NO. I FORAMINIFERA IN LONG ISLAND SOUND BUZAS 41 



high mean obtained for B. frigida at this time is misleading. Although 

 127 individuals were found at one station, the others contained 

 comparatively few. Because the Wilcoxon test uses ranked sums, it 

 is not sensitive to extreme values, and therefore June 1961 was not 

 found to be significantly greater than any other time. 



The frequency distribution of the total living population is similar 

 to that of E. advena, the most abundant species in this zone. The 

 June 1962 maximum, however, is accentuated owing to the abun- 

 dance of E. clavatum and B. frigida at this time. Table 9 (page 82) 

 shows the results of the Wilcoxon test performed on the total living 

 population in the E. advena zone. October 1961 was not found to be 

 significantly greater than June 1961. October 1961 was found to be 

 significantly greater than January 1962, but not June 1962. June 

 1962 in turn was significantly greater than March and September 

 1962, but not January 1962. 



Although the frequency distributions show times of maximum 

 foraminiferal production, they do not indicate whether or not repro- 

 duction is occurring at all times of the year. Live megalospheric 

 juveniles of E. clavatum with three or four chambers are easily 

 recognizable and were counted during the period January 1962 to 

 November 1962. The juveniles of this species are most abundant 

 in the near-shore area, but because the variability of the actual num- 

 ber of individuals in a given sample in this area is great, the data are 

 not treated quantitatively. Juveniles of E. clavatum are present 

 throughout the year, and in the E. advena zone (as well as in the 

 near-shore areas) the greatest number of juveniles was observed in 

 June 1962. It is therefore likely that E. clavatum is reproducing all 

 year long and only the rate of reproduction varies. 



Significance of Seasonal Samples 



In L.I.S. there was a significant increase in the number of living 

 individuals in October 1961 and June 1962. The June maximum 

 was due to an increase of all species, whereas the October maximum 

 was due to an increase of Eggerella advena. In the water of Plymouth, 

 England, Myers (1943) found that Elphidium crispum began game- 

 togenesis in March and April right after the midwinter phytoplankton 

 flowering. He reasoned that the increase in nutrients and light which 

 precede a flowering are also beneficial to the benthonic microflora 

 upon which E. crispum principally feeds, and therefore the phyto- 

 plankton cycle is a reliable index for the productivity of the micro- 

 flora in general. Walton (1955) found maximum populations of 



