MARINE BIOLOGICAL STATION AT PORT ERIN. 55 



" Specimens of Marine Algae were also collected at 

 Peel, during the Summer vacation, by Miss M. Knight, 

 B.Sc, and on Hilbre Island during the month of August 

 by Miss H. Coburn, B.Sc. The latter collection included 

 plants of Catenella opuntia bearing cystocarpia, a 

 fruiting condition in this species which has very rarely 

 been recorded." 



During Easter, 1912, Professor Moore and his 

 colleagues continued their researches on the glycogen 

 and fats found in surprising quantities in the gonads of 

 Echinus, the Sea-urchin, and the bio-chemical part of 

 the work has since been continued in the University 

 Laboratories at Liverpool by Dr. Adams and others. 

 A paper on the results is now in course of publication, 

 in which it is shown that throughout the period of physio- 

 logical inactivity of the glands, storage products such 

 as glycogen, lecithides and fats accumulate in as great 

 quantities in the gonads as they are usually found in a 

 metabolic organ such as the liver or hepato-pancreas of 

 other species of animals. Even after a prolonged period 

 of abstention from food in captivity, these stores are not 

 appreciably drawn upon by the metabolism, which is 

 reduced under such conditions to a very low limit. 

 Under normal conditions of nutrition the amount of 

 food consumed by the Echinus is many fold that required 

 for the ordinary metabolic uses of the animal, and is 

 stored up in the gonads for reproductive purposes. The 

 amount of lecithides, fats and glycogen is approximately 

 equal in the two sexes. The fats or oils are of a very 

 unsaturated type, similar to fish-liver oils, such as cod 

 liver oil. A large proportion of the dry weight of 

 organic matter of the gonad is made up of these reserve 

 foods or metabolic products. 



Dr. W. J. Dakin, in addition to planktonic work 



