THE MARINE ALGAE OF THE MARITIME PROVINCES OF CANADA: II. A Study of their Ecology

Abstract

The coastal area of the maritime provinces of Canada is divided into three regions, the Bay of Fundy, the Prince Edward Island, and the Atlantic. Each of these is distinctly different in regard to both marine flora and marine flora environment. The main features of the marine flora of each region are as follows: Bay of Fundy, generally dense and luxuriant; Prince Edward Island, a barren littoral zone and a rich sublittoral flora; Atlantic, intermediate in density and luxuriance with the predominance of large linear forms in the surf. With the exception of Fucus vesiculosus and Ascophyllum nodosum which are dominant in the littoral zones of both the Bay of Fundy and Atlantic regions, there are species dominant for each region and peculiar to it. The physical factors varying throughout the area, and associated with the floral differences are: water temperature, tides, wave action, clarity of the water as regards mud, structure and composition of the rocks along the shore, materials forming the ocean floor near the shore, slope of the intertidal zone, slope of the ocean floor near the shore, salinity, and ice action. Each of these physical factors is associated with certain characteristic features in the marine flora.