536 
Strait. In turn this reflects the circulation within 
the area. It would be premature to say that 
salinity is directly responsible for the observed 
distributions of all the organisms encountered. 
But one may say that the distribution reflects the 
dependence on high salinity water which is 
characteristic of the open ocean and exposure. 
In some instances it may be salinity that is a 
direct causal factor. On the other hand, the open 
coast has organisms associated with surf condi- 
tions. It has been suggested that the high 
oxygen requirement of certain organisms is met 
only in such an exposed environment. However, 
the distributions and concentrations of oxygen 
in the sea in this area do not directly support 
this argument. The oxygen content of the waters 
within the sheltered Strait is as high or higher 
than in the surf in the exposed regions. This is 
particularly true in the central part of the Strait 
when there is a heavy bloom of phytoplankton, 
at which time the water may be supersaturated 
with oxygen to as much as 175 per cent. Like- 
wise, although it is known that many marine 
algae have a high inorganic phosphate require- 
ment, there is no evidence that this nutrient is 
ever limiting in this area within the zone occu- 
pied by the benthonic algae. There is a great 
need for further knowledge of the presence, dis- 
tribution, amounts, and availability of many 
more dissolved inorganic as well as organic sub- 
stances and perhaps even of growth substances. 
There is also need for a study of the quantitative 
aspects of removal, the rate of removal of such 
substances, and precise requirements for growth 
and reproduction in the micro-environment of 
the marine benthonic algae. The restriction of 
certain organisms to surf conditions suggests 
that constant movement of water is required 
to provide nutrients and gases which may be 
rapidly exhausted from the immediate or micro- 
environment of the individual fixed alga, or in 
the case of the sessile marine invertebrates, such 
as Mitella polymerus, to provide particulate food. 
It may be that lowering the concentration or 
removal by dilution or by water movement of 
some toxic substances which may accumulate 
above a certain concentration in the micro- 
environment is just as significant as the avail- 
ability of others. 
PACIFIC SCIENCE, Vol. XV, October 1961 
SUMMARY 
A detailed study of the horizontal and ver- 
tical distributions of marine benthonic organ- 
isms in Queen Charlotte Strait has been limited 
so far to the more conspicuous algae and in- 
vertebrates encountered. The relationship of 
these distributions to the salinity distribution 
indicates that more intensive study of the flora 
and fauna in this area, as well as elsewhere on 
the coast, will provide further supporting evi- 
dence indicating not only the effect of ocean- 
ographic variables on the distribution and pro- 
duction of marine benthonic organisms but also 
the possibility of using such organisms as in- 
dicators of oceanographic conditions both in 
time and space. The relationship of the vertical 
distribution of some of the organisms to certain 
tide levels indicates the response of the different 
organisms to varying degrees of exposure and 
submergence. 
This oceanographic approach, both qualita- 
tively and quantitatively, has given a broad 
understanding of some of the possible factors 
which are likely to be responsible for the ob- 
served distributions. However, before there can 
be a clear understanding and explanation of the 
fundamental relationships between the organ- 
isms and their environment in this region, as 
well as an understanding of the interrelation- 
ships and interaction among the organisms 
themselves, additional field observations, field 
experiments, and laboratory experiments must 
be undertaken. 
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 
Financial assistance provided by the Defence 
Research Board of Canada in support of this 
research (DRB 9520-14) over a period of sev- 
eral years is gratefully acknowledged. The author 
would also like to thank the Defence Research 
Board for its assistance in providing ship trans- 
portation through the Pacific Naval Laboratory, 
Esquimalt, and the Royal Canadian Navy for 
the purpose of collecting data on several cruises. 
In addition, assistance provided by the Na- 
tional Research Council, the Joint Committee on 
Oceanography, the Fisheries Research Board of 
Canada, and the University of British Columbia 
is gratefully acknowledged. 
