EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 



Intertidal flats are ecologically and commercially important habitats to the New 

 England region of the U.S. They provide forage for commercially important fish species 

 and both migratory and resident shorebirds. They also support shellfish and bait- worm 

 industries. As a demonstration of the potential for beneficial use of dredged material in 

 construction of these habitats, dredged materials from a harbor construction project were 

 placed on a site on the western side of Sheep Island, Jonesport, Maine. After nine years 

 the physical integrity of the site has not been compromised. The site quickly developed a 

 substantial population of the commercially important soft-clam, Mya arenaria , as well as a 

 diverse and abundant infaunal community. A population of the bait- worm Nereis virens 

 was initially established but commercial-sized worms were absent during the last sample 

 period. The absence seems most likely due to normal interarmual fluctuations in 

 abundance. A second, older constructed flat, resulting from intertidal disposal of dredged 

 material, Beals Island, has an extensive bait worm population but few soft-clams. 

 Differences in species' abundances appear most likely to be due to substrate differences. 

 The infaunal community, the principal source of forage for fish and shorebirds, at both 

 sites is comparable in diversity, abundance, biomass, and species composition to other 

 New England intertidal flat assemblages. 



