NO. I FORAMINIFERA IN LONG ISLAND SOUND BUZAS 53 



Conover (1956, p. 69) reported that the concentration of phyto- 

 plankton under a unit area of sea surface is usually greater in the off- 

 shore areas. Although planktonic diatoms were shown to be an 

 important source of food for Elphidium crispum, Myers (1943) 

 indicated that this foraminifer fed for the most part on benthonic 

 unicellular plants. No data are available on the distribution or quan- 

 tity of benthonic microflora in L.I.S. Riley (personal communica- 

 tion) has indicated that calculations from Secchi disc readings indi- 

 cate that the lower limit of the benthonic microflora in L.I.S. is 

 about 11m. None of the species in this study is restricted to depths 

 of less than 11 m., but Elphidium clavatum is most abundant at 

 depths of less than 10 m. and is relatively rare at depths of greater 

 than 20 m. (fig. 8). 



Bradshaw (1955) found that one of the species of foraminifers 

 which he was culturing would feed only on the living diatom Nitzchia, 

 whereas another species would accept living and dead flagellates as 

 well. In L.I.S., species of Nitzchia are more often found in near- 

 shore areas (Conover, 1956, p. 94). Lee and others (1961) found 

 that an algal flora of eight species of pennate diatoms and three of 

 blue-green algae best supported the species they were culturing. 

 Myers (1943, p. 442) suggested that below the photic zone the 

 growth of bacteria on fecal pellets might constitute an important 

 source of food for the Foraminifera. Apparently the food require- 

 ments of the Foraminifera are complex and vary from species to 

 species. Although a given species may accept many kinds of food, 

 it is likely that certain types or associations are more beneficial to it 

 than others. Perhaps in this way niche diversification among ben- 

 thonic foraminifers is achieved. Because temperature, salinity, nitrate, 

 phosphate, oxygen, pH, Eh, particle size of the sediment, and con- 

 centration of phytoplankton do not apparently control the observed 

 depth zonation, I suggest that the foramini feral species in L.I.S. 

 are selective feeders, and that their depth zonation is, therefore, related 

 to the distribution of the material upon which they feed. The environ- 

 mental parameters which might control the distribution of such 

 material are not readily apparent from this study. 



PALEOECOLOGIC IMPLICATIONS 



Most of the sediments in L.I.S. are clayey silts and silty sands. 

 They are black in color, are high in organic content, and show no 

 stratification. Ellis (1962) has indicated that these muds would 



