foraminifera, could be important in assessing the effects of ocean 

 dumping. Such studies should be designed so that the obtainable data 

 can be treated statistically to determine whether or not significant 

 differences exist between stations, in space and time (SAC, 1972). 



The SHL studied infaunal meiofauna and identified 36 common meio- 

 faunal taxa from the sediments of the Bight; 23 were living foramini- 

 ferans. Rare forms, such as cumaceans and phoronids, were not included. 

 Foraminifera were identified by species; the remaining groups were identi- 

 fied to higher taxonomic groups such as nematodes, bivalves, etc. The 

 composition of meiofaunal communities, at selected stations in and 

 surrounding the sewage sludge and dredging spoils disposal areas, is 

 given in Table 13. Stations F-3 and F-4 are within the sewage dumping 

 grounds, station F-5 is at the outside perimeter, and station 11 is 

 outside to the east of the sewage dumping grounds. Stations 59 and 82 

 mark the centers of the sewage sludge and dredge spoil disposal grounds, 

 respectively. Station 39 is between the two disposal areas. 



Within the disposal areas, SHL found reduced species diversity of 

 meiofaunal organisms, and concluded that meiofaunal communities are 

 affected by the disposal of wastes. According to SHL, relative numbers 

 of individuals representative of specific taxa were also reduced. 

 Amphipods were generally absent from the dumping ground. Nematodes, 

 which are reportedly a pollution-resistant group, were found in reduced 

 numbers. Table 14 gives a comparison of the abundance of gammarid 

 amphipod populations in the sewage sludge and dredging spoils disposal 

 areas and at stations outside these areas. Table 12 compares the species 

 diversity at sampling stations within and outside the disposal grounds. 



A reconnaissance study of the meiofauna in New York Harbor and 

 adjacent waters by Smith (Gross, et al, 1971) is in disagreement with 

 the results of the SHL. This investigation found foraminifera greatly 

 depleted in the sediments in the Harbor area, but in typical abundance 

 and diversity in the sediments of the Bight. Both studies, however, did 

 not adequately sample meiofauna in time and space, and the results cannot 

 be treated with statistical methods to assess and quantify the effect of 

 waste disposal, if any. An assessment of the reliability of meiofauna 

 investigations is given in the discussion section of this report. 



(2) Macro fauna . Benthic macrofauna are considered animals 

 larger than 1 mm. The SHL investigation found at least 81 macrofaunal 

 species which occurred with sufficient frequency in the Bight to plot 

 their distribution in relation to type of sediments and the waste disposal 

 sites. The geographical distribution of such benthic macrofaunal species 

 is presented in Figures 2-34 through 2-117 of the original SHL report to 

 which the interested reader is referred. Because of its volume, this 

 data is not reproduced in this report. Table 15, is a listing of these 

 benthic macrofaunal species arranged in a standard phylogenetic order. 

 The species marked with an asterisk were sampled in the immediate area 

 of the dumping grounds. 



85 



