general reviews (Leatherwood and Evans-Radiotelemetry;. Thompson, Winn and Perkins- ... porpoise; Leatherwood and Walter-northern right whale dol-.
REVIEWS
BULLETIN
OF MARINE SCIENCE, 30(2): 530-531, 1980
BEHAVIOR OF MARINE ANIMALS-CURRENT UME 3: CETACEANS. Howard E. Winn. and York, 1979.) xix + 438 pp. $37.50.
PERSPECTIVES
IN RESEARCH VOL-
Bori L. 0110, eds. Plenum Press, New
The format and content of this volume on cetaceans follows its two predecessors (Vol. 1: Invertebrates and Vol. 2: Vertebrates) in that its subject matter is concerned with behavior as the term is broadly defined. The chapters range from general reviews (Leatherwood and Evans-Radiotelemetry; Thompson, Winn and Perkins-Mysticete sounds) to natural history reviews for selected species (Morejohn-Dall's porpoise; Leatherwood and Walter-northern right whale dolphin; Benjaminsen and Christensen-bottlenose whale) to long-term behavior studies (Saayman and Tayler-humpback dolphins; Best-sperm whales) to the specifics of sound production and behavioral correlates (Morgan-Beluga; Taruski-pilot whale; the Caldwells-bottlenose dolphins). Two additional chapters are concerned with the use of fluke photographs to identify individual humpback whales (Katona et al.) and with studies that can be done utilizing baleen whales trapped in ice or nets (Beamish). I found the reviews of radiotelemetry and mysticete sounds to be quite readable and excellent sources of material for teaching purposes. One must bear in mind, however, that highly technical areas such as radiotelemetry are subject to rapid advances that long publication lags may result in material that is unavoidably behind the current state of the art. The three chapters on natural history are certainly valuable to any student of cetaceans, but I question the inclusion of page after page of original data in tabular form in this rather expensive book. Alternatively, these papers could have been submitted to a journal, but it is highly unlikely that the tables would have been left intact. Much of the study of cetaceans involves the extensive collection of sighting records, measurements, etc., and the investigators are often hard put to find a place in the real literature to make these data widely available to their colleagues. The three papers on cetacean sound production and related behavior are more detailed and technical than the others and would be of primary interest to people conducting similar studies. I found the papers on humpback dolphin and sperm whale behavior to be the most interesting sections of the book. Both resulted from studies carried out over several years providing a relatively large data base from which to draw conclusions. The two studies provide a comparison of two different ways of conducting a basically similar study. Saayman and Tayler observed humpback dolphins from cliffs in South Africa. Their study was strictly observational and thus they could not be absolutely certain of either an animal's sex or its absolute age. Best, on the other hand, did his study in conjunction with the South African sperm whale fishery. His conclusions on sperm whale social structure are based on data taken from the capture of often entire herds of sperm whales. The ideal study would be a combination of both approaches: the actual capture, marking and release of individuals of herds followed by an observational study. This approach has in fact been taken by the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service in studies of spotted, spinner, and bottlenose dolphins. 530
REVIEWS
531
This volume will be a useful reference for students of marine mammals. It's unfortunate that good books are usually expensive books.-Daniel K. Odell, Division of Biology, and Living Resources, Rosentiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, FL 33149. BULLETIN
OF MARINE SCIENCE, 30(2): 531-532, 1980
THE MARINE ALGAE OF VIRGINIA by Harold J. Humm. Special Papers in Marine Science, No.3, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, Gloucester Point. University Press of Virginia, Charlottesville. 1979. viii 263 pp., 103 textfigs. $13.95 (cloth).
This treatise represents the culmination of more than three decades of the author's interest in the marine algae of Virginia. Professor Humm, of the University of South Florida, presents the first extensive compilation of seaweeds from within the poorly studied area from New York to North Carolina. The algal flora of the mid-Atlantic United States has never seriously been considered, only receiving a cursory treatment in Taylor's Marine Algae of the Northeastern Coast of North America (Univ. Mich. Press, 509 pp., 1957). It is my hope that The Marine Algae of Virginia will provide impetus for additional volumes from this large portion of the American coast. The inshore and offshore habitats of Virginia support a relatively small number of taxa in the algal flora. Due to the predominance of sand bottomed environments, inhospitable to most seaweeds, in both shallow and deep subtidal and open ocean intertidal zones, most of the algae are restricted to growth on shells, artificial substrates (e.g. pilings, seawalls, and shipwrecks), and most importantly, on the hard muds and aquatic flowering plants of the extensive salt marshes of the Chesapeake and coastal bays. In this treatment, 167 species of Cyanophyta, Rhodophyta, Xanthophyta, Phaeophyta, and Chlorophyta are listed and described. A brief but informative introduction outlines the history of floristic research on marine algae from Virginia and then describes the characteristics of the varied environments and biogeographic affinities of the flora. A map of coastal Virginia would have been a great help for this section, as well as for pinpointing the locations of many localized species within the region. The volume contains an adequate glossary and excellent complete reference list which will be well utilized by future investigators in the mid-Atlantic region. A major inadequacy of this work lies with the inconsistent and outdated nomenclature and systematics applied by the author. In a few instances, Humm employs recent name changes (e.g. Dasya baillouviana [Gmel.] Mont. and Hummia onusta [Klitz.] Fiore), while for the most part he follows the often antiquated nomenclature of Taylor (op. cit., 1957), such as Bangia fuscopurpurea (=B. atropurpurea [Roth] C. Ag.), Griffithsia tenuis (=Anotrichium tenue [C. Ag.] Nag.), Spermothamnion turneri (=S. repens [Dillw.] Rosenv.), Bostrichia [sic] rivularis (=B. radicans [Mont.] Mont.), Ectocarpus tomentosus (=Spongonema tomentosum [Huds.] Klitz.), Protoderma marinum (=Pseudendoclonium submarinum Wille) and others too numerous to mention. Although one recent generic study for North Carolina (Viva) is applied to Virginia, a second mentioned study (Porphyra) is not, unfortunately, leaving the taxonomy of that genus in Virginia in confusion. Several genera (e.g. Acrochaetium [=Audouinella], Ceramium, Enteromorpha, Monostroma, Cladophora, and Rhizoclonium) do not reflect changes proposed and widely accepted since Taytor (op. cit., 1957). Many synonymies would therefore shorten the list of taxa reported for Virginia. The genus
