420 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



the State Commission of Fisli and Game %Yhicli provided a laboratory 

 space at the State lobster hatchery at Wickford, R. I. 



From the beginning of the work in Jnly until its close in February, 

 two extensive cruises were completed and many tri})s made, covering 

 150 stations, which, within the limits of the bay were established 1 

 mile apart, and at a distance of 4 miles apart in the sound. Obser- 

 vations consisted of dredging for starfish, recording data on tem- 

 perature, salinity, depth, and the character of the bottom. 



The October survey of these waters showed the starfish population 

 to be concentrated in comparatively large numbers in two rather 

 restricted localities near the headwaters of the middle passage. 

 Weekly observations to detect the possible movements of starfish 

 failed to show changes in their distribution and at the end of Janu- 

 ary the ranges of the two concentrations were much the same as 

 in October. There was no indication of invasion of starfish from 

 outside waters. Measurements of the starfish obtained from the 

 two localities showed that those found nearest the headwaters of the 

 bay (possibly an earlier seasonal production) averaged significantly 

 larger, although the two localities were separated by a distance of 

 only a few miles. 



Winter studies show that as the temperature approached the 

 winter minimum there was a cessation of growth, and a reduction 

 in the rate of feeding of specimens kept in a live car. The size of 

 these experimental animals in December coincided exactly with the 

 mean of the stock from which they were obtained in October, indicat- 

 ing that the live-car records probably approximate normal condi- 

 tions. As the difference in the mean size of the two groups has 

 remained the same it is thought that the smaller group represents 

 later production in the lower bay where seasonal warming is slower 

 than in the headwaters, and that this group will mature and spawn 

 at a smaller size. 



The Oyster Laboratory at Milford, Conn., was the center of the in- 

 vestigation on the life history, biology, spawning, setting, and the 

 migrations of starfish. The worlv was carried out by Dr. V. L. 

 Loosanoft' with the assistance of J. C. Lipsett, E. J. Larson, R. Nau- 

 man, A. Kammeraad, J. Piaat, R. B. Burrows, and H. Beard, and 

 in cooperation with the Connecticut Shellfisheries Commission, 

 which generously supplied the State boat Shellfish for the work in 

 Long Island Sound. 



The first survey covering 141 stations in the Sound was made in 

 May, and was repeated during September and December. Results 

 of field observations made during the spring, fall, and winter, show 

 that starfish are practically limited to the shore regions of the Sound, 

 although opposite New Haven and Bridgeport they extend some dis- 

 tance out into deeper waters. On the Long Island shore there are 

 gaps at each end of Smithtown Bay and at two other eastern points 

 where starfish appear to be absent. The longest shore gap however, 

 is on the Connecticut shore from the Connecticut River to Guilford. 

 Considering only the 43 stations where starfish were found, 93.4 

 percent in the first survey, 85.8 percent in the second, and 79.0 percent 

 in the third, occurred in less than 40 feet of water, the greatest num- 

 ber being found at depths between 20 and 39 feet. 



