each species was found in the ycnr. Some species are ubiquitous; 

 perennials like Fucus vesiculosus , Ascophyllutn nodosum , and Chondrus 

 crispus are found in every collection. Some algae, like Ceramium rubrum 

 or Ulva lactuca , are aseasonal annuals; populations are found throughout 

 the year at most stations, even though individual plants are short-lived. 

 Sonc species, e.g., Gelidium cri nale and Prasiola stipitata , are site 

 specific, and found only at one or n few stations. 



Table 2 niso indicates the occurrence of seasonal annuals, e.g., 

 late summer-autumn plants like C hampia parvula and Antithamnion 

 cruciatum , or winter-spring plants like Dumontia contorta or Scytosiphon 

 lomentari a. Seasonally and spatially, the Millstone Point area supports 

 a rich and diverse flora, owing to our location in the transition zone 

 between boreal and subtropical floras (Taylor 1957). 



Month-to-month and station-to-station patterns are more easily seen 

 in numbers of algal species in each division (Table 3). In general, the 

 richest collections were made in autumn (Oct. -Nov.) and in spring 

 (Apr. -May) . Of the 126 species found throughout the area in the past 

 year, 56 were reds (Rhodophyta) , 33 browns (Phaeophyta) , and 37 greens 

 (Chlorophyta) . The relative percentages (45:26:29) correspond closely 

 to those of other researchers in New England; Vadas (1972), on an open 

 coast in Maine, found that 45% of his algal species were reds, 32% 

 browns, and 23% greens. Mathieson et al. (1981), working in the Great 

 Bay estuary system and adjacent open coast of New Hampshire-Maine, 

 reported ratios of 47:28:25. Schneider (1981) sampled algae from the 

 MNPS effluent quarry over an 18 month period, and reported total 

 percentage ratios of 45:24:31. 



The proportions of species in each division have been used as a 

 measure of phy togeographic affinity (Druehl 1981). Generally, brown 

 algae predominate under boreal and arctic conditions; reds and greens 

 are more common in tropical and subtropical regions. Comparison of our 

 data with those of Vadas (1972) and Mathieson et al. (1981) shows a 

 latitudinal gradient; as water temperatures warm from north to south, 

 the relative proportion of brown algae decreases. This phenomenon was 

 seen in the MNPS quarry; Schneider (1981) included the range of water 

 temperatures over which each species was found. He found that as 

 temperatures increased, fewer species were collected, but that brown 



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