VI . CONCLUSIONS 



1. Ocean Beach . 



No changes in the physical or biological environment from 1976 to 1981 

 could be attributed to the pier. Any differences documented were well within 

 the natural variability that ocean beaches experience. Considering this large 

 natural variability, it does not seem that a reasonably executable sampling 

 scheme could be developed to find the pier effects in the intertidal or 

 subtidal beach. 



2. Sound Beach . 



Salinity in 1981 was higher than in 1976. This increase in salinity 

 caused most of the changes in the macro fauna. There were no noticeable 

 effects of the marsh on any transect, except transect IV, which generally 

 had higher numbers of individuals than the other two transects. Considering 

 the fluctuating nature of salinity, any future monitoring of the sound beach 

 should include consideration of a long-term salinity record. 



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