mixed in with the sediments. 



Analysis of 10 sediment samples collected at the LMB site 

 with the Ponar grab sampler in 1986 (Table 1) failed to show any 

 consistent difference in the percent composition by weight of 

 shells, gravel, sand, and silt inside and outside the egg bed. 

 Inside the egg bed (see Figs. 6 & 7) , shells predominated at the 

 two shallowest near-shore stations (98 & 74), gravel at two other 

 stations (68 & 63) , and sand at two stations (56 & 77) . Silt and 

 clay only reached appreciable amounts at the latter two 

 locations. Outside the egg bed, gravel predominated in the 

 entrance to the bay, sand at one of the deeper offshore stations, 

 and shells at an offshore location and beyond the western 

 extremity of the bed. Shells did not make up nearly as large a 

 portion of the substrate at either of these two locations, 

 however, as they did at stations 74 and 98, inside the egg bed. 



Table 1: Percent composition by weight of shell, gravel, sand, 

 and silt/clay in sediment samples collected with a Ponar grab 

 sampler inside and outside the Little Machias Bay egg bed, 

 September 1986. 



Analysis of 9 sediment samples collected with the Smith- 

 Maclntyre sampler in July 1987 (Table 2) revealed clearer dif- 

 ferences inside and outside of the same spawning site. Egg 

 substrate in the inshore portion of the egg bed (stations 22 & 

 23) was composed primarily of shells or gravel; at the western 

 end of the bed (stations 19-21) , sand was the predominant 

 sediment fraction. In none of the four samples collected outside 

 the egg bed was there any noticeable quantity of gravel; the 

 substrate was primarily shells at the two offshore stations (17 & 

 18) and sand at the two inshore stations (24 & 25) . 



268 



