National Museum of Natural History (U.S.) Pacific Ocean Biological Survey Program field research records, 1961-1973 : Mc Farlane notes.

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Abstract

The Pacific Ocean Biological Survey Program (POBSP) was initiated in 1962 when the Smithsonian Institution entered into a grant agreement with the Department of Defense. From January 1963 through June 1969 Smithsonian Institution employees undertook biological surveys in an area of the Pacific Ocean spanning the equator and extending from latitude 30 degrees north to 10 degrees south and from longitude 150 degrees east to 180 degrees west, an area dotted with clusters of islands and atolls. The major goals of the program were to learn what plants and animals occurred on the islands, the seasonal variations in their numbers and reproductive activities, and the distribution and population of the pelagic birds of that area. Emphasis was placed on the banding of birds in an effort to determine migration, distribution, and abundance of pelagic sea birds. During the six and a half years of field work 1,800,000 birds were banded; approximately 150,000 observations of pelagic birds at sea were made; and biological surveys of varying intensity were made on several islands. The present folder contains handwritten field notes by Roderick Ross Mc Farlane, taken in February and March, 1963. They concern birds of Hawaiian islands, and are numbered and dated. They show gender, species name, locality, weight, state of gonads, ectoparasites, blood samples, stomach examination, date and remarks. The dates range from February 4 to March 12, 1963, with added notes from July 15 of the same year. The folder includes additional typed diary notes.

Date Range

1963

Start Date

Feb 04, 1963

End Date

Jul 15, 1963

Access Information

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Topic

  • Animals
  • Sea birds--Hawaii
  • Bird banding
  • Zoology--Hawaii
  • Birds
  • Birds--Hawaii
  • Ornithology

Place

  • Northwestern Hawaiian Islands
  • Hawaiian Islands

Form/Genre

  • Fieldbook record
  • Field notes

Accession #

SIA Acc. 83-126

Collection name

National Museum of Natural History (U.S.) Pacific Ocean Biological Survey Program field research records, 1961-1973

Physical Description

1 folder

Physical Location

Smithsonian Institution Archives

Sublocation

Box 2, folder 5