the survey area. Fifty percent of the WLIS-REF replicate images 

 exhibit Stage I seres. There is no difference in the 

 successional status of the survey area and the WLIS-REF station 

 (Chi-Square test; p = .3807); this indicates that the reference 

 station also represents a disturbed environment. 



18. The frequency distributions of Organism-Sediment Index 

 values at WLIS and WLIS-REF are shown in Figure 3-13. Both 

 regions display a wide range of values (+3 to +11) indicative of 

 a patchy benthic environment. The mapped distribution of OSI 

 values shown in Figure 3-14 further illustrates this spatial 

 heterogeneity. The western half of the survey area displays 

 generally higher OSI values, reflecting the distribution of Stage 

 III infauna. In particular, a small region of +10 's and +11 's is 

 apparent in the central, western portion of the survey area. 

 Overall, the OSI values are low (i.e. less than +7); this is due 

 to both the shallow RPD's and the low-order successional status. 

 As discussed above, this is apparently related to the high 

 organic loading characteristic of the WLIS region. 



19. In relation to possible future BRAT studies in the WLIS 

 disposal site, two sampling strata are indicated; a station in 

 the region comprised of Stage I assemblages and a station in the 

 relatively "undisturbed" Stage III-I regions (e.g. the hatched 

 areas in Figure 3-12) . This sampling would ensure that the 

 resource potential of both types of infaunal seres present in the 

 area are quantified. 



3.2 Post Storm Survey 



20. Figure 3-15 shows the post-storm distribution of 

 dredged material as well as features indicative of bottom 

 disturbance. Although the sampling grid is reduced relative to 

 the August survey, there is no evidence of dredged material 

 beyond the immediate vicinity of the disposal mounds. This 

 pattern supports the findings on the post-storm bathymetric 

 survey which indicate that no large-scale redistribution of 

 dredged material has occurred. Conversely, evidence of 

 small-scale disturbance (i.e. less than the REMOTS prism 

 penetration depth of 15-20 cm) , such as sand and shell lag 

 deposits, mud clasts, and chaotic sedimentary fabrics, can be 

 seen in several images. Such features were not as distinct or 

 ubiquitous in the August survey; this apparently illustrates the 

 effects of Hurricane Gloria on the surface sediments. These 

 features are most apparent near the center of disposal mounds "C" 

 (stations CTR, 50N, 50E) and "A" (station CTR) . Two fringe 

 stations (C-400N and C-400S) also exhibit evidence of sediment 

 resuspension. The pattern of disturbance is possibly related to 

 the size of the respective disposal mounds (see Section 2.0), 

 with the largest and highest mound "C" showing the greatest 

 evidence of surface disturbance. Although the features mapped in 

 Figure 3-15 indicate disturbance of the top 0-15 cm of the 

 bottom, the amount of material resuspended or eroded as a result 



