114 IOWA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 



A complete report of the various expeditions taken by our party with 

 detailed accounts of collections taken, also of the work of each student, 

 explaining his methods of preserving and studying material, would require 

 moi-e time than the present occasion admits; suffice it for the present, to 

 submit the following: 



PRELIMINARY NOTES ON PELAGIC ANIMALS FOUND IN KINGSTON HARBOR. 



The only suitable times in the day for surface collecting were early in the 

 morning or late in the evening, when neither land nor sea breeze disturbed 

 the placid surface of the water. Our outfit was quite simple, consisting of 

 a light row boat, two water pails and two nets of fine silk bolting-cl&th. 

 The nets were similar to dip nets in shape; no handle, however, it being 

 replaced by a long cord arranged to draw the net horizontally through the 

 water. When engaged in surface-collecting we usually rowed out upon the 

 bay a half-mile or more from shore, then threw over the nets to drag from 

 the stern of the boat. Richest collections were taken when the rims of the 

 nets extended partly out of the water, so as to skim the surface to a depth 

 of twelve inches. 



Huxley recommends following the "plancton streifen" or trails of "dead 

 water," but we found so much debris from the shores in these trails that we 

 abandoned them, although richer in animal and plant life than other places. 

 The nets were emptied every few moments in the pails which were one-half 

 full of fresh sea water. After about an hour's rowing we returned to shore, 

 filled the pails with fresh sea water and repaired directly to the laboratory. 

 The catch was examined in a preliminary way, very hastily, by dipping out 

 small portions in glass dishes. These were held toward the light of a win- 

 dow or lamp, when swarms of pelagic forms appeared, swarming about in 

 great confusion. If desirable specimens appeared they were transferred by 

 means of a wide-mouthed pipette to small aquaria of fresh sea water, or 

 put directly into the fixing reagent previously prepared. Small jelly-fish 

 and Ctenophores were removed very carefully by means of deep watch- 

 glasses. 



Among the countless multitudes of varied forms taken we found larval 

 crustaceans px'edominating. Representatives of the Nauplius, Zoea and 

 Megalops stages were all present, a few only of the best, however. Larvae 

 of shrimps (Pala>monetes), land crabs (Maji), lobsters (Homarus), rock-crabs 

 (Cancer), Stomatopods, etc., were among those present. Of adult crustaceans 

 we found Copepods, Lucifers, Phyllopods and Ostracods. l\o Nebalia were 

 taken. Numerous Plutei of Ophiurans and Sea Urchins (Strogylocentrotus), 

 also a few Bipinnaria were collected in early part of July. Sagitta repi'e- 

 sented the Annelids chiefly, while Appendicularia alone of the Tuuicates 

 appeared,— no Salpa being found as at Binning, Woods Holl, and other 

 places. A number of Cwlenterates were always collected in the "tow" — 

 i. e., Medusa of Obelia, sections of Diphyids, Aurelia, a few planula?, 

 Irene, etc. 



Large Ctenophores (Cydippidte) continually annoyed by their presence. 

 Larval fish, in various stages of development, also minute adults were 

 frequently caught. 



It is interesting to note the fact that plant life was richly represented in 

 the "tow" by numerous species of Algse, Diatoms, species of Protococcaceae, 

 also Trichodema were determined. 



