Only a few groups of pollution-tolerant organisms (nematodes and capiteUid worms) 

 were abundant in sediments from the inner parts of New York Harbor. Benthic animal 

 communities in most of the inner harbor were either drastically impoverished or lacking; 

 communities in the lower bay were less severely affected by pollution. Near the harbor 

 entrance the Continental Shelf appeared to have near-normal bottom -dwelling organisms. 

 No living forminifera were found in sediment from the East River near Throgs Neck; few 

 species of Uving foraminifera were present in the western Long Island Sound. The total 

 number of individual foraminifera (live plus dead) increased toward the west. Waste disposal 

 activities have had little demonstrable effect on the diversity or distribution of foraminifera 

 in western Long Island. Margalef's Index of Diversity and the number of genera in each 

 sample indicate low diversity values in the extreme western end of the Sound and near the 

 Connecticut shore. Ostracods were rare. 



7. HORNE, R.A., MOHLER, A.J., and ROSSELLO, R.C., "The Marine Disposal of 



Sewage Sludge and Dredged SpoU in the Waters of the New York Bight," Technical 

 Memorandum No. 1-71, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, 

 Mass., Jan. 1971, NTIS AD No. 722 791. 



The dumping of sewer sludge and dredge spoil in the waters of the New York Bight and 

 tlie effect of this waste disposal practice on the marine environment are reviewed. The 

 quantities and composition of these wastes are described together with their physical, 

 chemical, and biological effects on the environment. At the center of the sludge dump the 

 bearing capacity of the waters has been exceeded and an anoxic bottom area is devoid of life 

 form. Both spoil and sludge contain large quantities of toxic heav)^ metals, and the spoil also 

 contains large quantities of petrochemicals and pesticides. 



8. SHERK, J.A., Jr., and O'CONNOR, J.M., "Effects of Suspended and Deposited 



Sediments on Estuarine Organisms," Chesapeake Biological Laboratory Reference 

 No. 71-4D, Natural Resources Institute, University of Maryland, College Park, Md. 

 1971, 31 pp. and Appendixes. 



This is an annual report summarizing research activities and principal findings from 

 September 1970 to September 1971. Experiments were conducted for testing (a) the lethal 

 effects of sediment concentrations, (b) the effects of sediment on cruising speed and 

 respiration of estuarine fish, and (c) the effects of sediments on feeding rates of various 

 estuarine zooplankters. 



1972 



9. NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE, "The Effects of Waste Disposal in the 



New York Bight," Sandy Hook Laboratory, Highlands, N. J., Nine sections, NTIS 

 AD Nos. 739, 531 to 739 539; Summary Final Report (AD No. 743 936), May 

 1972. 



Short-term studies on the effects of ocean dumping in the New York Bight were 

 conducted for CERC. This report summarizes the hydrographic, geological, chemical, and 

 biological data collected. 



S -:■ 



