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as defined by Grassle and Grassle (1974) in that they utilize an unpre- 

 dictable environment, by increasing rapidly to early maturing indivi- 

 duals which exist in dense populations. Consequently, either New Haven 

 Harbor or Long Island Sound populations of these ubiquitous species 

 should continue to provide larval populations to inhabit the New Haven 

 intertidal areas each year. Unless new severe stresses occur in the 

 Harbor, it appears that intertidal areas will continue to offer the same 

 resources to tolerant colonists and subsequent foragers and predators 

 with little or no consequence from operation of the New Haven Harbor 

 Station. 



SUMMARY 



A total of 90 invertebrate taxa were collected from the inter- 

 tidal area of New Haven Harbor over the seven-year sampling period. 

 Dominant taxa were Mya arenaria. Nereis succinea , Nereis spp. , Gemma 

 gemma, Ilyanassa obsoleta, Macoma balthica, Balanus improvisus, Spioni- 

 dae, Limulus polyphemus , and Capitellidae. Seasonal trends of increased 

 species richness and abundance in October relative to May were apparent 

 in most years. Greatest species richness and lowest annual variation 

 occurred at Sandy Point: these parameters were reversed at East Shore. 

 Except for the somewhat reduced faunal richness at inner harbor stations 

 in 1976 (which subsequently increased) , there were no events that sug- 

 gested impact by plant operations. Hydrographic data show minimal, if 

 any, impingement of the thermal plume on intertidal areas (Section 3.0). 



