was handled separately. This procedure was done to determine the depth 

 in the substrate at which the animals in this nearshore zone lived. 

 Results of other benthic investigations have stated that most benthic 

 invertebrates live in the top 10 centimeters of the substrate (Holme 

 and Mclntyre, 1971) . 



In the study area, 179 species were taken and 66 (36.9 percent) of 

 these occurred only in the top 11.5-centimeter part of the sample. 

 Also 19 (10.6 percent) species occurred only in the bottom 11.5-centi- 

 meter part of the sample. The species that occurred only in the 

 bottom part were represented by one or two individuals per species. 

 The percentage of total individuals occurring in the top 11.5-centi- 

 meter part of the sample was 75 percent. 



The number of species, individuals, number of individuals per 

 square meter, and the diversity index at each station for benthic 

 animals collected in the top 11.5 centimeters, bottom 11.5 centimeters, 

 and both parts combined are presented in Appendixes G, H, and I. 



(1) Species . The average number of species from the top and 

 bottom part of the samples for each station gradually increased as 

 distance from shore increased, except at station 4 where the number of 

 species decreased. The disparity between the average number of species 

 in the top and bottom parts of the sample generally increased as the 

 distance from shore increased (Fig. 25) . 



The average number of species from the top and bottom parts of 

 the samples on the nine transects fluctuated between 8.4 and 10 

 species. The average number of species in the top 11.5 centimeters 

 varied more than the average number of species in the bottom 11.5- 

 centimeter part of the sample on each transect (Fig. 26) . 



(2) Individuals . The average number of individuals from the 

 top and bottom parts of the sample fluctuated with distance from shore. 

 Most of the fluctuation occurred in the top part of the sample. The 

 average number of individuals occurring in the bottom part of the 

 samples showed less variation (Fig. 27). 



The average number of individuals per transect for the entire 

 sample (top and bottom) was highest at both ends of the sampling area. 

 Again, most of the fluctuations occurred in the top 11.5-centimeter 

 part of the sample. The average number of individuals in the bottom 

 part on each transect remained fairly constant on transects 3 to 9 

 (Fig. 28). 



(3) Abundant Species . Individuals of each of the 14 most 

 abundant species occurred in both the top and bottom parts of the 



85 



