lllil ^ 



Figure 6. 



Reef fauna near outer edge of second reef off Golden 

 Beach, Florida (Courtenay, Hartig, and Loisel, 1980). 



required to determine base-line conditions prior to beach nourishment and the 

 time required for animal populations to stabilize following nourishment. 



3. Sampling Quality Assurance and Control . 



The accuracy and adequacy of the data collected and the validity of the 

 data analysis will depend on the study design. The following sampling guid- 

 ance is suggested to aid in designing a study to properly assess the environ- 

 mental impact of beach nourishment. 



(a) The sampling device should be reliable and accurate. It should 

 insure consistent substrate penetration, no loss of sample during 

 retrieval, and least variation between sample size. Refer to Menzies 

 and Rowe (1968), Holme and Mclntyre (1971), and Hurme, Yancey, and 

 Pullen (1979) for descriptions of sampling devices. 



(b) Sieve size for sorting benthic animals should be accurate to 

 allow passage of meiofauna and retention of macrofauna (Reish, 1959; 

 Hurme, Yancey, and Pullen, 1979). Studies have shown that a 0.5-milli- 

 meter mesh sieve is desirable for quantitative macrobenthic collections. 



(c) The procedures for animal preservation should be consistent. 

 Animals stored in the field should be preserved with a buffered 10 percent 



17 



