494 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 
4, SOME STATISTICS RELATIVE TO THE DISTRIBUTION OF ALG& IN BUZZARDS BAY AND 
VINEYARD SOUND. 
It is a very difficult matter to make in detail a satisfactory comparison of the algal 
flora of Woods Hole and its vicinity with those of other coasts, chiefly for the reason 
that the life conditions are so diverse in different sections of the region and at different 
seasons that there are in reality several floras to be considered. ‘These have been 
described in the account of the principal formations which may be distinguished (section 
i, chapter 11, pages 468-475), but far more must be known of their composition and 
habits at other seasons of the year than the summer before their limits can be defined 
with exactness. The general characteristics of the summer flora of the warmer waters 
of the region, which is a part of the flora of Long Island Sound, are outlined in the 
introduction to section 11, chapter I, pages 443 and 444. 
Comparative studies of algal floras are also rendered very difficult because the floras 
have generally been described more with regard to the variety and number of species 
than with respect to the quantities of the dominant forms. A comparison of two lists 
of species may show that a very large proportion, perhaps a majority of the forms, are 
not the same, and yet when judged quantitatively, i. e., by the total mass of vegetation 
composed of species common to both, the two floras might be considered as essentially 
similar. We have examined lists of species published by surveys or from stations on the 
Scandanavian coast, the Faroes, Denmark, Clyde Sea area, Plymouth, the Irish Sea, 
Naples, etc., and considered the possibility of drawing up comparative tables of floras, 
but we must confess that to us there seemed so little promise of satisfactory results that 
the work was not undertaken. 
In connection with the zoological data presented in section 1, chapter m1, statistics 
were tabulated for the distribution of the four classes of alge and of Zostera marina 
as determined by the dredging operations in Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound. The 
results of that tabulation are presented below. Of especial interest are the statistics 
for the quantity of vegetation over three types of bottom: Division A, ‘‘sand,” including 
bottoms recorded as pure sand or sand and shells (excluding bottoms containing stones, 
gravel, or mud); division B, “gravel and stones,” including records which list either of 
these ingredients singly, or in combination with one another or with sand (excluding 
bottoms containing mud); division C, ‘‘mud,” including bottoms recorded as of mud, 
muddy sand, or sandy mud (excluding bottoms containing gravel or stones, but including 
those in which shells are listed). Finally there is presented a table which lists those 
species that were of such general distribution as to occur at one-fourth or more of the 
total number of stations, at one-fourth or more of the stations dredged by the Fish 
Hawk and Phalarope in both the Bay and Sound, and at one-fourth of the stations of the 
three types of bottom designated as A, B, and C. These tables follow in the order 
outlined above. 
AVERAGE NUMBER OF GENERA AND SPECIES OF PLANTS TAKEN PER DREDGE HAUL FOR THE 458 
STATIONS OF THE REGULAR SERIES. 
Groups. Genera. Species. 
VASIOTIING CORE a ei te tector cies et roe ah Re EM YRS: es ay ge go ie Sake els os be SU 0. 004 ©. 004 
ChlOroplyy Cen Aare hares asthe cape isteiee wets oe hae eee Dentpeeis wieletineiaerras ABR SAR EEG OPAC SET HERR aoe | +09 | hs 
SH POD Cece mrt tter ee rere ice creo en Te RE ATMEL Ra ee ee cies sc ioe itard alscdemne ec clase | iI Ta 
Dedsyove Foye) hierar ETO L ANE cic a dS ol) Ee Oe ta as Mas 27k Sa ante oa kt GR Oe Oe eS | 4-3 4.6 
