New Journal Issues: “Contagious Magic” in Japanese Theatre, Logistics of the Natural History Trade, Hawai‘i’s Toxic Plants + More

Pacific Science, Vol. 75#2, 2021

Special issue dedicated to Dr. Isabella Abbott 
Guest editor: Celia Smith


Isabella Kauakea Yau Yung Aiona Abbott: Contributions to a Celebration of the Centennial of her Birth
By Rosie Alegado, Cindy Hunter, Celia Smith

Biodiversity of Hawaiian Peyssonneliales (Rhodophyta). 1. Two New Species in the Genus Ramicrusta from Lehua Island
By Alison R. Sherwood, Monica O. Paiano, Rachael M. Wade, Feresa C. Cabrera, Heather L. Spalding, Randall K. Kosaki

Caulerpa bikinensis (Chlorophyta) Preference for the Mesophotic Depths of Pacific Atolls
By Roy T. Tsuda

Introduced Mangroves Along the Coast of Moloka‘i, Hawai‘i may Represent Novel Habitats for Megafaunal Communities
By Bryan A. Nakahara, Amanda W. J. Demopoulos, Yoshimi M. Rii, Rosanna A. Alegado, Kauaoa M. S. Fraiola, Craig R. Smith

Examining the UV-Absorbing Properties of Scaevola taccada (Goodeniaceae) and its Potential Use as a Sunscreen
By Keanu Rochette-Yu Tsuen, Claire Lager, Michael C. Ross, Mary Hagedorn

Ethelia hawaiiensis (Etheliaceae, Rhodophyta), a New Mesophotic Marine Alga from Manawai (Pearl and Hermes Atoll), Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, Hawai‘i
By Alison R. Sherwood, Monica O. Paiano, Feresa P. Cabrera, Heather L. Spalding, Brian B. Hauk, Randall K. Kosaki

Molecular Systematics of the Native Seagrass, Ruppia cf. maritima (Ruppiaceae, Alismatales), on Hawai‘i Island
By Brandie A. Colwell, Ronald P. Kittle III, Renee L. Corpuz, Karla J. McDermid

Cryptic Cryptogam Revealed: Hypnea corona (Gigartinales: Cystocloniaceae), A New Red Algal Species Described From the Hypnea cornuta Complex
By John M. Huisman, Roberta D’Archino, Wendy Nelson, Sung Min Boo, Antonella Petrocelli

Reduction in Cover of Two Introduced Invasive Macroalgae by Herbivores on Coral Reefs of Kāne‘ohe Bay, Hawai‘i
By John Stimson, Scott T. Larned

For more information about Pacific Science, the Official Journal of the Pacific Science Association, please visit the journal homepage.

Seismic Japan Explores the Continuing Legacy of the Ansei Edo Earthquake

Seismic Japan: The Long History and Continuing Legacy of the Ansei Edo EarthquakeWhat are we to make of contemporary newspapers in Japan speculating about the possible connection between aquatic creatures and earthquakes? Of a city council deciding to issue evacuation advice based on observed animal behavior? Why, between 1977 and 1993, did Japan’s government spend taxpayer money to observe catfish in aquariums as part of its mandate to fund earthquake prediction research? All of these actions are direct legacies of the 1855 Ansei Edo earthquake, one of the major natural disasters of the period. In Seismic Japan:The Long History and Continuing Legacy of the Ansei Edo Earthquake, Gregory Smits investigates the science, politics, and lore of seismic events in Japan as he examines this earthquake in a broad historical context.

The Ansei Edo earthquake shook the shogun’s capital during a year of special religious significance and at a time of particularly vigorous seismic activity. It was also a turning point because, according to the prevailing understanding of earthquakes at the time, it should never have happened. Many Japanese, therefore, became receptive to new ideas about the causes of earthquakes as well as to the notion that by observing some phenomena—for example, the behavior of catfish—one might determine when an earthquake would strike.

December 2013 | 256 pages, 5 illus. | ISBN: 978-0-8248-3817-1 | Cloth $54.00

Forrest Mims to Accept ASLI’s Choice Award for History

Mims-Hawaii'sMaunaLoaAtmospheric Science Librarians International (ASLI) has selected Hawai‘i’s Mauna Loa Observatory: Fifty Years of Monitoring the Atmosphere for the ASLI’s Choice 2012 Award in the History category. The book was praised for its “engaging perspective on the scientists, discoveries, and ground-breaking atmospheric measurements done at Mauna Loa Observatory.”

Author Forrest M. Mims III will attend the official presentation on Wednesday, January 9, 2013 during the American Meteorological Society annual meeting in Austin, Texas. (Mims recently wrote two articles on Dr. Robert Simpson, the founder of the Mauna Loa Observatory, who celebrated his 100th birthday last month.) ASLI’s Choice is an award for the best book of 2012 in the fields of meteorology / climatology / atmospheric sciences. Visit the ASLI website for more information on award criteria and past winners.

Fifty Years of Monitoring the Atmosphere

Hawaii's Mauna Loa ObservatoryHawaii’s Mauna Loa Observatory (MLO) is one of the world’s leading scientific stations for monitoring the atmosphere. For more than fifty years, beginning with atmospheric chemist Charles Keeling’s readings of carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, MLO has provided climate scientists a continuous record of the atmosphere’s increasing concentration of carbon dioxide—and sparked the international debate over global warming. Hawaii’s Mauna Loa Observatory: Fifty Years of Monitoring the Atmosphere, by Forrest M. Mims III, tells the story of the men and women who made these and many other measurements near the summit of the world’s largest mountain.

November 2011 / ISBN 978-0-8248-3431-9 / $60.00 (CLOTH)