low simllarlly bccauso of the d 1 1 rorcnl lal density o1' oligochaetes (high at 

 JC and low at WP and GN) , and more importantly, because of differences in 

 species composition.- For instance, Paraonis fulgens . Hap Iosco lop los spp. 

 and rhynchocoels were primary dominants at only the WP and GN stations 

 while Nereis spp. , Hediste dive rs icolor , Polydora ligni , and several 

 mollusc and arthropod species were dominants only at JC. 



Linkage of annual collections within the two major groups was 

 primarily determined by year-to-year changes in density not in species 

 composition. For example, year-to-year changes in oligochaete abundances 

 was the major factor forming the relationship between JC collections; the 

 1980 and 1981 collections contained similar numbers of oligochaetes 

 and resulted in high similarity among these years. The GN and WP 

 collections linked over a low range of similarity. The WP collections were 

 separated from GN collections based on the high numbers of Haploscoloplos 

 fragilis at WP in 1980 and 1981 and the low density that occurred in 1982 

 and 1983; this was also a major factor in forming linkages among WP years. 



SUBTIDAL RESULTS 



Sediment Characteristics 



Sediment characteristics of subtidal stations are presented in Figure 

 9. Of all stations, IN sediments were consistently finest and those of JC 

 coarsest (except in June). Typically, sediments at IN contained smaller 

 amounts of silt/clay than other stations and those at GN contained higher 

 amounts. In June, however, sediments at IN contained an unusually high 

 amount of silt/clay (20.1%). There were no consistent seasonal trends in 

 sediment size or silt/clay content at any subtidal station. Organic 

 content was generally highest at GN and lowest at IN (Table 5) . At all 

 stations, sediments collected in June contained the highest amount of 

 organic material, while at all but the JC station, lowest values were 

 recorded in March. 



Although sediment characteristics at the subtidal stations in 1983 

 were generally similar to previous years, notable differences were observed 

 at GN and IN. Mean grain size at GN increased relative to previous years 

 with a concurrent decrease in silt/clay content. At IN, an increase in 



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