carbon and carbonate. These differences are attributable to natural 

 variations as well as sampling and processing variability. 



The greatest nxnnbers of species were found in May at the stations 

 seaward of the second sandbar. Faunal density was, on the average, 

 greatest during November-December at stations 4 and 5, with all other 

 stations exhibiting greatest densities during May. The benthic fauna was 

 well represented by the major invertebrate types with polychaetes, 

 crustaceans and bivalves being dominant . The most abundant organisms 

 were generally active burrowing and crawling types. Diversity and 

 equitability values were lowest at stations influenced by wave action 

 (stations 1, surf zone; 2, first sandbar; 4, second sandbar) and highest 

 at stations 3, 5, CA and CB (3, between first and second sandbar; 5, CA 

 and CB beyond second sandbar). Diversity values ranged from 0.15 to 3.22 

 with the highest values generally occurring in November-December. 



The fauna and community parameters of the present study were compared 

 to Saloman's (1976) study. It was determined that the communities of 1979-80 

 were different from the communities of 1974-75, but that this variation 

 could be attributed to temporal fluctuations. 



Borrow sites Bl and B2 were found to have lower species richness and 

 faunal densities than stations CA and CB for both sampling periods, with 

 the exception of station CA, which had a lower faunal density in November- 

 December. The borrow sites also exhibited lower diversity and equitability 

 than stations CA and CB for both sampling periods. Overall, the borrow 

 sites seemed to be most similar to transect stations 3 and 5. 



The Morisita's index of faunal similarity was used to compare the 

 station data for the 1979-80 and 1974-75 studies. Only two highly similar 

 comparisons were found: station 1 for the May 1980 collections and 

 borrow sites Bl versus B2 for May 1980. 



No long-term adverse environmental effects as a result of beach 

 nourishment could be detected within the nearshore zone of the Panama 

 City beaches. There were also no adverse or stressful conditions present 

 at the borrow sites. These conclusions are based on the analysis of benthic 

 macroinfauna and surface sediment analyses for November-December 1979 and 

 May 1980 and the comparison of these data to Saloman's (1976) study. 



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