308 Biological

again captured (by the same fisherman) in Bailey's Bay and released in Ferry Reach. The same fisherman caught this turtle a third time in Bailey's Bay one month later.

Mowbray & Caldwell (1958) speculate that green turtles found at Bermuda form an itinerant population of juveniles derived from the West Indies, the coast of the Caribbean mainland or both regions. The dearth of mature animals in the commercial catch in Bermuda supports this; however, tagging results indicate that at least some of these wandering juveniles remain at Bermuda two or more years.

The locations of recapture of tagged turtles suggest that they disperse randomly from their points of release. Frick (in press), when visually tracking hatchling turtles released from Bermuda beaches, found a similar pattern of random dispersal from shore.

The recovery of a captive reared turtle in Venezuela 293 days after its release at Bermuda means this animal swam a minimum of 9.16 km (4.2 miles) per day, assuming a straight line course and capture on first arrival in Venezuela. This recovery adds evidence to that supplied by Witham & Carr (1968) and Carr & Sweat (1969) of the ability of captive-reared turtles to cope with their natural environment over long distances and extended periods of time.

References

CALOWELL, DAVm K. (1962). Growth measurements of young captive Atlantic sea turtles in temperate waters. Contr. Sei., 50, 8 pp.

CARR, ARCnIE & SWEAT, DONALD (1969). Long range recovery of a tagged yearling Chelonia on the east coast of North America. Biol. Conserv., 1, 341-2.

FRICK, JANE (in press). Orientation and behavior of hatchling green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) in the sea. Anim. Behav.

MOWBRAV, LOUIS S. & CALDWELL, DAVID K. (1958). First record of the ridley turtle from Bermuda, with notes on other sea turtles and the turtle fishery in the islands. Copeia, 1958 (2), 147-8.

WITHAM, ROSS & CARR, ARCnIE (1968). Returns from tagged pen-reared green turtles. Q. J. Fla Aead. Sei., 31, 49-50.

JAMES BURNETT-HERKES Curator, The Aquarium and Museum, P.O. Box 145, Smiths 3, Bermuda.

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION CENTER FOR SHORT-LIvED PHENOMENA

A short-lived phenomenon, whether occurring naturally or resulting from man's interference with his

Conservation

environment, often presents an unusual research opportunity. A volcanic eruption, whale-beaching, or the birth of a new island can provide scientists with data about the nature of the earth and its inhabitants which cannot be obtained from a laboratory experi- ment. Yet, due to their brevity and the unpredictability of the time and place of occurrence, these events often go unstudied.

After the famous eruption of the volcano Surtsey in the mid-1960s, several national and international scientific organizations discussed the need for a world-wide communications network that would notify scientists of short-lived phenomena in the shortest possible time. Such a communications net- work, combined with advances in fast transportation, rapid communications technology, and development of reliable, portable field instrumentation, would enable scientists to travel to, observe, document, and study ongoing events.

In January 1968 the Smithsonian Institution established the Center for Short-Lived Phenomena to operate a global alert network and clearing-house designed to notify scientists of unexpected and brief environmental events. The Center was located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in order to utilize the communications, publications, and computer facilities of the Smithsonian's Astrophysical Observatory.

To build its alert network, the Center invited hundreds of scientists in many disciplines and from many countries to become 'correspondents'. As a correspondent, an individual would report events occurring in his area, perhaps travel to the event sites to make follow-up reports, and, if possible, provide assistance to field research teams sent to study the events. In return, he would be notified of other short- lived events of scientific interest taking place elsewhere in the world.

The initial response by the international scientific community was overwhelming. Within a year the Center had 780 registered correspondents in 74 countries and had reported 70 short-lived events. Soon the Center was routinely reporting every major volcanic eruption, earthquake, and meteorite fall that occurred in the world.

Today over 2,000 correspondents in 138 countries serve one another through the Center by exchanging information and data on events. Once informed of an event, the Center attempts to contact eye-witnesses in the event area, collect photographic or cinemato- graphic documentation, and assemble background information to be placed in a file that will expand as new material is sent to the Center. As soon as a reported event is verified, the Center prepares a postcard-sized event notification report which is sent by air mail to all the Center's correspondents in the

TABLE I

Event Participation 1968-72

Events

Short Communications

1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 Total

Geophysical events Volcanic eruptions 12 18 22 19 16 87 Earthquakes 18 29 19 20 16 102 Landslides, landslips,

and avalanches 1 7 2 2 4 16 Storm surges, tidal

waves, and floods 1 4 4 2 6 17 Unusual geological

events 3 5 5 2 0 15 Astronomical Events Major fireballs 12 14 8 6 6 46 Meteorite falls 1 5 5 4 0 15 Biological Events Faunal mortalities,

migrations, population fluctuations, infesta- tions, colonizations, outbreaks, invasions, plagues, etc. 8 29 20 17 17 91

Water pollution 9 20 22 20 25 96 Floral mortalities, algal

blooms, diseases, etc. 2 4 3 2 3 14 Urgent Anthropological

Events 0 2 1 1 0 4 Urgent Archaeological

Events 1 3 0 0 0 4 Others 2 5 2 4 6 19

Total Events 70 145 113 99 99 526

appropriate discipline. In certain cases, staff members at the Center will telephone, cable, or telegraph, correspondents who have expressed interest in urgent notification of such events as volcanic eruptions and meteorite falls. Additional information reports usually follow the initial notification; generally from three to eight reports are issued each week.

Thus the Center offers two services to its corre- spondents: it alerts them to unique field research opportunities, and it provides them with up-to-date information that is being gathered by other workers.

There are four general categories of events reported by the Center: geophysical, biological, astrophysical, and urgent anthropological-archaeological (cf. Table I). Well-known examples of each are, respectively, the Cerro Negro volcanic eruption of 1968 in Nicaragua (Fig. 1), the Appalachian squirrel migration of 1968 in the United States, the Kiffa meteorite fall of 1970 in Mauritania, and the 1971 discovery of the Tasaday Manubo tribe in the isolated mountainous rain-forest area of Mindanao Island, Philippines (Fig. 2).

The Center is reporting an increasing number of man-caused events, including artificial introduction of foreign species into an ecosystem, oil and chemical

309

spills, and herbicide and pesticide contamination. The sudden introduction of an artificial pollutant into the environment can be seen as a large-scale experiment demonstrating the dynamics of an ecosystem--thus providing research workers with an opportunity to investigate biological changes that would not other- wise take place. For example, in South Vietnam, 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin was introduced into the Dong Nai River area as a contaminant of the defoliant 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T).

Fig. 1. Volcanic eruption of Cerro Negro, Nicaragua, in 1968. Photo: J. G. Viramonte.

A study of the concentration of this toxin in carp and other fish provides information on the ecosystem as well as on the implications of indiscriminate use of herbicides and pesticides. Understanding the effects of such an action on the environment can make possible a more informed approach to dealing with potentially dangerous chemicals. Should a pollutant be accidentally released, observations on the effects of previous introductions may be used to determine the best possible corrective action to be taken.

During the past four years, the Center has been involved in a number of programmes concerned with global environmental monitoring. It has contributed to the International Biological Programme, to the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere programme, and to the National Academy of Sciences programme on Environmental Monitoring. In 1970 the Center pub- lished its Directory o f National and International En- vironmental Monitoring Activities which comprised the results of its world-wide survey conducted for UNESCO and the Ford Foundation. Staff members participated in the conference on Critical Global Environmental

310 Biological Conservation

Fig. 2. Members of the Tasaday Manubo tribe, discovered in the isolated mountainous rain-forest area of Mindanao Island, Philippines, in 1971.

Problems sponsored by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, prepared a paper titled 'The Establish- ment of an International Environmental Monitoring Program' for the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (held in Stockholm in 1972), and conducted a world-wide survey of natural disaster research centres and warning systems for the Office of Science and Technology of the United Nations.

During the Skylab missions, the Center notified the astronauts aboard the spacecraft, via the L. B. Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, of short-lived events that may have been visible from orbit. The astronauts photographed and orally described events seen from space as the orbiting laboratory passed over the event area. Their accounts of events were then included in the Center's files as additional informa- tion to be passed on to interested correspondents.

Perhaps the most valuable function of the Center is as a repository of information on past short-lived

events. In addition to its records of all meteorite falls, volcanic eruptions, and major earthquakes that have taken place since 1968, the Center is rapidly expanding its files on biological events happening throughout the world. The global pattern of occurrences of certain types of events over time may be significant in under- standing the forces which cause them, and, in time, the Center will be able to provide research workers with the history of certain environmental changes that will help identify causal forces. There are as yet no accurate statistics on the incidence of certain biological events. A greatly expanded network of both amateur and professional scientists in all areas of the world could make possible a more thorough coverage of biological events--including those that are not easily detectable by satellite or seismograph. The Center is now working towards expanding its alert network to include thousands of students in universities through- out the world. It is hoped that by involving students as

Short Communications 311

well as professionals in a mutually cooperative and beneficial programme, the Center will increase man's awareness and knowledge of the frequency, location, and magnitude of environmental changes.

As the Center is continually expanding its activities and hoping to increase the efficiency of its reporting, the interest of additional qualified correspondents will be welcomed in this important international undertaking.

JOHN WHITMAN, Program Manager, International Environmental Alert Network, Smithsonian Institution Center for Short-Lived Phenomena, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA

& JOAN FENNO, Smithsonian Institution Center for Short-Lived Phenomena, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA