The regression lines shown in Figure 60 do not differ significantly 

 in slope or elevation (P>.20 in a two-tailed F test), but do differ 

 significantly (P>0.01) in residual variances. Correlation coefficients 

 for the two groups of data are 0.863 (significant at P>0.01 level) for 

 Stations 2 and 7. 



Since it was already established that the regular hydrographic sam- 

 pling did not detect transient peaks, the copper concentrations 

 shown in Figure 19 were primarily representative of steady-state 

 conditions. Their significant correlation with the growth of the 

 barnacle, Balanus cmphitrite , substantiated the hypothesis that these 

 barnacles were able to detect and isolate themselves from high copper 

 concentrations associated with the periodic effusions. It also demon- 

 strated the toxicity effects of copper on this species. Bernard et at 

 (1961) demonstrated that larvae of B. amphitrite can not attach in 

 copper concentrations in excess of 0.024 ppm using laboratory cultures. 

 Since copper levels were never recorded that low at the point of ef- 

 fluent discharge, it must be assumed that larvae were more successful 

 in settling in the natural environment than in laboratory cultures. 

 Probably, settlement and metamorphosis occurred during periods when 

 the plant was not operating. 



A comparison of copper concentrations in a variety of fish was made 

 to determine if levels were elevated in Safe Harbor fish compared to 

 control station fish and if predatory fish contained more copper than 

 herbivorous fish. Unfortunately, there was no method to determine the 

 length of time a particular specimen had been feeding in the harbor. 

 Spade fish (Chaetodipterus faber) tended to be a transient species 

 along the desalination plant sea wall which fed on polychaetes, barna- 

 cles, and algae. Specimens speared adjacent to the effluent contained 

 8 ppm dry weight copper in the flesh and 34 ppm dry weight copper in 

 the liver. Sheepshead (Archosargus probatooephalus) were almost always 

 seen during dives and probably resided in the canal. Sheepshead fed on 

 the same organisms as spade fish and specimens speared near the desali- 

 nation plant had 7.2 ppm dry weight copper in the muscle tissue and 

 369 ppm dry weight copper in the liver tissue. Specimens of the same 

 species from the control station had 6.9 ppm dry weight copper in the 

 muscle and 30 ppm dry weight copper in the liver. 



Other fish examined showed similar low copper levels in the flesh but 

 high copper levels in the stomach and liver tissues. Since copper is 

 an essential element for numerous physiological processes in organisms 

 it was not surprising to find the low levels in muscle tissues. High 

 levels of copper can be accepted by animals when in the organic form, 

 and excess organically chelated copper can be eliminated by normal 

 metabolic processes. 



Spector (1956) lists some of the physiological functions of copper as: 

 erythropoiesis , myelinization of the central nervous system, mainte- 

 nance of several enzyme systems (polyphenol oxidase, tyrosinase, 



141 



