Evening star., 1925-07-11
FAUNA Of ARCTIC
SOUGHT BY EXPERT.
Or. w. N. KoeIz With Mac
i MILAN to Fill Gaps
in Collection.

DR. Walter n Koelz, fish and bird
expert, who is sailing north on the
Bowdoin of the Macmillan Arctic
expedition, 10 make studies and col
lect specimens of Arctic land and
water fauna for the National Geo
graphic Society. is one of the leading
specialists of the world on the white
fish, important commercial fish of the
Great Lakes.
DIR. koelz was born in Waterloo.
Mich, and after elementary schooling
there and preparatory work in the
neighboring town of Chelsea, attended
the University OF Michigan, where he
took bachelors, masters and doctors
degrees. He taught zoology at the
University of Michigan until 1917,
when, joining the staff of the United
States Bureau of Fisheries, he began
for that organization a detailed study
of the white fish. the most important
commercial fish of the Great Lakes.
When DR.. Koelz began his inVesti-
cations little was known of the white
fish. Since the days of Linnaeus this
family of fishes has constituted
stubborn problem in classification. AS
a result of DIR. Koelz's seven years of
work, with the fishing fleets. in the
commercial fishing ports of the United
States and Canada, and in the labora
has practically complete data in regard
TO the American white fish
DR.. koelZ has described the 10
species and scores of races of this
family in American waters and has
collected and preserved 0.000 in
dividual fish,. the largest collection of
white fish in the world This collec-
tion is in the museum of the Uni
versity of Michigan at Ann Arbor.
Invented Filling System
In the course of his work DR. koelz
has discovered and described several
entirely new species, one of which
was found to he confined to Lakes
Nipignon and Winnipeg in Canada.
This discovery was of considerable i'm
portance, since it supports the theories
of glaciologists in regard to the hypo-
thetical ancient body of water, called
Lake Agassiz. SO complex did the
classification of white fish prove to
be. due TO the bewildering slight diff
ferenCes in individuals, that DIR. Koelz
found il necessary to invent a new
method of differentiation, a ratio based
on nose length, upper jaw length fin
length and head depth. The fish of
his huge collection have their relation.
ships indicated. therefore. by decimals.
somewhat like those on the filing tags
of books in a great library.
When not on the Great Lakes with
his nets on the trail of fish. DIR. Koelz
has spent many hours with trap and
gun obtaining specimens of birds. He
has gotten together and owns person
ally one of the finest collections Of
hawks and waders in North America.
Fishing Tackle Unusual
Going off TO the Arctic TO collect
fish. birds and mammals is not like
an afternoons jaunt near home with
gun or rod and little else. Hundreds
of pounds of special supplies and
equipment had TO be taken along. and
problems of packing and transporta-
ton involved in getting the specimens
safely back to the United States had
TO be worked out. DR.. Koelz took
aboard the Peary, one of the Mac
MILAN expedition ships, the following
formidable supplies: Fifteen gallons
of formaldehyde, 90 gallons of alcohol
100 pounds of salt. 1000 feet of gill
nets made of linen thread, trammel
nets. dozens of thermometers. auto
matte water sampling bottles. silk
boiling cloth to seine up the almost
microscopic food of the fish, dredges
for creatures living on the sea bottom, 1
insect nets, plant presses and a num-
Der of copper tanks for use in pre-
serving fish.
Because space is at a high premium
on the Bowdoin and Peary, there
will be much improvisation. When his
fish have been picked in alcohol
and formaldehyde, DR.. koelz plans 10
commander empty gasoline drums in
which to bring the specimens back to
the United States. The fish are pre-
served whole, and will eventually re
pose in glass jars of alcohol.
Bird Skins Easy to Preserve.
The preservation of bird specimens
IS simple. The skins are split and
slipped off with the feathers still in
place. The neck Is then severed, so
that the head and skin remain. These
are generously salted, and after dry
ing, are packed away. Because they
can be packed fiat the bird skins take
up little space. Hundreds of them can
be slowed away in an ordinary wooden
packing case. Back home these skins
will be softened by the washing out
Of the salt, will be stuffed with excel
sior and mounted, being thus brought
back to a lifelike appearance.
The skins Of land animals will be
removed and dressed and numerous
photographs of the animals will be
brought back TO aid taxidermists in
giving them a lifelike mounting.