5-16 



able. Cory and Nauman (1963) found reduced numbers and high mortality 

 in a Patuxent River Estuary thermal effluent discharge canal in August, 

 although the same canal showed high summer species richness the fol- 

 lowing August. 



Settlement on short-term panels usually began in March, with 

 most taxa present in July, August and September as a function of spring 

 and summer recruitment; settlement declined thereafter (Figure 5-3, 

 Table 5-2) . Settlement followed the same general sequence of epifaunal 

 dominants as in a North Carolina estuary discussed by Dean & Bellis 

 (1975) , with barnacles and hydroids settling in the spring, bryozoans in 

 the summer, and a smaller set of barnacles in the fall. An increase in 

 short-term panel species richness values from 1971 through 1977 was 

 probably a result of taxonomic refinements, but could also be indicative 

 of some water quality improvements as was the case with species diver- 

 sity at Niantic Bay (Battelle, 1978) . For most years, settlement on 

 short-term panels was greater at New Haven Harbor Station and Fort Hale 

 than Long Wharf, probably reflecting deteriorated water quality at Long 

 Wharf (Table 5-2) . 



During most years of the study, certain trends in spatial 

 distribution were evident. Species richness values were lower at Long 

 Wharf on short-term panels for all years and on long-term panels for all 

 years except 1976 and 1977 (Table 5-2, Figure 5-5). The apparent reversal 

 of this trend in 1977 is probably accounted for by the loss of the panel 

 array at Fort Hale that year and resultant immaturity of the communities 

 on Fort Hale long-term panels that were examined. Decreasing richness 

 from outer to inner harbor is characteristic of polluted estuaries 

 (Calder and Brehmer, 1967) and was also seen in Bridgeport and Stamford 

 Harbors (NAI, 1973b, 1974c). Long Wharf generally showed a reduced 

 salinity (from 1 to 4 /oo depending on tide and season) due to its 

 proximity to the freshwater influx of the Mill and Quinnipiac Rivers 

 (NAI, 1977a) . This may reduce the number of species occurring there. 



