were and are responsible for 
the deposition of guano soils on dry central Pacific atolls* The Tournefor 
tia grove on the west side of the island supports nesting populations of 
Sula sula and Fregata minor . There was no evidence of a phosphatized layer 
forming underneath the thin litter layer. It is these species with Sula 
daotylatra and Fregata ariel which deposits layers of guano in open sites 
where accumulation is apparent on the basis of the individual organism. 
The influence of man has been relatively slight on Enderbury Island as re¬ 
gards the vegetation. The thick guano layers, however, point to a period 
in the natural development of the island when the vegetation may have 
been of a differing composition or to a change in the numbers of nesting 
seabirds on Enderbury Island.( Digitaria paoifioa has naturalized over the 
sandy inner slopes of the island and appears to be colonizing such areas 
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