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

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 includes bird banding data on Howland Island. They are dated from 1963 to 1968. It also includes preliminary reports: numbered "SIC #19", by R. Clapp, on a field trip to Howland Island dated from July 1968, as well as preliminary reports "#1, SIC #14" by R. Clapp, and "#2, SIC # 14", dated from August 1966, by R. Clapp and Walter Bulmer, and "SIC #18, April 1967, by Robert Tuxon. In the folder are also graphs of data on bird population changes between 1963 and 1966, for the year 1964, and the years 1963-1967. In the folder are also graphs and notes on nesting data and additional notes on banding data.

Date Range

1963-1968

Start Date

1963

End Date

1968

Access Information

Many of SIA's holdings are located off-site, and advance notice is recommended to consult a collection. Please email the SIA Reference Team at osiaref@si.edu.

Topic

• Animals
• Bird banding
• Zoology
• Birds
• Birds--Oceania
• Ornithology

Place

• Howland Island
• Oceania

Form/Genre

• Fieldbook record
• Field notes
• Reports

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 8