38
collecting effort on this family,
which,
in the shallow waters of the lagoon,
samoensis.
vore,
the most common species of
is Mulloidjchthys
To complement the emphasis on this benthic carni-
a special effort was also made to collect a sample of an
algal browser, the convict surgeon fish, Acanthurus triostegus,
probably the most purely herbivorous of the common reef fish.
4.2
Sample Preparation
4.21
1958 samples.
All but specimens too small for
dissection in the field were dissected promptly after capture.
Liver,
gill,
gonad, muscle and bone tissues were weighed wet
and stored in glass vials.
Stomachsa,
to be used for analyses
of contents, were preserved in alcohol.
of the same species,
Tissues from specimens
collected at the same time and place,
and
of approximately the same size, were pooled where necessary,
to bring the wet sample weight into the range 0.5 to 5 grams.
The tissues were then air dried at 35° C., weighed and shipped
to the laboratory in Seattle.
Viscera and the larger bone
samples were then dry ashed at 550° c.,
dissolved and plated
onto 11/2 inch diameter stainless steel plates.
Other bone
samples and the muscle and gill samples were ground with a
hard glass mortar and pestle and plated with a 1 per cent
aqueous solution of carboxy~-methyl cellulose for
cement.