productive areas of transect 1. Pococklella variegata , Halimeda 

 incrassata and Udotea conglutinata were also very important on transect 2, 

 but they were not present in the same abundance as on transect 1. 



Table 3 and Figure 7 summarize the abundance of selected macroscopic 

 plants on transect 2, i.e., those which could be easily counted in the 

 quadrants. Udotea conglutinata and Halimeda incrassata were the most 

 abundant species. All of the other taxa occurred infrequently, and except 

 for Avrainvillea nigricans , they contributed little biomass (compare 

 Table 4). The abundance of Udotea conglutinata and Halimeda incrassata 

 showed an interesting contrast. Thus, the number of Udotea plants in- 

 creased substantially to 63m where 188 plants/. 6m2 were recorded. There- 

 after, the number of plants decreased significantly and no specimens were 

 found at 180m. In contrast, Halimeda incrassata was not found in the 

 first 50m. Its maximum numbers (44 plants/ .Gm-^) were recorded at 144m, and 

 thereafter it decreased in abundance. It is of interest to note that only 

 two specimens of Penicillus capitatus were found at the 180m quadrant. 



LINEAR DISTRIBUTION AND SIZE OF PLANTS ON 

 LARGER (15x9m2) STUDY AREAS 



Figure 8 illustrates the number of taxa of red, brown and green algae 

 found in twenty rectangular areas (15 x 9m or 135m'^) located at 

 different intervals along transect 2 (see previous procedures for de- 

 tails). Each one of the 15 x Qm^ rectangles sampled is represented in 

 Figure 8 by the 9m width. Conspicuous fluctuations of species numbers 

 were evident along the transect. Even so, there was a broad band of high 

 species diversity from 36 - 171m. A maximum of 38 taxa were found be- 

 tween 126 - 135m. The lowest number of taxa were found between - 18m. 

 The increase in number of species from - 45m corresponds with that 

 shown in Figure 5. However, peak ninnbers of species were not found be- 

 tween 126 - 171m in the quadrant studies (see Figure 5). The red and 

 green algae were the major components on transect 2 (Table 4). Few brown 

 algae were evident. It should be noted that no records of blue-green 

 algae or flowering plants (Syringodlum f iliforme ) are Included in 

 Figure 8, but they are summarized in Table 4 . Even so, the maximum 

 number of species shown in Figure 8 is 15 more than in Figure 5. Seven- 

 teen species of red algae ( Acrochaetium sp., Asterocystis ramosa , 

 Centroceras clavulatum , Ceramlum fastlgatum . Champ la parvula , Coelothrix 

 irregularis , Contarina magdae, Dasya pedicellata , Dudresnya sp. , 

 Gelidlum corneiim , Gracilaria follifera , Heterosiphonia wurdemannl , 

 Hypnea cervicornia , Polysiphonia howel , Spermothamnlum turneri , Spyridia 

 filamentosa and Wrangelia bicuspldata ) , 9 green algae (Blastophysa 

 rhlzopus , Caulerpa cuppressoides , Codlum isthmocladum , Ernodesmis 

 vertlcillata , Halimeda tuna , Penicillus dumetosus , Struvea elegans and 

 Udotea flabellum ) and 3 brown algae (Dictyota indlca , Padina sanctaecrucis , 

 and Sphacelaria tribuloldes) were recorded on the larger rectangular 

 areas but not on the quadrants. Each species found on the quadrants 



VI-116 



