. Atoll research bulletin. Coral reefs and islands; Marine biology; Marine sciences. 31 reef front, knowing if a wind should come from the west we would soon be on the reef. Two of the Tahitians paddled out in a makeshift canoe of galvanized iron roofing. They had not seen a supply vessel for six months, and their first word was "Cigarettes?" None of us smoked, but we had a carton of cigarettes on board and passed it on to them, receiving in exchange a live rooster. We had to maintain anchor watch all night in order to be alert for any wind change. We stayed three days at the atoll,
. Atoll research bulletin. Coral reefs and islands; Marine biology; Marine sciences. 31 reef front, knowing if a wind should come from the west we would soon be on the reef. Two of the Tahitians paddled out in a makeshift canoe of galvanized iron roofing. They had not seen a supply vessel for six months, and their first word was "Cigarettes?" None of us smoked, but we had a carton of cigarettes on board and passed it on to them, receiving in exchange a live rooster. We had to maintain anchor watch all night in order to be alert for any wind change. We stayed three days at the atoll, snorkeled, collected a few fish specimens, and I took underwater movies of the profusion of reef fishes. I discovered a new cleaner wrasse of the genus Labroides which I later collected in Tahiti. I had a paper in press in Pacific Science at that time naming the Hawaiian species of Labroides, so I cabled the editor from Papeete asking him to hold off until I could add one more new species. Because we could not find many groupers and snappers in Tahiti, we sailed to Moorea 12 miles away and anchored in Opunohu Bay (Fig. 5) not far from where there is now a small French marine lab. It was an idyllic year. Forty years later I went back, visited the marine lab, and dived to 20 m where I had put down a mooring. In addition to my research on food habits, I had been asked by Hank Banner to find out what I could about ciguatera fish poisoning. This is not a common illness in Hawaii but is a major health problem at many islands in French Polynesia. I speared a large grouper (Plectropomus laevis) with the Tahiti an name tonu, notorious for causing ciguatera. I was preparing to bury it after taking data and checking stomach contents when the Tahitian caretaker of the property where Nani was moored said he would like the fish. I warned him that I had heard that the tonu had a bad reputation of being ciguatoxic and the area where I collected it was known to harbor poisonous fishes. He said
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