New York State Musew 



Temperature as one of the conditions in the deep sea, 

 as we have seen, is of practically no importance since it 

 is about uniform everywhere and many of the deep-sea 

 animals therefore have a range from the Arctic to the 

 Antarctic and from the Atlantic to the Pacific. On the 

 other hand, temperature in relation to the life of the shal- 

 lower waters near the shores is so important that the 

 creatures in the tropics of the Atlantic and Pacific, on 

 opposite sides of the globe, are found to be quite similar, 

 broadly speaking ; yet along our Atlantic coast from north 

 to south there are such changes in the life of the shore, 

 more northern creatures gradually disappearing from the 

 fauna and new forms taking their places, that along the 

 Florida coast one finds the animals almost wholly differ- 

 ent from those living north of Cape Cod. The fauna of 

 arctic regions is characterized by few species with a vast 

 number of individuals; in the tropics, on the other hand, 

 the individuals of the species may be little or no more 

 numerous, but the number of species is far greater. 



A study of the distribution of the Algae or seaweeds 

 of our coasts has brought about the creation of geo- 

 graphical divisions similar to those made for the animals. 

 The Pacific coast, lacking the natural barriers of the 

 Atlantic coast, fails to show distinct lines of demarcation. 

 Upon the east coast of North America, however, four 

 such divisions are recognized as against the three divi- 

 sions in the case of the animals of those shores. The 

 first division extends from Greenland to Cape Cod; the 

 second, from Cape Cod to Cape Hatteras ; the third, from 

 Cape Hatteras to Cape Florida ; the fourth comprises the 

 Florida Keys and the shores of the Gulf of Mexico. 

 There are certain algae characteristic of each of these; 

 but, as with the animals, the boundaries are not absolute, 



