512 
PACIFIC SCIENCE, Vol. XXII, October 1968 
is considered to be a result of dispersion from a 
western Pacific origin around the Pacific and 
through the Arctic into the Atlantic and its 
adjacent seas. That this was the path of migra- 
tion is supported by the present distribution of 
the species, the location of its fossil ancestors, 
and similar dispersal patterns for marine in- 
vertebrates. 
The migration and present distribution of 
Z. marina have resulted from the eurythermality 
of the plant. This feature probably also per- 
mitted survival during oscillating Pleistocene 
climates. 
The Zostera communities on the Alaska coast 
are important contributors to all levels of pro- 
duction in the food web and provide refuges 
to innumerable species of organisms. Research 
is in progress on the ecology of these interesting 
communities. 
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 
The contributions of Robert D. Jones, Jr. 
and James G. King, of the Bureau of Sport 
Fisheries and Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service, and John J. Burns, of the Alaska De- 
partment of Fish and Game, are most grate- 
fully acknowledged. Dr. Max Brewer, of the 
Naval Arctic Research Laboratory, provided 
helpful assistance in field surveys of the Arctic 
coast. Dr. Laurence Irving kindly reviewed this 
essay and offered perceptive criticism. 
The work was supported by the Arctic Insti- 
tute of North America under contractual ar- 
rangements with the Office of Naval Research 
and by the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wild- 
life, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 
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