(5) Be applicable throughout most of a broad biogeographic zone along any of the 

 three U. S. coastlines; 



(6) Be relatively insensitive to natural environmental variables or include some means 

 of accounting for the contributory influence of those variables; 



(7) Be feasible during all seasons, from a variety of vessels and operating conditions 

 and in a variety of environments; and 



(8) Be inexpensive and feasible by more than one laboratory. 



The solicitation for proposals was issued by NOAA in 1986 and resulted in the submittal 

 of 47 proposals. Eight of those were selected as best meeting the criteria. In addition, 

 three other types of analyses were funded to support and augment the biological tests. In 

 total, the following numerous tests and analyses were performed by the following 

 contractors: 



(1) Collection and chemical analyses of surficial sediments (Battelle New England 

 Ocean Sciences Division and Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC)); 



(2) Solid phase sediment toxicity test with the amphipod Rhepoxynius abronius 

 (E.V.S. Consultants); 



(3) Solid phase sediment toxicity test with the amphipod Ampelisca abdita 

 (Springborn-Life Sciences and SAIC); 



(4) Sediment elutriate toxicity test with the larvae of the mussel Mytilus edulis 

 (E.V.S. Consultants); 



(5) Sediment elutriate toxicity test with the larvae of the sea urchins 



Strongylocentrotus purpuratus, S. droebachiensis, and Lytechinus pictus (Southern California 

 Coastal Water Research Project (SCCWRP)); 



(6) Sediment pore water toxicity test with the polychaete Dinophilus gyrociliatus 

 (Battelle New England Ocean Sciences Division); 



(7) Taxonomic analyses of benthic community structure (SAIC and Marine Ecological 

 Consultants (MEC)); 



(8) Analyses of sedimentological and biological characteristics with sediment 

 profiling photography (SAIC); 



(9) Fish collection, tissue chemical analyses, aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase (AHH) 

 analyses, (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)) and plasma steroid hormone 

 analyses (University of Texas); 



(10) Fish blood micronucleated erythrocyte analyses (SCCWRP); and 



(11) Fish liver cytochrome P-450 and ethoyresorufinn-O-deethylase (EROD) enzyme 

 analyses (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOD). 



Among the three media (sediments, fish, and bivalves) that NOAA routinely analyzes 

 in the NS&T Program, candidate measures of effects were evaluated for two: sediments and 



