(Fig. 8; Table 1). The widest variation in temperatures occurred in 

 November 1974 (13.9° to 21.8° Celsius"); June 1975 had the least 

 variation (27.6° to 28.6° Celsius). 



The average water temperatures on the nine transects were 

 essentially the same on each transect for the 12-month sampling period 

 (Table 1) . The data indicate temperatures were slightly higher at the 

 eastern end (West Pass) than near Phillips Inlet. Since sampling on 

 any particular day was usually started in the morning at the western 

 end of the study area and proceeded eastward, this disparity is 

 probably due to time of sampling. 



Individual water temperatures are listed by station and date in 

 Appendix A. 



b. Salinity . Salinities fluctuated during the year from a low of 

 23.67 parts per thousand in August 1975 to a high of 35.39 parts per 

 thousand in December 1974 (Table 1) . The highest average monthly 

 salinity occurred in December 1974 (35.03 parts per thousand); the 

 lowest average monthly salinity (28.44 parts per thousand) was in 

 August 1975. The highest variation within a month also occurred in 

 August 1975; the following September had the least variation (Fig. 9). 



Average salinities on each transect for the entire sampling period 

 were approximately the same. A slight increase in salinity was noted 

 at the transects near the western end of the study area (Table 1J . 

 Since the eastern end receives discharge from the St. Andrew Bay 

 complex, this slight increase is probably due to the paucity of fresh- 

 water discharge. 



Salinities by station and date are listed in Appendix A. 



III. SEDIMENTOLOGY 



1. Introduction . 



Since the abundance and diversity of benthic animals are a measure 

 and function of the type of substrate, the collection of surface 

 sediments was done primarily to describe their association with the 

 benthic animals. Also, if hydraulic dredging takes place, it is the 

 surface sediments that will be altered by siltation or placement of 

 sand with a different grain size. 



Sediment analysis included the percentage weight of the gravel, 

 sand, silt, and clay-size fractions, carbonate, total carbon, and 

 organic carbon. Statistical factors of mean grain size, standard 

 deviation, skewness, and kurtosis were also determined. 



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