In addition to being the first record of the family Hermatobatidae for the Marshall Islands, this series also nicely bridges the gap between the
Line Island and Mariana Archipelago populations, indicating that H.
Figure 8 from Kiritimati in the
Line Islands, however, is an exception in lacking the narrow dark stripes ventrally on the body and in having numerous white spots (as well as bright yellow pectoral fins).
Although the
Line Islands are about 2,000 miles east of the Gilbert Islands, most inhabitants of the
Line Islands are also Gilbertese.
In the central Pacific, they include the
Line Islands, which extend nearly 2,000 miles and include Johnston Atoll; Howard, Baker and Jarvis Islands; Kingman Reef; Wake Island and Rose Atoll.
They don't know where they are but experts at the Collins World Atlas reckon it's the
Line Islands.
The 16-day "Exploring the Polynesian Paradises of the Pacific" departs September 4 and visits the Hawaiian Islands, the remote
Line Islands, and the scenic Society Islands.
The nearest other reefs are Midway Atoll (about 460 nautical miles, nm, north), Oahu, Hawaii (about 717 nm northeast), and Palmyra Atoll,
Line Islands (about 780 nm south by southeast).
"We're leaving San Francisco for Sydney, will sail down the coast to San Diego and Baja, then catch the currents and trade winds that take us across toward the Equator, toward the
Line Islands," said Rothschild.
"Ocean acidification from climate change can also eat away at the coral reefs, making it harder for them to recover," says Stanford oceanographer Rob Dunbar, who has done research in the
Line Islands.
Based on Bush's environmental track record, there's reason to hope he will take his wife's advice and protect 900,000 square miles around the Mariana Islands and around a series of U.S.-controlled territories extending from the Rose Atoll in American Samoa to the
Line Islands.