a low salinity nursery area for fish species that spawn in fresh, brackish, 

 or marine waters. An analysis of all available data failed to indicate if 

 hydraulic effects of the canal enlargement, presently underway, will be 

 detrimental to the reproduction of any species of fish utilizing this area. 



82. JUNE, F.C., and CHAMBERLIN, J.L., "The Role of the Estuary in the Life 

 History and Biology of the Atlantic Mehaden," Proceedings of the 11th 

 Annual Session of the Gulf and Carribean Fish Institute, 1959, pp. 41-45. 



This summary of findings is from a 6-year study of Indian River, Dela- 

 ware, and 34 other east coast estuaries on the relationship between the 

 estuaries and the life history of the Atlantic menhaden. Food availability, 

 salinity, soil quality, and water temperature are all characteristics of the 

 estuaries that govern the distribution, development, growth, and emigration 

 of the fish. Problems in studying the estuaries are discussed. 



83. KAPLAN, E.H., WELKER, J.R., and KRAUS, M.G. , "Some Effects of Dredging 

 on Populations of Macrobenthic Organisms," Fishery Bulletin, Vol. 72, 

 No. 2, 1974, pp. 445-480. 



Populations of epifauna and infauna were studied from 10 months before to 

 11 months after a navigation channel was dredged through a small, shallow lagoon, 

 Current velocities and sedimentation patterns were changed due to an altered 

 distribution of tidal currents, although flushing time was not appreciably 

 altered. Values of certain particulate and dissolved nutrients changed after 

 dredging, but no correlation was observed between animal populations and 

 fluctuations in nutrients. Productivity of the study area was calculated at 

 89.87 grams per square meter per year before dredging and 31.18 grams per 

 square meter per year after dredging. Productivity figures for the mixed 

 peripheral marsh were calculated and the annual loss due to replacement of 

 10.87 hectare of marsh by spoil areas was estimated at 49,487 kilograms. 

 Altered land usage patterns tended to fix this loss on a permanent basis. 



84. KAPLAN, E.H., "Some Factors Affecting the Colonization of a Dredged 

 Channel," Marine Biology, Vol. 32, No. 2, Sept, 1975, pp. 193-204. 



Standing crop, population size, and species diversity of the macrobenthic 

 organisms in an estuarine channel were studied before and after dredging. A 

 new suction corer, which sampled an area 0.1 square meter to a depth of 30 

 centimeters, was used to insure the inclusion of large, deep-dwelling animals. 

 Eleven months after dredging, the biomass and the number of species and 

 specimens had not recovered to predredging levels. Colonization began with 

 relatively large, mobile forms such as the polychaete Nereis suacinea and the 

 crab Neopanope texana. Stations in silt and mud regions recovered more 

 slowly than those in sandier sediments. The previously abundant polychaetes 

 Notomastus laterioeus and Clymenella torquata had virtually disappeared. Only 

 relatively uncommon lamellibranches such as Tellina agilis, Lyonsia hyalina, 

 and Mulinia lateralis increased after dredging. Distribution of sediment 

 types changed as the result of modified tidal velocities in the channel. Mud 

 and silt were removed by the dredge, exposing the sand underneath, and sandy 

 stations became muddier as the result of lowered current velocities. Marked 

 changes in species composition reflected this change in sediment character. 



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