Cruises of the Albatross off San Diego and Other Parts of Southern California, 1889–1916

Between 1889 and 1916, the U. S. Fish Commission steamer Albatross made numerous trips to waters off southern California, particularly in and near San Diego Bay. The typical pattern for many years was to conduct cruises in waters off the Pacific Northwest or Alaska in summer months and waters off southern California in winter months. The Albatross conducted the first depth soundings and benthic profiles for southern California waters and secured the first samples of many endemic marine animals of this region. Albatross collections formed the basis for numerous definitive monographs of invertebrates and vertebrates that were published in subsequent years. The Albatross anchored in San Diego Bay in 1894, conducting the first biological investigations of the bay, and returned to sample again in many subsequent years. The ship and its crew also examined Cortez and Tanner banks for exploitation potential and conducted the first biological investigations of southern California’s tuna stocks in 1915 and 1916.

Systematic study of the blue green algae of Ceylon kept at the herbarium of the Royal Botanical Gardens, Peradeniya

The collection of blue green algae kept at the herbarium of the Royal Botanical Gardens, Peradeniya, was collected by Ferguson more than 70 years ago. Since then many changes have taken place in the taxonomy of the blue green algae. West (1902), Lemmermann (1907), Wine (1915), Crow (1923), Bharadwaja (1934) and Holsinger (1935) had described some of the blue green algae of Ceylon. While examining the collections of blue green algae kept at the herbarium, the authors found that most of the identifications were incorrect and required revision. In the present paper 20 blue green algae are described. The classification and key to the species are based on the characters given by Desikachary (1959). Blue green algae are important to fisheries since Chanos larvae feed on them.

The Crown-of-Thorns starfish Acanthaster planci (Linne') in Ceylon

The Crown-of-Thorns starfish Acanthaster planci is a predator of coral and has been responsible for the widespread destruction of coral reefs. In Sri Lanka this starfish was first reported by Clarke in 1915. Recently skin-divers reported that Acanthaster planci was present in very large numbers in the coastal waters off Trincomalee, especially on the coral formations around Pigeon Island. It is well known that the multiplication of the starfish to plague proportions is a serious threat to the coral reef formations round the Island. If it were allowed to continue its depredations the entire coral reef belt round the Island might be destroyed in a short time. The monsoon waves would then convert the dead coral to rubble. In the absence of a barrier against the advancing waves during the monsoon it would also lead to serious erosion of the shoreline. The coral reef fish would also disappear with the destruction of the coral formations. On account of these considerations it was decided to conduct a survey of the Crown-of-Thorns starfish in eastern coastal waters in order to estimate the magnitude of the population of the starfish in these waters.

La Bibliografía Científica de Fernando de Buen.

Si bien existen varios ensayos biográficos que enfocan diferentes momentos de su vida (ANÓNIMO, 1963, BAHAMONDE, 1962, LÓPEZ et al., 2015, NION, 2015, PEQUEÑO, 2015, SÁNCHEZ CARRILLO, 2001), hasta donde tenemos conocimiento, no se ha publicado aún una bibliografía completa de la obra del Dr. FERNANDO DE BUEN Y LOZANO (Fig. de tapa). Bibliografías parciales se encuentran, entre otros, en los autores arriba citados. Aquí nos atrevemos a hacer el intento, aunque en forma defectuosa, ya que muchas de sus publicaciones no las hemos podido consultar directamente (se señalan con un asterisco, *). En parte nos hemos basado en una compilación hecha por el propio DE BUEN, que abarca los años 1915 a 1949 (Fig. 1), aunque no siempre con los datos necesarios para una completa información sobre la publicación; en lo posible intentamos complementarla. En sus casi cincuenta años de actividad científica, llegó a producir casi 300 títulos, de variado contenido, aunque siempre relacionados con el medio acuático, sea marino o dulceacuícola. Esta producción se puede dividir en cuatro períodos, que comienza con su etapa española, europea y africana (marroquí), entre 1915 y 1937, durante la cual publicó más de 140 títulos. Como consecuencia de la Guerra Civil Española, en 1939 se radica en México, donde permanece desde el 12 de Julio de 1939 hasta Noviembre 1946, país al que regresa entre 1953 y 1957. Durante este período escribe unos 70 artículos. Entre esas dos etapas mexicanas, estuvo brevemente radicado en el Uruguay, desde el 26 de Noviembre de 1946 hasta 1953, sin duda la etapa de menor producción científica, con una docena trabajos. A ésta sigue el último período de su vida, en Chile (Fig. 2), la que lamentablemente termina trágicamente, en 1962. Durante este período publica más de 60 publicaciones, de los cuales, aparentemente, seis quedan inéditas. Cabe señalar que durante estas tres etapas de exilio americano, si bien sus publicaciones están mayoritariamente relacionadas con el país de residencia, hay algunas excepciones. Preivo a estas estadías en América, hay que mencionar tres europeas, fuera de España, a saber: en el Museo Oceanográfico de Mónaco (1919), en el Instituto Centrale di Biologia Marina, Messina, Italia (1919), y en el Laboratorio Arago, Banyuls sur Mer, Francia (1939). En general, puede considerarse que FERNANDO DE BUEN fue un investigador solitario, ya que solamente seis, de sus casi 300 trabajos, fueron publicados en colaboración: dos con su hermano SADÍ DE BUEN (#31 y 32), dos con F. FRADE (#115 y 116), y dos con MANUEL ZOZAYA (#162 y 176). En su obra científica hemos podido identificar la descripción original de 12 géneros, 9 subgéneros, 54 especies y 11 subespecies, como se indican en la Tabla I.

The status and significance of invertebrate communities

Invertebrates constitute a major link in energy flow culminating into fish production in aquatic ecosystems. In tropical water bodies relatively little research has been done on invertebrate ecology especially their role in fishery production. European scientists through periodic expeditions to Africa in the last quarter of the 20th century carried out the earliest research on zooplankton. Rzoska (1957) listed these early workers including Stuhlmann (1888), Weltner (1897) and Mrazek (1897-1898). Daday (1907), Verestchagin (1915) and Delachaux (1917) undertook further work during the early twentieth century. These earlyworks provide a useful basis for tracking community changes by comparison with modem investigations. Worthington (1931) provided the first quantitative account of the zooplankton of Lake Victoria along with information on diurnal vertical migrations, compared to a temperate lake. The establishment of the East African Freshwater Fisheries Research Organisation (EAFFRO) at Jinja in 1947 enabled investigations on the fisheries, algae, invertebrates and water quality aspects of the lake (EAFFRO Annual Reports 1947-1977) to be regularly carried out. Macdonald (1956) made the first detailed observations on the biology of chaoborids and chironomids (IakefJies) in relation to the feeding of the elephant snout fish, Mormyrus kannume. A detailed study of the biology of the mayfly, Povilla adusta Navas with special reference to the diurnal rhythms of activity was carried out by Hartland-Rowe (1957). The search to unravel the ecological role of aquatic invertebrates in the production dynamics of the lake has taken invertebrate research to greater heights through recent investigations including Okedi (1990), Mavut