The Microplankton of Plymouth Sound from the Region beyond the Breakwater

Abstract

Throughout a complete year from September, 1915, to September, 1916, sea-water samples were taken regularly two or three times a week from beyond the Breakwater in the region of the Knap buoy, 2½ miles from Plymouth shore, from the surface and at 5 and 7 fathoms, The object was to supplement the existing records from the tow nets as it is well known that a very large amount of material is lost even from the finest nets, as Lohmann has shown exhaustively (1908). So far the only plankton records from this region have been from the tow nets, and a glance at the tables given at the end of this paper will show directly, if compared with those by Gough (1903–7) and Bygrave (1911), also Cleve (1899 and 1900), the great difference in numbers of the smaller forms, or their entire absence from the tow nettings. Again, no actual numerical records have been given from this region. At the same time as the water samples were taken, tow nettings, coarse, medium and very fine, were also secured, and these were regularly examined for comparison.