Royal Society Expedition to the British Solomon Islands Protectorate explained

The Royal Society Expedition to the British Solomon Islands Protectorate was a research expedition organised by the Royal Society in 1965 to undertake research into the biodiversity of the British Solomon Islands.^{[1] [2]}

Purpose of the expedition

The expedition set out to study invertebrates, forest plants, and coastal marine ecology, focusing on their distributions. Prior to the expedition, the Royal Society society stated "[the expedition] can make a highly significant contribution to scientific knowledge, not only because of the light it can throw on the migration of plants and animals in the past, but also because of the knowledge of the rules which govern such movements." This could inform how distributions may change in the future.

Voyage

Led by Edred John Henry Corner, the expedition departed in July 1965, returning in December that year,^[3] following a preliminary visit in 1964.^[4]

The expedition was split between marine and land parties. The marine party was led by John Morton, on the vessel A. K. Maroro captained by Captain S. Brown. The land party made multiple surveys of two to four weeks duration at several locations including Guadalcanal, San Cristobal, and others.

Participants

Participants came from British, New Zealand, and Australian institutions.

• E. J. H. Corner, University of Cambridge, expedition leader
• John Morton, University of Auckland, marine party leader
• Kenneth Ernest Lee, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
• Hugh Bryan Spencer Womersley, University of Adelaide
• A. Bailey, University of Adelaide
• Derek Arden Challis, University of Auckland
• Richard Dell, Dominion Museum
• H Miller, University of Auckland
• S. Browne, captain of A. K. Maroro

Notes and References

1. News: 8 July 1965 . Solomons Research Begins . 14 April 2024 . The Press . 15 . CIV . 30797.
2. Web site: Moore . Clive . British Royal Society Expedition. 2024-04-15 . www.solomonencyclopaedia.net . en-gb.
3. Hemmen . George E. . 2010-07-14 . Royal Society expeditions in the second half of the twentieth century . Notes and Records of the Royal Society . 64 . suppl_1 . 10.1098/RSNR.2010.0036.
4. Corner . Edred John Henry . 1969-08-28 . Introduction . Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences . 255 . 800 . 187–188.