Panama Railroad Station, Balboa, Canal Zone - Old Timers arriving Jan. 18, 1928

Leonard Carpenter Panama Canal Collection. Photographs: Views of Panama and the Canal. [Box 1] from the Special Collections & Area Studies Department, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida.

The avifauna of Laguna Llancanelo (Mendoza, Argentina), a South American wetland of international importance

Laguna Llancanelo is a large (40,000 ha), very shallow (less than 3 m deep), inland saline waterbody, located in southern Mendoza, Argentina. A survey of the avifauna was undertaken during 1983 to 1985; field trips were made mostly to the northeastern and central-western sectors of the lagoon, in the months of April, May, September, October and December. Complementary studies were made by an aerial survey and assessments of terrestrial birds in the surroundings of the lagoon. A total of 64 species in 22 families of birds usually associated with aquatic environments were recorded. The best-represented families of aquatic birds in terms of numbers of species were: Anatidae (13 swans, geese, ducks), Scolopacidae (7 sandpipers and other small waders), Ardeidae (6 herons, bitterns, egrets, Podicipedidae (4 grebes), Rallidae (4 rails, coots) and Charadriidae (4 plovers, lapwings). The most abundant nesting birds on the lagoon were: Black-necked swan Cygnus melancoryphus (824), silvery grebe Podiceps occipitalis (202) and black-crowned night heron Nycticorax nycticorax (100).

Artificial Habitats for Fisheries Enhancement in the Australian Region

This paper outlines developments over about 20 years in the construction of and ecological research on artificial reefs, fish aggregation devices (FAD's), and other artificial habitats designed to enhance fish populations and fisheries in the Australian region (including New Zealand and Papua New Guinea). Work was initially carried out on multicomponent reefs using a variety of waste materials, as well as some specially constructed concrete and steel structures. Later studies concentrated on single-component reefs, again mainly using waste materials. Although no definitive conclusions were reached on the relative effectiveness of the different materials used, waste motor vehicle tires and derelict ships were generally judged to be the best all-around materials for single-component reef construction in sheltered estuarine and offshore marine environments, respectively, in this region. FAD's comprising polyvinylchloride pipe sparbuoys (or in some areas polyurethane foam floats) attached to railroad car wheel anchors by polyethylene rope and chain, and supporting attractor drapes of synthetic mesh webbing, also provedtobegenerallysuccessfulin thisarea. Overall conclusions for the Australian region include the predominant use of waste materials in artificial reef construction, which has been primarily aimed at recreational fisheries enhancement; the successful use of FAD's for both recreational and commercial fisheries enhancement; the need for further and better planned research into and monitoring of the effectiveness of both of these enhancement methods; and the need for future research into the effectiveness of unfished "artificial habitat reserves" in enhancing fisheries production from surrounding fished areas.