again contracts toward the minimum. He gave 

 evidence of secular variations in the removal 

 of surface water from the Bay of Fundy during 

 1957 and 1958. 



In a study of the food habits of larval 

 gadoids, Marak (1960) examined the stomachs 

 of specimens of larval cod ( Gadus callarias ), 

 haddock, and pollock ( Pollachius virens ) taken 

 in 1-m. net tows during the 1953-57 larval 

 haddock surveys. A comparison of the species 

 composition of zooplankton in the stomachs 

 with that in the environment as indicated by 

 the meter-net catch showed that of the many 

 kinds of food available, adults and juveniles 

 of four species of copepods and larval cope- 

 pods contributed the major portion of the 

 diet. Fish larvae ranging in size from 4 to 

 18 mm. fed mainly on larval copepods, while 

 the bulk of the food of fish larger than 18 

 mm. was adult copepods. The composition of 

 the food was essentially similar for all years. 



Colton, Honey, and Temple (1961) analyzed 

 in detail meter-net and Continuous Plankton 

 Recorder material collected during the larval 

 herring surveys in the fall and winter of 1956-57 

 to determine the efficacy of the sampling tech- 

 niques in estimating the abundance and dis- 

 tribution of larval herring. Their analysis 

 shows that a greater average abundance and a 

 more detailed picture of the distribution of 

 larval herring was indicated by the Continuous 

 Plankton Recorder data than by the meter-net 

 collections and that the greater average length 

 of the recorder-caught larvae resulted from 

 escapement of the larger larvae from the 

 meter nets during daylight hour s. They demon- 

 strated that in the Gulf of Maine larval 

 herring moved up to the surface layers during 

 the night, but that the depth of maximum 

 abundance was below 10 m. during both day 

 and night so that a true picture of the dis- 

 tribution of larval herring is not obtained 

 when sampling is confined to the upper 10 m. 

 of water. 



Colton and Temple (1961) examined the 

 spawning of commercial fish species in the 

 Gulf of Maine on the basis of observations 

 made during the larval haddock and herring 

 surveys of 1953-58. They discussed the effects 

 of offshore drift, time and location of spawning, 

 vertical distribution of eggs and larvae, and 

 length of pelagic life on the dispersal and 

 survival of eggs, larvae, and juveniles. The 

 drift of bottles and of transponding buoys 

 showed that ■with the exception of midsummer 

 when the Georges eddy is most pronounced, 

 surface drift is offshore in the direction of 

 the slope water band. From observations on the 

 time and location of spawning of haddock and 

 herring, they concluded that under average 

 conditions most fish eggs and larvae were 

 carried away from Georges Bank and that 

 only under unusual hydrographic conditions 

 were eggs and larvae retained in the 

 area. 



Colton (1961) and Colton, Temple, and Honey 

 (1962) reported the occurrence of tropicalfish 

 larvae and oceanic copepods in the Gulf of 

 Maine during September, October, and Novem- 

 ber, 1956 and January 1957. They collected 

 considerable numbers of eyed flounder ( Bo thus 

 ocellatus ) and myctophid postlarvae and ob- 

 served a marked correlation between the 

 distribution of these tropical fish larvae and 

 temperature. They found 22 species of oceanic 

 copepods and fragments of Gulf weed ( Sargas- 

 sum natans ) over a wide area. These collec- 

 tions yielded evidence of an intrusion of 

 oceanic water into the Gulf of Maine. The 

 general distribution patterns of the various 

 species of larval fish and copepods indicated 

 that this intrusion resulted for the most part 

 from an overflow of oceanic water across 

 the southern edge of Georges Bank. 



A summary of other papers concerned with 

 the oceanography of the Gulf of Maine emanat- 

 ing from observations made during the 1950's 

 follows. Wigley (1956) studied the food habits 

 of Georges Bank haddock, based onan analysis 

 of the stomach contents of fish caught by 

 commercial trawlers and the Albatross III 

 from April 1953 to February 1954. The diet 

 consisted principally of sedentary or slow 

 moving invertebrate animals, and the primary 

 food groups in decreasing order of importance 

 were crustaceans, mollusks, echinoderms, 

 annelids, and fish. He observed marked re- 

 gional differences in the stomach contents, 

 but did not find seasonal trends in diet com- 

 position. 



Taylor, Bigelow, and Graham (1957) de- 

 scribed the trends in air and sea surface 

 temperatures and in the distribution of certain 

 species of marine fish and invertebrates off 

 New England based on an analysis of data 

 from shore stations as well as from the 

 offshore waters of the Gulf of Maine. They 

 demonstrated a long-term upward trend since 

 about 1900 in winter air and sea surface 

 temperatures. A comparison of temperature 

 observations made in the offshore waters of 

 the Gulf of Maine during the spring and fall 

 in the period 1912-26 (Bigelow, 1927) and 

 during the spring and fall of 1953 on Albatross 

 III cruises indicated an increase of from 1° to 

 5~^ F. throughout the water column for most 

 parts of the Gulf. Northward shifts in the 

 abundance and distribution of commercial 

 species of fish and the northward extension 

 of the recorded ranges of southern species 

 of fish and invertebrates were noted. It was 

 concluded, however, that a general alteration 

 of the faunal characteristics of the Gulf of 

 Maine did not accompany the upswing in 

 temperature. 



Bumpus (1957a) tabulated monthly and an- 

 nual mean surface water temperatures for 

 shore stations and lightships between Nantucket 

 and Eastport for the period of record through 

 1955. Bumpus (1957b) and Day (1959a, 1959b, 



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