2 COE 



Stops were made also on St. Paul, St. Matthew, and Hall 

 Islands in Bering Sea; at Plover Bay, Siberia, and at Port 

 Clarence, Alaska, just south of Bering Strait. At these latter 

 localities, however, the shores are surrounded in winter by 

 pack ice, which prevents the existence of any considerable 

 amount of life between tides. No Nemerteans were found 

 here between tides in the limited time at our command, though 

 it is not unlikely that in deeper water an abundance of these 

 worms could have been obtained by the dredge. South of 

 Bering Sea, on the other hand, the shores are densely covered 

 nearly to high water mark with a luxuriant growth of nearly 

 all classes of invertebrates. 



All along that part of the coast which borders the North Pa- 

 cific Ocean — from Dixon Entrance to the Aleutian Islands — 

 with the exception of areas subject to local disturbing elements, 

 such as the proximity of rivers and glaciers, invertebrates oc- 

 cur in remarkable abundance. Not only is there an enormous 

 number of individuals, but also a great variety of species. 

 And, furthermore, the unusually large size which many of the 

 species attain is quite as striking as the wealth of species and 

 individuals. The purity of the water, its freedom from con- 

 tamination from muddy streams, and the great rise and fall of 

 the tides with their consequent swift currents, which continu- 

 ously provide a rapidly changing supply of pure water, furnish 

 conditions especially favorable to the growth of marine inverte- 

 brate animals. 



Exceptions to these favorable conditions were found at Ju- 

 neau, where the water is of slightly less than normal density, 

 and contains a considerable amount of sediment. At Skagway 

 these unfavorable conditions are still more pronounced, and 

 here very few Nemerteans could be found between tides. In 

 Russell Fiord the water was decidedly brackish, there was lit- 

 tle tide, and almost no shore collecting could be done. Local- 

 ities in the vicinity of glacier fronts were extremely barren of 

 marine life, as was to be expected. 



Perhaps the locality which proved the most fruitful was 

 Dutch Harbor, Unalaska, although the stations in Prince 

 William Sound were but little inferior, and Sitka was found to 

 possess an extremely rich littoral fauna. 



