1961-1962 - American Museum of Natural History

anisms in certain highly variable moths by Dr. Roger W. Pease
of Yale University. Blood samples of birds were collected at the
station in connection with the study of arthropod-borne viruses
of Florida, initiated last year by Dr. Richard M. Taylor of the
Yale University School of Medicine.
Dr. Leonard J. Brass continued to serve as adviser to Dr.
L. M. Perry of the Arnold Arboretum on a three-year research
project on the medicinal plants of the western Pacific, and provided
consultation to the British Museum (Natural History) on
the organization and equipping of a botanical and entomological
expedition which is to take the field in New Guinea in 1963.
Dr. Brass received an honorary Doctor of Science degree from
Florida State University in June, 1962.
KALBFLEISCH FIELD RESEARCH STATION
HUNTINGTON, LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK
Wesley E. Lanyon, Resident Director
Studies by Museum scientists in the fields of astronomy, ornithology,
ecology, fishes, mammalogy, and herpetology were conducted
at the station this year. Most of the research activities
contributed to a long-term, coordinated project involving the
population dynamics, ecology, and behavior of the vertebrate
fauna in relation to the plant communities at the station.
Particular attention is being given to the interrelationships involved
in the natural succession of vegetation of abandoned
farmland and its associated vertebrate populations. A provisional
list of the vertebrates of the station was published during
the year. A total of 168 vertebrates were described, including
two fishes, ten amphibians, six reptiles, 129 birds (of whiclh
47 were breeding), and 21 mammals. The list was based on a
study of the spatial and temporal distribution and relative
A study of the role of vision in the schooling behavior of fishes involved
the use of contact lenses, fitted over the eyes of herring, to alter
the visual image on the retina. Photograph: Lee Boltin.
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