(1.5 or 2.0 millimeters) as a preliminary screening. The material left 

 after sieving a sample should be preserved in 10-percent formal in-seawater 

 solution and buffered with marble chips or a borax solution (1.5 grams 

 per liter) . Samples should be processed as completely in the field to 

 ensure that the specimens will be in the best possible condition. If 

 samples cannot be adequately processed in the field, place them in ice 

 coolers and return the samples to a laboratory for immediate i preliminary 

 processing. During transport, samples should be kept cool (1° to 4° 

 Celsius) to retard decomposition. 



In the laboratory the preserved samples should be rinsed in freshwater 

 or 70-percent ethanol, organisms stained with rose bengal dye, and sorted 

 into major taxonomic groups. Before preserving live animals for identi- 

 fication, immerse in 6-percent magnesium chloride (MgClg) or Epsom salts 

 CMgSOit . 7H 2 0) in seawater to relax them. This procedure is usually not 

 practical in the field. Identify organisms to the lowest practical tax- 

 onomic group, then count and measure by groups. Identification of animals 

 to genus or species may require either a binocular dissecting scope or a 

 compound microscope depending on the size of the organisms and the desired 

 level of identification. 



The processed samples should then be transferred to specimen jars or 

 vials containing 70-percent ethanol with 5-percent glycerin. It is im- 

 portant to add glycerin to prevent the organisms from becoming brittle. 

 A waterproof paper label should be placed inside each jar to identify 

 the specimens. Each label should include the following information 

 printed in India ink. 



(1) Accession number (specimens should be logged in a notebook) . 



(2) Lowest taxonomic identification. 



(3) Location: State, county, local direction and distance 

 from landmarks (post office, bench mark, range and section, or 

 island and peninsulas) . 



(4) Sampling station number. 



(5) Date: Spell name of month or use Roman numerals. 



(6) Collector's name. 



(7) Identifier's name. 



VII. POPULATION ANALYSIS 



Several commonly used statistics are included in this report for 

 general information (see App. C for formulas). The Shannon-Weaver for- 

 mula can be used as the measure of species diversity, H" (Pielou, 1966). 

 and J as a measure of evenness of species abundance (Pielou, 1969) . 

 These indices should be used with caution; however, their use in a 

 strictly relative sense is justified. 



23 



