influenced by colder, deeper water, and at this station, brown algae are 

 more common than greens. However, the generalization does not always 

 apply; Millstone Point is only slightly farther from the discharge than 

 is Fox Island-Exposed, but in 1983, this station had the second highest 

 brown/green ratio. Giants Neck is too far to be impacted by MNPS , but 

 had the second lowest ratio of browns to greens. Explanations for the 

 discrepancies exist, e.g., the thermal plume is directed more towards FE 

 than MP, and the water around GN is shallow and naturally insolated. 

 However, relative proportions must be examined closely, over several 

 years, before valid conclusions regarding local phytogeographic 

 affinities may he drawn. The analysis will probably be most useful for 

 comparing-, tho same sites over time, in response to a change in 

 environmental conditions, e.g., beginning of three Unit operation. 



In summary, the qualitative a] gal collections, as one facet of the 

 rocky shore monitoring program, allow us to determine what species are 

 present in the Millstone Point area, and the degree of seasonal and 

 year-to-year variability in species occurrence. Change in the species 

 composition (absolute or relative) at a station near the power plant 

 not seen at sites more distant might be attributable to an environmental 

 impact. These studies are qual itiitive; as such, they are best used to 

 support the results of quantitative monitoring. However, the overall 

 constancy of the flora, as evidenced by the qualitative collections, 

 suggests that major changes have not occurred between 1979 and 1983. 



Undis t urbed Tr an sects 



Patterns of horizontal zonation, i.e., the spatial distribution of 

 the intertidal community into horizontal bands (Chapman 1946; Lewis 

 1964; Zaneveld 1969; Stephenson and Stephenson 1972) are one of the most 

 obvious features of rocky intertidal regions worldwide. Our sampling 

 sites were selected as representative of the local area, and the 

 organisms that are found in the undisturbed transects are typical of 

 intertidal communities throughout New England (Wilce et al. 1978; 

 Mathieson et al. 1981). These organisms are grouped into functional 

 groups, and their abundances in 1983, measured as percent substratum 



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