SESSION V 177 The land animals are limited to one group of mammals, three species of rats which were introduced apparently at the time the native people came tothe atolls, The birds are limited to the se aquatic birds that can flv long distances, In contrast, the marine fauna and flora are extremely diverse. There are about 700 species of fish, compared to the 50 to 70 species in Puget Sound, where I work in my normal activity. The same is true with the algal groups, found in great diversity. Then there are the corals, which are something unique to this part of the world. UPTON: To what extent do you think the limit in number of species in Puget Sound may have resulted from the effects of man on that basin? DONALDSON: These are forms that were native there. We have introduced some forms. There are no species that have been exter- minated in Puget Sound, All of the native forms are there. Added to the complexity of the environment and the great distances, we have the problem of a great diversity of energy releases from the different types of nuclear devices, Just to review quickly, there have been 59 detonations at this test site; they varied in size from the normal device we've talked about, some 2,000 tons of TNT, onupto li, 12 megatons, according to one statement. This was the March Ist test of 1954. These devices have varied from rather primitive ones by present standards to some sophisticated ones up through the 1958 tests. They were detonated under a great varicty of conditions, and this is germane to the subject we're discussing, from under water to high in Antena TE re om ee, Ss the skies, from tower tests to tests on barges anchored in the water. This means chat the fission products varied not only in quantity, and somewhat in composition, but also that the induced radiation varied fantastically in both quantity and composition. Thus, the numbers and amounts of radiovuclides introduced into the environment run almost the entire gamut of possibility. ~ 7neee | To try to evaluate in this weird and wonderful environment the ‘impact of the detonationg upon the biota presented a formidable task that would stretch the imagination, I guess, of most of us; at least it stretched ours.