119 



sampling were to demonstrate even higher levels of 

 contamination in some cases than those presently observed. 



BIOTA 



Benthos 



The status of the benthic biota is important as an 

 indicator of the extent to which the sea floor has been 

 affected by activities in an area. Its" status is also 

 important because in coastal waters benthic organisms 

 should provide an important source of food for fishes. 

 Figure G shows the pattern of benthic diversity in the New 

 York Bight. There are two areas of clearly depressed 

 diversity. One is just east of the dredged material dumping 

 site, and the other just west of the sewage sludge dumpsite. 

 Swanson, then Director of NOAA's Office of Marine Pollution 

 Assessment, stated in 1979 that the benthic fauna of the 

 Christiaensen Basin is considerably different from that which 



might be expected in an unimpacted environment . He reported 



2 

 an extremely depauperate zone of 10-15 Km . A surrounding 



2 

 area of about 240 Km is impacted, probably as a result 



of organic enrichment contributed by sewage sludge dumping, 



although other factors associated within the Bight such as 



hypoxia or toxicants may also lead to this impacted zone. 



The change in patterns of species distribution is to 



the disadvantage of fishes in the area. Boesch (14) (Table E) 



describes the benthic species whose distribution or abundance 



has been affected by waste discharges into the New York Bight 



