SAMPLING MACROINVERTEBRATES ON HIGH-ENERGY 

 SAND BEACHES 



by 

 Arthur K. Hurme, Robert M. Yancey, and Edward J. Pullen 



I . INTRODUCTION 



Open-coast beaches which are continually under the stress of wave 

 action, periodic exposure and submergence by tides, offer habitats for a 

 variety of marine organisms. There are no standardized, quantitative 

 methods for the study of henthic animal communities on high-energy 

 beaches. Therefore, this guideline suggests methods of sampling macro- 

 invertebrates (i.e., those animals equal to or greater than 0.5 milli- 

 meter in size) on high-energy sand beaches to obtain data for use in 

 evaluating the environmental impact of coastal engineering projects 

 on those beaches. Sampling techniques were developed from research 

 sponsored by the Coastal Engineering Research Center (CERC) (see 

 Bibliography) and others. (Lack of specific citation does not imply 

 originality.) Procedures for sampling intertidal environments and a 

 detailed explanation of sampling program design and data analysis are 

 provided in Gonor and Kemp (1978) . The suggested techniques cannot be 

 used to quantify highly mobile species or sample deep-burrowing forms. 

 Samples may be contaminated by organisms in the overlying water column; 

 however, these organisms can easily be identified and separated from the 

 samples. Only a generalized sampling plan (sample size, number, and 

 placement) is considered in this guideline since a specific plan must be 

 tailored to individual beaches and project objectives. 



II. HIGH-ENERGY SAND BEACHES 



High-energy sand beaches (Fig. 1) comprise parts of the shore in all 

 coastal regions of the United States and account for the major part of 

 the mid-Atlantic, South Atlantic, gulf, southern California, and Great 

 Lakes shores. These beaches are exposed to strong wave action. The 



Surf Zone 'Swash Zona I ,Dry Sand 



I 



Moist Sand 



h^\" :: 



I 



'Intertidal Filter- Penetration of 

 ""^ ^ — ■ — interstitial space - grovity 



flow during tidal cycle 



Sub tidal Filter - Due to oscillatory 

 wave action 



I 



Figure 1. High-energy sand beach (modified from Cox, 1976) 



