Evidence that the presence of high near-bottom turbidity 

 is due to the intensive reworking and sediment pelletization by 

 deposit feeders is presented in Rhoads (1974). Following the 1969 

 West Falmouth oil spill (Sanders et al. , 1974, 1980), the mud 

 bottom deposit-feeder community was replaced by surface tube mats 

 of the opportunistic polychaete Capitella and the 

 suspension-feeding, mactrid bivalve Mulinia lateralis . This change 

 in infaunal composition was accompanied by a notable reduction in 

 near-bottom turbidity levels. Prior to the oil spill seasonal 

 turbidity levels ranged between 5 to 10 mg/1, however no turbidity 

 was registered with the transmissometer after the spill (personal 

 communication, D. Rhoads) . Following the disappearance of 

 polychaete tube mats and the re-establishment of deposit-feeders, 

 high near-bottom turbidity levels returned. 



Driscoll (1975) studied the coupling between infaunal 

 activity, sediments, and bottom waters at four stations in 

 northwest Buzzards Bay. He concluded that sediment microbial 

 activity was correlated with the sediment reworking activity of 

 deposit-feeders. Bioturbation and fecal production enhance 

 microbial populations, which, in turn, increase deposit-feeder 

 abundance. This "microbial gardening" is temperature dependent, 

 therefore distinct seasonal trends in the abundance of sedimentary 

 organic matter, sediment erodibility, and bottom-water pH and 

 dissolved oxygen levels are present (see Figures 9 and 10) . 



Some information is available on the infaunal community 

 structure within the Buzzards Bay Disposal Site. Menzie et al . 

 (1982) performed a REMOTS® survey of the site based on the six 

 topographic regions identified previously with the sidescan sonar 

 (see Figure 5) . The coarse-grained, disposal mound top consisted 

 of an epifaunal community dominated by hydrozoans (Figure 11) . All 

 of the sand bottom areas (western flat area, wave field, rubble 

 field) were characterized by low-order successional infauna, i.e., 

 Stage I and II as classified by Rhoads and Germano (1982) . The 

 western flat area apparently represented the ambient, sand bottom, 

 suspension-feeding community described by Sanders (1958, 1960). 

 The rubble field (the majority of the area surveyed) appeared to 

 be disturbed by disposal operations. The cratered area exhibited 

 both low-order and high-order successional infauna, indicating a 

 patchy disturbance pattern. Finally, the eastern flat region 

 appeared to be the least disturbed region; it was dominated by 

 high-order successional infauna, i.e., Stage III as classified by 

 Rhoads and Germano (1982) . This fine-grained area apparently 

 represented the ambient mud bottom described by Sanders. 



5.2 Fish 



In the late 1800' s, the Massachusetts Division of Marine 

 Fisheries prohibited finfishing in Buzzards Bay by seine, trap, or 



