>-13 



as Pholas , Barnea or Cyrtopleura, was listed as Cyrtopleura. None of 

 the identification inconsistencies affected the analyses reported here. 



The master list of approximately 300 taxa is large for what 

 has been shown in previous reports to be a severely impacted estuarine 

 system. Studies in comparable estuaries have rarely reported such a 

 large inventory. In a study of Raritan Bay-Lower New York Harbor, 

 McGrath (1974) reported only 47 species over a much larger and more 

 varied area, though over a considerably shorter period. In the same New 

 York estuary. Dean (1975) reported only 127 species in a program encom- 

 passing four years of intensive sampling. Sanders (1956) in a study in 

 central Long Island Sound, identified only 119 species and McGrath et 

 al. (1978), working in a nearby Connecticut estuary, found 68 species. 

 Although this program was not carried through a full seasonal cycle, the 

 samples represented a very wide variety of habitats. 



The New Haven Harbor benthic sampling program was more inten- 

 sive and extended over a greater number of years than the studies cited. 

 Many of the New Haven Harbor species encountered were seen very rarely 

 and in small numbers. These rare species cannot be considered repre- 

 sentative of the area. In addition, many of the species were present 

 only as juveniles and the number of species that develop persistent 

 adult populations is small. The magnitude of the total species list 

 should not be considered indicative of a healthy estuarine benthic 

 habitat. 



The importance of immature or transient species in the species 

 list may be seen by noting that the abridged species list (Table 6-3) , 

 which comprises only those species occurring in one or more percent of 

 the combined replicate samples over all years, includes only 50 species. 

 This figure is probably more representative of the actual species rich- 

 ness present in the harbor. The abridged list contains a good repre- 

 sentation of opportunistic, or pioneering, organisms which tend to 

 dominate in a strongly physically-controlled environment where periodic 

 mortalities create a continual disclimax community. Such species as 



