-109nt samples away from the rocks. er to the appropriate containers. AECD-3446 These in turn were placed in sea water for Once the samples were returned to the ship f The collecting of algae was separated into two phases. The first phase ered the collection of ten specific algae from each of the collection stations, jole, most of the algae were not presentat all the stations, or could not be _ d in the time allotted; in fact, the majority of the algae were to be found in but w.of the stations chosen. This statement holds true for all of the algae with the ption of the genus Halimeda, which was found in abundanceat all the spots in collections were made. At three of four stations no more than thee different s of algae were obtained for further study because of the paucitv of the flora e points. The ten algal groups selected were chosen because they were most abundant e collections of former years.and because they are probably used for food by fish of the area, The genera in certain cases included more than one partispecies; this was allowed because of the confusion and similarity between the ecies of the same genus andthedifficulty involved in separating one from the ifler. The genera collected included species from different phylogenetic groups the algae, but for the most part the algae were fleshy and undoubtedly eaten e fauna of the region, The genera chosen, their occurrenceat the collecting stations, and their u bitat are given in Table 1. The habitats of the various algae differed from one ther in addition to the fact that their distribution was dissimilar. ‘Same algae were found in the samehabitat. In most cases As an example Halimeda was ually found attached to the bottom and to coral heads under water, whereas ocarpus was usually found attached to the reef at the water line. As a whole the numberof algae at Eniwetok Atoll is meager as compared to a at Bikini. ~y Ondition. This is undoubtedly a result of destructive forces and not a natural As an example to illustrate this point, the collection made off Engebi I€