7-20 



The horseshoe crab {Limulus polyphemus) , was abundant during 

 October samplings at East Shore station (Figure 7-4) in three of seven 

 years studied. Reproduction has been reported to occur in May in this 

 area (TRICiOM, 1973) . Female crabs deposit their eggs in intertidal 

 sediments where they are fertilized by the males. Limulus has no 

 planktonic stage; eggs develop and hatch as juveniles. Both eggs and 

 juveniles were commonly collected at East Shore. Juveniles and adults 

 prey upon invertebrates such as bivalves and polychaetes in the shallow 

 sediments (Shuster, 1950) . 



In summary, the fauna at intertidal stations studied in New 

 Haven Harbor had lower species richness and greater variability within 

 the harbor (i.e., Long Wharf and East Shore Stations) than in the outer 

 harbor (i.e., Sandy Point). The taxa that characterized this habitat 

 are ubiquitous in Long Island Sound and also tend to be those found in 

 polluted environments elsewhere on the east coast. Many of these taxa, 

 except for Limulus polyphemus , Ilyanassa obsoleta, and polychaetes, are 

 sessile infaunal organisms that settle predominantly in summer. Over- 

 winter survival was higher at Sandy Point than at inner harbor stations , 

 as discussed. Variability from year to year in population densities was 

 highly erratic, but this is normal for prolific taxa with pelagic larvae 

 even in unaltered environments (NAI, 1977a, 1977b). 



COMPARISON OF NEW HAVEN HARBOR WITH OTHER LONG ISLAND SOUND SITES 



Dominant intertidal faiinal components in New Haven Harbor were 

 similar to those described independently in the same (Cunningham, 1972) 

 and in other nearby urbanized estuaries. Cunningham examined the Long 

 Wharf intertidal areas from 1971 to 1974 and described a faunal commu- 

 nity similar to that described by NAI. Using smaller mesh sizes for 

 sieves, he collected greater numbers of spionids, oligochaetes , and 

 polychaetes {Eteone heteropoda) than were collected by our sampling 

 techniques. Our study indicated greater Mya density than Cunningham 

 estimated. These differing results for Mya indicate high spatial 



