NO. I FORAMINIFERA IN LONG ISLAND SOUND BUZAS 63 



One living specimen was found at station 54. One dead specimen 

 was found at station 42 and another at station 45. 



GENERAL SUMMARY 



This study is based on 220 samples obtained during 14 cruises on 

 Long Island Sound. Living and total populations were counted in 

 161 samples, while particle-size analyses were made on 59. 



Statistical analyses of 12 paired samples indicate that the species 

 investigated are more homogeneous in the living than in the total 

 population, and the number of living individuals per sample can be 

 more reliably estimated than the total number of individuals. The 

 offshore area is more homogeneous and gives a better estimate of the 

 number of individuals per sample than the near-shore area. 



Of the 23 species found in the Sound, 19 were represented by living 

 individuals. The number of species increases as the more oceanic 

 waters of Block Island Sound are approached. Elphidium clavatum, 

 Buccella frigida, and Eggerella advena comprise about 75 percent of 

 the living as well as of the total population. Three zones are defined 

 by the change in relative abundance of these species with depth. 

 In the living population, the mean depth of stations in the E. clavatum, 

 B. frigida, and E. advena zones is 12 m., 25 m., and 29 m. respectively. 

 The distribution of the total population closely approximates that of 

 the living population. 



In the E. advena zone, a significantly greater number of living 

 individuals occurs in the western area than in the central area. This 

 difference probably is related to the greater concentration of nutrients 

 and phytoplankton in the western part of the Sound. 



In seasonal sampling of the central area, a significant maximum for 

 the living population in the E. advena zone occurred in June 1962. 

 E. advena was most abundant in October 1961 but did not show 

 any maximum in early autumn 1962. Maximum seasonal abun- 

 dances correlate in a general way with the seasonal cycle of the 

 phytoplankton and with times of maximum temperature. Juveniles 

 of E. clavatum were found throughout the year, and probably only 

 the rate of reproduction varies. 



Most of the sediments are silty sands and clayey silts. The dis- 

 tribution of species, as well as numbers of living individuals, bear no 

 relation to the particle size of the sediment. Living to total popula- 

 tion ratios of the abundant species indicate that this ratio is not a 

 reliable indicator of relative rates of sedimentation in the Sound. 



