The Popular Science Monthly, August, 1900: Vol. 57, May, 1900 to October, 1900Various
Science
The Popular Science Monthly, August, 1900: Vol. 57, May, 1900 to October, 1900
Various
Science -- Periodicals; Technology -- Periodicals
The fulmars and ivory gulls were very bold and noisy, the latter being
specially objectionable. Ivory gulls were seen at the winter hut in
Franz Josef Land until October, when all water had long been frozen
over, and appeared again as early as March 12, 1896.
The first roseate gulls were young birds observed August 3, 1894, in
81° 05′ N., 120° E., about 500 kilometres from the nearest land. A
long and interesting description is given of these gulls in various
stages. One of the beautiful plates, which is imperfectly reproduced,
shows the plumage of a very young gull about a month old. Their food
consists exclusively of small fish and crustaceans, of the latter the
_Hymenodora glacialis_ predominating. Large numbers of these beautiful
gulls were seen in 1895 to the northeast of Franz Josef Land, which
points to their breeding in that locality. One was seen by Nansen on
July 11, 1895, in 82° 08′ N., flying from the northeast.
The very full memoir on _Crustacea_ is by Dr. G. O. Sars, well known as
one of the editorial committee of the scientific work of the Norwegian
North Atlantic Expedition. As the greater number of marine vertebrate
animals collected by the Norwegian North Polar Expedition belong to
the _Crustacea_, this memoir covers the greater part of the marine
collection.
The _Copepoda_ are predominant, especially those belonging to the
_Calanoid_ group, having been taken at nearly every haul along the
whole route of the _Fram_. The zoölogical equipment of the _Fram_ was
based unfortunately on the supposition that the Siberian basin was
shallow, so that the enormous oceanic depths which were found were only
inadequately explored by an extemporized sounding apparatus.
While the results of the dredging operations indicate that there was
very little animal life at the bottom of the ocean, on the other hand,
it appears that the entire surface of the sea, which consisted usually
of small temporary openings in the ice-pack, was covered with abundant
life throughout the entire year even to the most northern latitudes.
Including surface and deep-sea specimens, there were taken on October
12, 1895, no less than eleven species in latitude 85° 13′ N., longitude
79° E. On June 28, 1895, in 84° 32′ N., 76° E., there were taken from
the surface by tow net in a large water-channel fourteen species. This
indicates abundant marine life in the sea immediately near the North
Pole.
The pelagic animals, therefore, were not found at the sea surface
alone, but were also drawn from considerable depths. Many specimens
were obtained from strata at least 250 metres below the surface, and in
a number of instances from depths ranging between 500 and 1,000 metres.
It is to be added that the imperfect development of the visual organs
of the peculiar amphipod, _Cyclocaris Guilelmi_, Chevreux, points to
abyssal habits, as similar conditions do in the cases of other pelagic
animals.
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