A-53. 



but when viewed over a wide geographic area such relation- 

 ships are obscured. In effect, this means that the factors 

 controlling the distribution of the species are slightly 

 different such that each species cues in to slightly differ- 

 ent specific environmental parameters. At this time the 

 limited information, such as can be discerned from a study 

 of photographs, does not allow elucidation of these differ- 

 ences. Hopefully the controlled sampling of the field 

 program will enable determination of some of the factors 

 responsible for the variations seen in the data set. 



ANTICIPATED ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT 

 OF OCS RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT 



Assessments of the possible environmental impact of 

 OCS resource development, at this point, would be exceed- 

 ingly premature. The inadequate historical data base does 

 not permit a detailed evaluation of the environmental para- 

 meters that may be responsible for many of the variations 

 seen in the distribution of the epifauna. The lack of 

 correlative fine scale environmental data hampers inter- 

 polation of results from one area to another. Hopefully, 

 by correlating fine scale salinity, temperature and 

 substrate characteristics with the abundance and distribution 

 of epifauna, in the field program, some of the important 

 environmental parameters can be elucidated. 



