Chapter V—THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE MARINE ALGA: IN THE DEEPER 
WATERS OF BUZZARDS BAY AND VINEYARD SOUND. 
By the deeper waters of Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound are meant the depths 
of 2 fathoms or more, thus excluding the coast line between tide marks and the shallows 
just below. The reader is referred to the ‘‘Description of dredging stations occupied 
during present Survey,” section I, page 201, of this report, for detailed information as 
to the position of the stations, dates of the dredgings, depths, etc., which it is unneces- 
sary to specify in this general account. 
The varied character of the bottom of Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound is respon- 
sible for many peculiarities of the algal vegetation. There are reefs of large bowlders off 
certain exposed points, but frequently the bottom in such situations is composed chiefly 
of rounded pebbles of various sizes. Then there are regions of gravel often mixed with 
shells and shell fragments, and large tracts of sand which are veritable deserts as far as 
plant life is concerned. Finally, there are some very extensive regions of black mud, 
especially characteristic of the upper portions of Buzzards Bay; these are likewise very 
barren of plant life, except where beds of Zostera marina are present in relatively shallow 
water. These characteristics are fully described in section 1, chapter II, pages 29-33, 
and are graphically shown on chart 227. 
The lists of species are arranged after the plan in Collins’ ‘‘ Preliminary Lists of 
New England Plants: V. Marine Algz,’’ Rhodora, volume 11, page 41, 1900. That is, 
they are grouped alphabetically in the order of the Chlorophycee, Pheophycee, and 
Rhodophycee. By far the greater number of species in the deeper waters belong to the 
Rhodophycee, the Pheophycee coming next in number, and the Chlorophycee claim- 
ing only a small proportion. 
The dredgings of the survey fall into two groups, (1) those in the middle regions of 
the Bay and Sound, at some stations within one-fourth of a mile from the shore, but 
generally in water of 5 fathoms or more in depth, and (2) those “‘inshore,”’ i. e., imme- 
diately skirting the coast line in water sometimes as shallow as 2 fathoms. The material 
in this account will for geographical reasons be grouped under the following headings: 
1. The middle regions of Buzzards Bay. 
2. The middle regions of Vineyard Sound. 
3. Certain inshore regions of particular interest. 
4. Some statistics refative to the distribution of alge in Buzzards Bay and Vineyard 
1. THE MIDDLE REGIONS OF BUZZARDS BAY. 
Buzzards Bay, for convenience in this account, has been divided into an upper and 
lower portion by a line running from the west end of Naushon (Robinsons Hole) to 
Round Hifl Point. 
The upper portion of Buzzards Bay in the middle regions has a very scanty algal 
flora. ‘This is easily accounted for by the character of the bottom, which for the most 
480 
