CTEXOPHORES IX XE\V JERSEY COASTAL WATERS. IO3 



plates. That the added factor of buoyancy has survival value 

 during the late fall and winter can scarcely be doubted. 



TAIM i II. 



An interesting observation illustrates one limitation of Mncmi- 

 :s in it- abilit>' to capture planktonts. The water \\.i> 

 -u.umiiiv; \\ith polychcTte larva? on December 21, but in --pile of 

 tin- I'.irt th.it many of these larva? were found entangled in 

 mum- "ii the oral lobes and on other parts of the bodies of the 

 < trno]ihorrs, in no case were any larva? found within the stomo- 

 driim. The wealth of spines which bristle in all directions on the 

 r.irly l.n\ j < .f polychaetes evidently render their final (Mptnn/ by 

 Mm'nii<tf>sis dillicult if not impossible. 



That tin- food organisms found within the stomodeum of 

 MUCH:: are actually digested is shown by the presence of 



nuiiu 1 1 >n> (.-mpty shells of bivalve and gastropod larva?, crustacean 

 carapaces, and other non-digestible remains which accumulate 

 m-ar the oral nid of the stomodeum. 



Y. 



Tin PiMKn i ION OF BIVALVE LARV/E BY Mnemiopsis. 



< >ur records of the abundance of bivalve larva? and the intensity 

 of "set" in Barnegat Bay for the past 3 years show, after taking 

 into account the effects of all known factors, that there is a close 

 correlation between the abundance of Mncmiopsis and the 



