ML20117G787
| ML20117G787 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Saint Lucie  |
| Issue date: | 12/31/1984 |
| From: | APPLIED BIOLOGY, INC. |
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| Shared Package | |
| ML20117G765 | List: |
| References | |
| AB-553, NUDOCS 8505140120 | |
| Download: ML20117G787 (250) | |
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{{#Wiki_filter:- . E APPLIED BIOLOGY, INC. AB 553 FLORIDA POWER & LIGHT COMPANY ST. LUCIE PLANT ANNUAL NON-RADIOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING REPORT 1984
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641 DeKALB INDUSTRIAL WAY
- ATLANTA, GEORGIA 30033
- 404/296 3900
AB-553 1 I I I FLORIDA POWER & LIGHT COMPANY I ST. LUCIE PLANT l ANNUAL NON-RADIOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING REPORT 1984 .I
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I i APRIL 1985 'I I I I APPLIED BIOLOGY, INC. ATLANTA, GEORGIA I I I .
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ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING REPORT TABLE OF CONTENTS Page TABLE OF CONVERSION FACTORS FOR METRIC UNITS --------------- 11 EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
------------------------------------------ iii A. INTRODUCTION ----------------------------------------------- A-1 I Background ------------------------------------------
Area Description ------------------------------------ P1 ant Description ----------------------------------- A-1 A-3 A-!i I Literature Cited ------------------------------------ Figures --------------------------------------------- A-J A-9 B. B-1 I NEKTON ----------------------------------------------------- I n t ro d u c t i o n -- ---------------- ------ --- ------------- B-1 Materi al s and Methods ------------------------------- B-3 Results and Discussion ------------------------------ B-5 I S umm a ry - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Literature Cited ------------------------------------ Figures --------------------------------------------- B-14 B-16 B-18 Tables ---------------------------------------------- B-26 C. MACR 0 INVERTEBRATES ----------------------------------------- C-1 Introduction ---------------------------------------- C-1 Mate ri al s and Methods ------------------------------- C-3 Re s ul ts a n d D i s c u s s i o n ------------------------------ C-9 S umm a ry - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - C-50 I Literature Cited ------------------------------------ Figures --------------------------------------------- Ta b l e s - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - C-56 C-62 C-82 i Appendix Tables ------------------------------------- C-92 D. TURTLLS --------------------------------------------------- D-1 I n t ro d u c t i o n - - -------- --------------------- ---- ---- D-3 Materials and Methods ------------------------------ D-6
- Re sul ts a nd Di scus si on ----------------------------- D-9 S umm a ry - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - D-30 Literature Cited ----------------------------------- D-34 l Figures -------------------------------------------- D-38 l Tables --------------------------------------------- D-52 iI lI l
l lI lI
TABLE OF CONVERSION FACTORS FOR METRIC UNITS To convert Multiply by To obtain centigrade (degrees) ( C x 1.8) + 32 fahrenheit (degrees) centigrade (degrees) C + 273.18 kelvin (degrees) centimeters (cm) 3.937 x 10-1 inches 3.281 x 10-2 feet I centimeters (cm) centimeters /second (cm/sec) 3.281 x 10-2 feet per second cubic centimeters (cm3) 1.0 x 10-3 liters grams (g) 2.205 x 10-3 pounds grams (g) 3.527 x 10-2 ounces (avoirdupois) hectares (ha) 2.471 acres 3 kilograms (kg) 1.0 x 10 grams kilograms (kg) 2.2046 pounds kilograms (kg) 3.5274 x 10 ounces (avoirdupois) kilometers (km) 6.214 x 10-1 miles (statute) kilometers (km) 1.0 x 10 millimeters liters (1) 1.0 x 10 3 cubic centimeters (cm3) liters (1) 2.642 x 10-1 gallons (U.S. liquid) meters (m) 3.281 feet meters (m) 3.937 x 10 1 inches meters (m) 1.094 yards microns (p) 1.0 x 10-6 meters l milligrams (mg) 1.0 x 10-3 grams milligrams / liter (mg/1) 1.0 parts per million l milliliters (ml) 1.0 x 10-3 liters (U.S. liquid) millimeters (mm) 3.937 x 10-2 inches millimeters (m) 3.281 x 10-3 feet square centimeters (cm2) 1.550 x 10-1 square inches l square meters (m2) 1.076 x 10 1 square feet i square millimeters (mm2) 1.55 x 10 3 square inches I I t I
I EXECUTIVE SUMMilRY INTRODUCTION This document is the ninth consecutive annual report on biotic moni-toring at the Florida Power & Light Company St. Lucie Plant. These reports have been prepared as required by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Appendix B Environmental Protection Plan Technical Specifications to St. Lucie Unit 1 Facility Operating License No. DPR-67, the Appendix B Environmental Protection Plan to St. Lucie Unit 2 Facility Operating License No. NPF-16, and to the United States Environmental Protection Agency's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit Number FL0002208. I The St. Lucie Plant is an electric generating station on Hutchinson Island in St. Lucie County, Florida. The plant consists of two nuclear-fueled 850-MW units; Unit 1 was placed on-line in March 1976 and Unit 2 in May 1983. Both units use the Atlantic Ocean as a source of water for once through condenser cooling. The objective of the regulatory require-ments, and of the study, is to assess the effects of plant construction and operation on the major biotic communities in the nearshore marine environment at the plant site. lI l l NEKTON Studies showed that fish were not accumulating in the intake canal and that, compared to the number of fish collected near the ocean intake structures, the number entrapped in the intake canal was low. This low 84LUCIE4 EXECSUM iii t I .
a . I entrapment rate was attributed primarily to the velocity caps at the ocean intakes. I There were no significant differences in the numbers of fish collected by gill netting among ocean intake and discharge stations. The most fish were found at an intake station in 1982 and 1984, but at a l discharge station in 1983. No thermal plume effects have been observed. Large numbers of fish were found during only part of the year, which showed that the intake and discharge structures were not important enough fish attractants to offset natural fish movements or migratory instincts. I MACR 0 INVERTEBRATES Ongoing benthic monitoring conducted since 1982 continued to docu-ment the existence of two major habitats in the nearshore environment adjacent to the St. Lucie Plant. Each habitat supported a unique assemblage of macroinvertebrates. Communities inhabiting the sandy sedi-ments of the relatively shallow beach terrace exhibited lower densities, species richness and biomass and greater temporal variability than com-munities inhabiting the deeper, shelly substrate of the adjacent trough. Even though both units of the St. Lucie Plant operated simultaneously during a portion of 1984, no immediate negative impact to beach terrace communities adjacent to the Y-port diffuser was detected. Thermal dif-ferences between discharge and control statior.s were minor, even when the Y-port diffuser was in use. To date, natural turbulence (e.g., wave action) appears to be more influential than power plant operations in I structuring benthic communities on the beach terrace. I 84LUCIE3 I EXECSUM EXEC iv I t
In the shall3 rough environment, benthic communities adjacent to the multiport diffuser often had significantly lower densities and spe-cies richness and displayed more temporal variability than communities outside the zone of potential power plant impact. Alteration of existing , substrate regimes and sediment instability associated with the physical presence of the diffuser and/or discharge turbulence were thought to be responsible for observed differences in community structure between sta-tions adjacent to the diffuser and those farther away. Thermal effects at trough stations appeared minor during 1984. Differences in tem-perature between discharge and control stations were no greater during I periods of dual-unit operation than during times when a single unit was operating. The effect of high velocity discharges of once-through cooling water appears confined to a small area immediately adjacent to the multiport diffuser. TURTLES There have been considerable year-to-year fluctuations in sea turtle nesting activity on Hutchinson Island since monitoring began in 1971. In the vicinity of the plant, low nesting activity in 1975 and 1981 - 1983 was attributed to construction of plant intake and discharge systems. Nesting returned to normal levels following both periods of construction.
- No relationship between total nesting on the island and power plant operation or intake / discharge construction was indicated.
lI Since plant operation began in 1976, 1140 turtles have been removed from the intake canal. Differences in the numbers of turtles found g 84LUCIE3 EXECSUM I EXEC v ll i
I during different years and different months were attributed to natural variations in the occurrence of turtles in the vicinity of the plant, rather than to any influence of the plant itself. The majority (over 90 percent) of the turtles removed from the intake canal were capt0 red alive and released back into the ocean. The cause of death ror those turtles found dead in the canal was, for the most part, unknown. Evidence did not suggest that drowning or injury sustained from passage through the intake pipes were significant factors causing mortality. Simil arly, studies showed that turtles entrapped in the intake canal were caught and released within a relatively short time span, so length of time in the canal was not considered a mortality related factor. The poor condition of many turtles found alive in the canal suggested the possibility that some individuals, already in poor condition, may have entered the ocean intakes seeking refuge and died in the intake canal from causes unrelated to plant operations. I I I I I I 84LUCIE4 lI EXECSUM v1 I ;
I A. INTRODUCTION BACKGROUND This document has been prepared as required by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) Appendix B Environmental Protection l Plan Technical Specifications to St. Lucie Unit 1 Facility Operating License No. DPR-67, the NRC Appendix B Environmental Protection Plan to St. Lucie Unit 2 Facility Operating License No. NPF-16, and to the United States Environmental Protection Agency's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit Number FL0002208. I In 1970, Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) was issued Permit No. CPPR-74 by the United States Atomic Energy Commission, now the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, that allowed construction of Unit 1 of the St. Lucie Plant, an 850-MW nuclear-powered electric generating station on Hutchinson Island in St. Lucie County, Florida. St. Lucie Plant Unit I was placed on-line in March 1976. Unit 1 operation was intermittent during the remainder of 1976 but, except for brief outages, has been in operation from 1977 through February 1983, when it was taken off-line for a maintenance outage. In May 1977, FPL was issued Permit No. CPPR-144 by the NRC for the construction of a second 850-N nuclear-powered unit. Unit 2 was placed on-line in May 1983 and began commercial operation in August. St. Lucie Plant Units 1 and 2 use the Atlantic Ocean as a source of water for once-through condenser cooling. Since 1971, the potential environmental effects resulting from the intake and discharge of this water use have been the subject of FPL-sponsored studies at the site. A-1 84LUCIE3 INTRO-1
I The Florida Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Marine Research I Laboratory conducted baseline environmental studies of the marine environment adjacent to the St. Lucie Plant from September 1971 to July 1974. From these studies, a series of reports was published by the Florida DNR entitled "Nearshore Marine Ecology at Hutchinson Island, Florida: 1971-1974" (Florida DNR, 1977, 1979). These publications describe the marine environment off Hutchinson Island prior to operation of the St. Lucie Plant. In order to provide Unit 1 operational and Unit 2 preoperational monitoring of the aquatic environment at the St. Lucie Plant, Applied Biology, Inc. (ABI) was contracted by FPL in 1975 to conduct the ecologi-cal studies program. The results and interpretation of the ABI moni-toring program conducted from 1976 through 1981 have been presented in six annual reports. Two of these annual reports were entitled
" Ecological Monitoring at the Florida Power & Light Co. St. Lucie Plant, Annual Report" (ABI,1977,1978) and four were entitled " Florida Power &
Light Company St. Lucie Plant Annual Non-Radiological Environmental Monitoring Report, Biotic Monitoring" (ABI, 1979,1980,1981a,1982). I In January 1982, a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit was issued to FPL by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The NPDES permit provided the EPA guidelines for the St. Lucie site biological studies. Guidelines were based on the ABI (1981b) - document entitled " Proposed St. Lucie Plant Preoperational and Operational Biological Monitoring Program - August 1981". In May 1982, I the NRC biological study requirements were deleted from ~ti.e NRC I A-2 84LUCIE3 INTR 0-1
I Environmental Technical Specifications. With the exception of those stu-dies related to sea turtles, jurisdiction of biological studies at the St. Lucie Plant was thus passed from the NRC to the EPA. I Jurisdiction for sea turtle studies remained with the NRC, con-sidered to be the lead federal agency relative to consultation under the Endangered Species Act. Sea turtle study guidelines relative to a light screen to prevent turtle disorientation are included in the St. Lucie Unit 1 Appendix B-Part II Environmental Protection Plan Technical Specifications. The majority of the sea turtle studies, including the beach nesting survey and intake canal monitoring, are contained in the NRC Environmental Protection Plan to St. Lucie Unit 2. I The present plan of study was fully instituted in May 1982. Final summaries of previous study efforts and the first and second year results using the new study plan were presented in the documents entitled
" Florida Power & Light Company St. Lucie Plant Annual Non-Radiological Aquatic Monitoring Report" (ABI, 1983 and 1984). The present study reports results for 1984, the third year of study under the new plan.
I AREA DESCRIPTION The St. Lucie Plant is located on a 457-ha site on Hutchinson Island on Florid 3's east coast (Figures A-1 and A-2). The plant is approxi-mately midway between the Ft. Pierce and St. Lucie Inlets. It is bounded on its east side by the Atlantic Ocean and on its west side by the Indian l River, a shallow lagoon. I A-3 84LUCIE3 !m INTR 0-1
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I Hutchinson Island is a barrier island that extends 36 km between inlets and obtains its maximum width of 2 km at the plant site. Eleva-tions approach 5 m atop dunes bordering the beach and decrease to sea level in the mangrove swamps that are common on much of the western side. Island vegetation is typical of southeastern Florida coastal areas; dense stands of Australian pine, palmetto, sea grape and Spanish bayonet are present at the higher elevations, and mangroves abound at the lower ele-vations. Large stands of black mangroves, including some on the plant site, have been killed by flooding for mosquito control over past deca-des. The ocean bottom immediately offshore from the plant site consists entirely of sand and shell sediments with no reef obstructions or rock outcroppings. The unstable substrate limits the establishment of rooted macrophytes or permanent attached benthic communities. Worm reefs occur in some intertidal areas and provide a substrate more suitable for plant and animal habitation. However, worm reefs are limited both in locations found and area covered. The Florida Current, which flows parallel to the continental shelf margin, begins to diverge from the coastline at West Palm Beach. At Hutchinson Island, the current is approximately 33 km offshore. Oceanic water associated with the western boundary of the current periodically meanders over the inner shelf, especially during summer months. I I A-4 ! 84LUCIE3 INTR 0-1 L ,
I PLANT DESCRIPTION I The St. Lucie Plant consists of two 850-MW nuclear-fueled electric generating units that use nearshore ocean waters for the plant's once through condenser cooling water system. Water for the plant enters through three submerged intake structures located about 365 m offshore. Each of the intake structures is equipped with a velocity cap to minimize fish entrapment. Horizontal intake velocities are less than 30 cm/sec. From the intake structures, the water passes through submerged pipes under the beach and dunes that lead to a 1500-m long intake canal. This canal transports the water to the plant. After passing through the plant, the heated water is discharged into a 670-m long canal that leads I to two buried discharge pipelines. These pass underneath the dunes ad beach and along the ocean floor to the submerged discharges, the first of which is approximately 365 m offshore and 730 m north of the intake. E Heated water leaves the first discharge line from a Y-shaped nozzle (diffuser) at a design velocity of 396 cm/sec. This high-momentum jet entrains ambient water resulting in rapid heat dissipation. The ocean depth in the area of the first discharge is about 6 m. Heated water leaves the second discharge line through a series of 48 equally spaced high velocity jets along a 323-m manifold (multiport diffuser). This diffuser starts 168 m beyond the first discharge and terminates 856 m from shore. The ocean depth at discharge along this diffuser is from about 10 to 12 m. As with the first diffuser, the purpose of the second l diffuser is to entrain ambient water and rapidly dissipate heat. From the points of discharge at both diffusers, the warmer water rises to the surface and forms a surface plume of heated water. The plume then I A-5 84LUCIE3 INTRO-1 1
I spreads out on the surface of the ocean under the influence of wind and currents and the heat dissipates to the atmosphere. I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I 84LUCIE3 LCINTR0 A-6 I
1 I ! LITERATURE CITED ABI (Applied Biology, Inc.) 1977. Ecological monitoring at the Florida Power & Light Co. St. Lucie Plant, annual report 1976. Volumes I and II. AB-44. Prepared by Applied Biology, Inc. for Florida Power & Light Co., Miami. 1978. Ecological monitoring at the Florida I Power & Light Co. St. Lucie Plant, annual report 1977. Volumes I and II. AB-101. Light Co., Miami. Prepared by Applied Biology, Inc. for Florida Power &
. 1979. Florida Power & Light Company, St.
Lucie Plant annual non-radiological environmental monitoring report 1978. Volumes II and III, Biotic monitoring. AB-177. Prepared by Applied Biology, Inc. for Florida Power & Light Co., Miami.
. 1980. Florida Power & Light Company, St.
Lucie Plant annual non-radiological envi ronmental monitoring report I 1979. Volumes II and III, Biotic monitoring. AB-244. Prepared by Applied Biology, Inc. for Florida Power & Light Co., Miami.
. 1981a. Florida Power & Light Company, St.
Lucie Plant annual non-radiological environment monitoring report 1980. Volumes II and III, Biotic monitoring. AB-324. Prepared by Applied Biology, Inc. Florida Power & Light Co., Miami.
. 1981b. Proposed St. Lucie plant preopera-tional and operational biological monitoring program - August 1981.
I AB-358. Prepared by Applied Biology, Inc. for Florida Power & Light Co., Miami.
. 1982. Florida Power & Light Company, St.
Lucie Plant annual non-radiological environmental monitoring report 1981. Volumes II and III, Biotic monitoring. AB-379. Prepared by Applied Biology, Inc. for Florida Power & Light Co., Miami.
. 1983. Florida Power & Light Company, St.
Lucie Plant annual non-radiological aquatic monitoring report 1982. I Volumes I and II. AB-442. Prepared by Applied Biology, Inc. for Florida Power & Light Co., Miami.
. 1984. Florida Power & Light Company, St.
Lucie Plant annual non-radiological environmental monitoring report 1983. Volumes I and II. AB-530. Prepared by Applied Biology, Inc. for Florida Power & Light Co., Miami. Florida DNR (Department of Natural Resources). 1977. Nearshore marine ecology at Hutchinson Island, Florida: 1971-1974. Parts I, II and I III. Florida Marine Research Publication No. 23; Part IV, Publication No. 24; Part V, Publication No. 25. Florida Department of Natural Resources Marine Research Laboratory. 84LUCIE3 LCINTR0 A-7 I J
l I LITERATURE CITED (continued) Florida DNR (Department of Natural Resources). 1977. Nearshore marine ecology at Hutchinson Island, Florida: 1971-1974. Parts VI through X. Florida Marine Research Publication No. 34. Florida Department of I Natural Resources Marine Research Laboratory. ' I I I I .I I I I .I I I I E A-8 84LUCIE3 INTRO-1 I
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I B. NEKTON I I EPA NPDES Permit Required Condition (issued January 1982; as delineated in ABI [1981a] and approved by the EPA) Nektonic Organisms - Samples will be collected by gill netting once per month during April through September and twice per month during I October through March. Kind and abundance of organisms present will be determined. Physical measurement will be made at the same I time as the nektonic sample collections. Parameters measured will be water temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen and turbidity. I INTRODUCTION Fish distribute themselves within the aquatic ecosystem according to their biological limitations and needs. A consequence of this distribu-tion has been the development of fish communities or assemblages that depend on the physical conditions and resources of an area. The aquatic faunal communities off Hutchinson Island are unique because they are transitional between temperate northern faunes and tropical southern faunas. Natural variations in physical conditions, such as seasonal tem-perature changes or fluctuations in the proximity of the Florida Current to the island's coastline, could cause variations in the composition or abundance of fish in this area. Similarly, although on a much more lo-calized scale, operation of the St. Lucie Plant could potentially affect l these fish assemblages. Applied Biology, Inc. began monitoring in December 1975 to examine the composition and abundance of fish near the St. Lucie Plant and to I B-1 I 84LUCIE1 FSHSHELL, 7 I J
I evaluate the habitat, distribution and life history of these fish in tems of plant operation. Monitoring studies were conducted in the intake and discharge canals and in the ocean. Canal samples were taken by gill netting. Samples from the ocean were taken by gill netting, trawling and beach seining. In analyzing canal samples, the emphasis was on the impact on fishes of becoming entrapped in the intake canal. In analyzing ocean samples, the emphasis was on the possible effects of the ocean themal discharge upon migratory fish of sport and commercial importance. Ichthyoplankton sampling was conducted in the canals to eva-luate entrainment effects and in the ocean to evaluate thermal discharge effects. The data obtained during environmental monitoring were compared among operational study years and between operational study years and preoperational (baseline) study years (ABI, 1977-1980,1981b,1982-1984). Beginning in 1982 (ABI, 1983), fish monitoring station locations and sampling frequency for ocean gill netting were changed, as delineated in the methods section. These sampling changes enabled a more accurate assessment of fish distribution and abundance in the immediate vicinity of the ocean discharges and intakes. Canal gill netting was retained to monitor fish entrapment in the intake canal. Trawling, beach seining and ichthyoplankton sampling were deleted from the monitoring program after the May 1982 samples were collected. Fish sampling in 1984 consisted of gill netting in the intake canal and in the ocean near ccoling water intake and discharge locations. As I 84LUCIE1 FSHSHELL, 7 B-2 I
I during other study years, emphasis was placed on examining potential plant effects on the migratory fishes of sport and commercial importance. I As stated previously, Unit 2 went on-line in May 1983 and began com-mercial operation in August 1983; consequently, Unit 2 monitoring shifted from a preoperational to an operational phase. Unit 1, however, went off-line at the end of February 1983 and remained off-line until mid-May 1984. Thus, the plant was operating with one unit on-line for the first four months of 1984 and was operating with both units on-line during the balance of 1984. I MATERIALS AND METHODS Canal Gill Nets Monthly gill net collections were taken at two stations in the intake canal to determine if fish were accumulating in the canal because of entrapment. Both stations were located between the Highway AIA bridge and the plant intake screens (Figure B-1), although exact location varied because of dredging operations or construction activities. l The canal gill nets were 61 m long by 3 m deep and were constructed of 76-mm stretch mesh. At each station a net was set on the bottom and completely spanned the canal. Sampling duration covered consecutive 24-hour periods at each station during each month. After each 24-hour period, fish and shellfish were removed from the nets. Specimens were identified to species, counted, measured and weighed. Standard length, the distance from the tip of the snout to the base of the tail, was B-3 I 84LUCIE1 FSHSHELL, 7 I .
I measured for most fish. Total length was measured for sharks and other fishes with indiscernible tail-fin bases. Disk width was measured for rays. Carapace (shell) length was measured for lobsters and carapace width was measured for crabs. The taxonomic nomenclature for fishes is in accordance with Robins et al. (1980). To facilitate data comparisons, the species data were often sum-l marized by taxon in the text and tables. related fishes, such as those within the same family. Taxa are groups of closely Ocean Gill Nets Gill net collections were taken at Stations F1 and F2 in the vici-nity of the ocean intakes, Stations F3 through F7 in the vicinity of the ocean discharges, and at Station C1 further offshore (Figure B-2). These eight stations were established to enable comparison of fish distribution and abundance 1)inrelationtodistancefromthethermaldischarge, 2) between ocean intake and ocean discharge, 3) between ocean intake and intake canal and 4) among years (Stations F3 and C1 were formerly Stations 1 and 2, respectively). Sampling was conducted once por month during the months of April through September and twice per month during the months of October through March. The increased sampling frequency in the late fall and winter months coincided with the expected increased abundance of the important migratory fishes in the area. The ocean gill net was 183 m long by 3.7 m deep and was made up of five 36.6-m panels sewn end-to-end. The mesh sizes of the panels were I 84LUCIE1 FSHSHELL, 7 B-4 I
I 64, 74, 84, 97 and 117 mm in stretch lengths. The net was set on the I bottom, perpendicular to shore, and fished for 30 minutes at each sta-tion. On several occasions, when large numbers of fish were encountered, the net was fished for shorter periods of time and the catch extrapolated to a 30-minute set. Specimens collected by ocean gill netting were ana-lyzed by the same methods described under Canal Gill Nets. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Canal Gill Nets Intake canal gill netting resulted in the collection of 615 fish during 1984 (Tables B-1 and B-2). Total fish weight recorded was 306 kg; however, this weight included fragments (partially eaten fish) so the undamaged weight would have been somewhat grea+4r. A total of 30 shellfish, weighing 5.8 kg, was also found during intake canal gill l netting (Table B-1). I The intake canal gill netting data show that fish were not accumu-lating there. The average catch rate over the past nine years has ranged from 3.5 to 12.5 fish per 30 m of net per day (Figure B-3). Peaks of abundance in 1977,1978 and 1984 (Figure B-3) were caused primarily by l influxes of blue runners, crevalle jacks and smooth dogfish, respec-tively. The average catch rate was highest in 1980 when influxes of spot (a member of the drum family) inflated the average number of fish pre-sent. The reasons for these influxes of certain fishes into the intake on limited occasions are not known. The lack of any concentration of fish in the intake canal is considered the result of predation, sampling or attrition. ; B-5 I 84LUCIE1 FSHSHELL, 7 J
I The smooth dogfish shark, a non-food fish, '<as the most abundant species found in the intake canal during 1984. It accounted for 35.1 percent of the total number of fishes collected and 52.9 percent of the weight (Table B-1). Based on taxa, sharks wre followed in abundance by catfishes, jacks (including crevalle jar.K , blue runner and Atlantic bumper), drums (spot and Atlantic creaker), grunts (porkfish, black margate and sailor's choice), porgier (sheepshead, pinfish and silver porgy), and lesser numbers of other groups (Table B-2). As in previous l study years, blue crabs were the predominant shellfish found in 1984 (TableB-1). I Some fishes collected ir the intake canal were of sport or commer-cial importance. These included snappers, sheepshead, crevalle jack, l drum and mullet. However, the loss to sport or commercial interests was negligible, particularl.s as compared to the weight of fishes in the com-mercial landings (Table B-3). The primary commercial fishes in St. Lucie and Martin Counties are Spanish mackerel, king mackerel and bluefish. During the past niie years, only five Spanish mackerel,10 king mackerel and 37 bluefish 'iave been collected in the intake canal. Thus, entrap-ment of mackerel and bluefish, which pass Hutchinson Island during seasonal migrt.tions, is negligible. In adJition to the wide variations in capture rates over the past nine years (Figure B-3), the taxa represented in the intake canal collec-tions varied considerably (Table B-4). For example, drum were abundant during 1976 and 1980 and less common during the intervening years, jacks B-6 I 84'.UC IE1 FFHSHELL, 7 I J
were more abundant in 1978 than in either the previous or following years, and catfish accounted for large proportions of the catch in 1982, 1983 and 1984, although previously they were less abundant. These dif-ferences are attributed to natural yearly variations in fish population composition, the chance occurrence of schooling fishes, and to variations in the total yearly sample sizes from which the percentage compositions of the taxa are calculated. For all fishes collected during the nine years combined, grunts accounted for about 18 percent of the gill net catch, followed by jacks, snappers, porgies and drums at 12 to 13 per-cent, and catfishes, mullets and scarobins at four to six percent (Figure B-4). These fishes are all common off Hutchinson Island and were the ones commonly found in the intake canal. In contrast to the number of fish collected during ocean studies (discussed in the next section), the number of fish entrapped in the intake canal was low. This low entrapment rate is attributed primarily to the velocity caps at the offshore inlets of the intake pipes, which maximize the horizontal flow of water into the intake. Fishes may be entrapped by a downward flow but are more likely to detect and avoid a horizontal flow (Clark and Brownell,1973). Ocean Gill Nets A total of 5,570 fish, weighing 2,079 kg, was collected by gill netting at ocean stations in 1984 (Table B-5). Atlantic bumper was the predominant species collected, followed in abundance by Spanish mackerel. Atlantic bumper accounted for 27.9 percent of the number but only 5.8 B-7 84LUCIE1 FSHSHELL, 7 lI
percent of the weight of fishes collected; Spanish mackerel comprised 15.5 percent of the number and 19.7 percent of the weight. Atl antic croaker, spot, bluefish and yellowfin menhaden followed Atlantic bumper and Spanish mackerel in abundance. Because several species of drum were collected, they made up the second largest percentage of the catch based on taxa (Table B-6). The largest number of fish was collected during September 1984 when the catch averaged 121 fish per net set (Figure B-5). Atlantic bumper, spot and Atlantic croaker were particularly abundant in September and composed 71 percent of the catch during that month. The second most abundant catch occurred in October when an average of 85 fish per net set was collected. Atlantic bumper accounted for 70 percent of this catch. The fewest fish were found during April when the average estch was 0.5 fish per net set. I No statistically significant differences (P10.05; ANOVA) were found in the numbers of fish collected among Stations F1 through F7 and C1. This is attributed to the large variation within each station among months (Table B-7). The largest number of fish was the 1,190 (21.4 percent) collected at Station F1, followed closely by F3 with 1,089 (19.6 percent; Table B-7). The number of fish collected at the other stations ranged from 137 to 765 or from 2.5 to 13.7 percent of the total. The most fish collected at Station F1 were caught in September and l the majority of these were spot. Sixty-five percent of the fish l I B-8 84LUCIE1 f FSHSHELL, 7 ll l
I collected at F3 were caught in October and 94 percent were Atlantic bumper. These results indicate that the larger numbers of fish collected at Stations F1 and F3 relative to the other stations are most likely due to the fortuitous occurrence of large numbers of schooling fish on various occasions. The 1982 studies (ABI, 1983) showed that more fish occurred near the r intakes than in the vicinity of the discharges. It was postulated that this may have been caused by differences in the structural configurations of the intakes and disharges. In contrast, the 1983 studies (ABI, 1984) revealed fewer fish in the intake area than at the discharge. In 1984, fish were more evenly distributed among intake and discharge areas than in either 1982 or 1983. However, data from all three years showed that, regardless of their location, fish remained in the area for only part of l the year (Figure B-5) before moving on. This has particularly important implications for migratory species such as Spanish mackerel, because it shows that these structures are not an important enough attractant to offset natural migratory movements. Stations F3 through F5 (Figure B-6) were established to enable com-parisons of fish abundance at the Y-port diffuser and at two down-current locations potentially influenced by the thermal plume. However, the Y-port diffuser line was not used during 1982, 1983 or the first four months of 1984; instead, the multi-port diffuser line was used. The heat discharged from the multi-port diffuser line dissipated so rapidly that only slight temperature differences were recorded at multi-port diffuser B-9 I 84LUCIE1 FSHSHELL, 7 I J
I Stations F6 and F7. Thus, comparisons of fish abundance down-current from the point of discharge could not be made until May 1984. However, because of the lack of a thermal gradient at the multiport diffuser, it is doubtful there were any differences related to thermal conditions. Water temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen and turbidity were measured at the same time and location as the ocean gill net samples. With the exception of higher turbidity measurements recorded at F1 in January and at F3 in October, little variation was found in these parame-ters among stations on any given sampling date in 1984 (Table B-8). The 1984 mean water temperature down-current of the Y-port diffuser at F3 was only 0.67*C higher than at the intake structures, with the temperature differential falling to 0.54 C at F4 and 0.50*C at F5. Even less of a temperature gradient was noted at the multiport diffuser, where the 1984 mean water temperature at F7 (the prevailing down-current station) was only 0.23*C higher than at F6 and just 0.26*C higher than at C1. I Migratory Fishes Migratory species of sport and commercial value found during ocean gill netting were Spanish mackerel, king mackerel and bluefish. As pre-viously stated, Spanish mackerel was the second most abundant species collected in 1984 and bluefish was the fifth most numerous (Table B-5). Spanish mackerel migrate north in the spring to spawn during the summer months in the northern part of their range (north of Cape Canaveral on the Atlantic coast) and then migrate south in the fall (Wollam, 1970). Commercial landings of Spanish mackerel in 1982 (the latest data I 84LUCIE1 FSHSHELL, 7 B-10 I J
1 available) in St. Lucie and Martin Counties totaled 1.4 million kg or 60 l I percent of the entire Florida east coast landings of this species (Table B-3). Landings in each of these counties have fluctuated widely over the past several years, ranging between about 0.2 and 2.3 million kilograms
'(FigureB-7).
I Ocean gill netting in 1984 resulted in the collection of 865 Spanish mackerel (Table B-5). Sixty-six percent of these were collected in December as they were migrating southward (Figure B-5). The largest number of Spanish mackerel, 226, was found at discharge Station F5 (Table B-6). From 19 to 159 individuals were found at the four other discharge stations,102 and 116 at the two intake stations and 53 at Station C1 further offshore. The high number of Spanish mackerel collected at Station F5 is attributed to chance. The seasonal migratcry habits of king mackerel are similar to those of the Spanish mackerel although king mackerel are usually found further offshore. In addition to its commercial importance (Table B-3; Figure B-7), the king mackerel is the most prominent marine fish in the Florida sport fishery (Beaumariage, 1973). Only four king mackerel were collected during offshore gill netting in 1984, one each at Stations F5, F6, F7 and C1. Bluefish occur off the St. Lucie area in the winter and, like Spanish mackerel, are generally fosnd near the shore. They move north during spring and summer (Beaumariage, 1969) and spawn in offshore waters I ' B-11 94LUCIE1 FSHSHELL, 7 I 1
north of Florida in early summer (Deuel et al.,1966). The northward movement of bluefish along the Florida coast is probably part of a spawning migration by that part of the population that extends its winter range into south Florida waters (Moe, 1972). This species is also impor-tant in sport and comercial fishing. A total of 557,000 kg was landed commercially in St. Lucie and Martin Counties in 1982 (Table B-3; Figure B-7). A total of 403 bluefish was collected by ocean gill netting in 1984, with the majority (65 percent) found during January and February (Figure B-5). The largest number, 170, was found at Station F6; the number collected at other stations ranged from 11 to 106 (Table B-6). As with Spanish mackerel and fishes in general, the high number at Station F6 is attributed to chance. I Non-migratory fishes of sport and/or commercial importance also were found during ocean gill netting. These included menhaden, sheepshead, Florida pompano and the drums, such as weakfish, kingfish and spot (Table B-5). As shown by the gill netting results, a high diversity of large pelagic fishes occurs off Hutchinson Island. I Comparisons Among Study Years The number of fish collected during ocean gill netting has varied considerably over the past several years. From 1977, the first full year of plant operation, and continuing through 1984, the catch per unit effort has ranged from 15.7 to 94.2 fish per net set at discharge Station B-12 I 84LUCIE1 FSHSHELL, 7 I ,
1 (F3) and from 7.9 to 25.9 fish per net set at Station 2 (C1) located further offshore (Figure B-8). Stations 1 (F3) and 2 (C1) were the two locations sampled during all study years. The differences in the catches at the two stations are probably related to distance from shore and the attractant effect of offshore structures (Station F3 is located at the Y-port diffuser). Differences among years at either station primarily are attributed to natural annual variations in fish abundance and to the chance occurrence of the highly motile, of ten migratory fishes encoun-tered. The taxa of fish making up the catch each year also has varied (Table B-9). These variations also are attributed to chance occurrence, although natural fluctuations in abundance could also alter the relative abundance of species. For example, during 1977 the percentage com-position for Spanish mackerel (33.3 percent) was higher than that found during any other full study year (Table B-9). Spanish mackerel commer-cial landings also were higher in 1977 than during the other years (Figure B-7). This yearly variation in the occurrence of a migratory species could be caused by year-class success, water temperature and current pattern differences, r.earshore versus offshore movement of the fish, or other factors. Because of the large size of the study area and the highly motile, often migratory habits of the fishes involved, it is doubtful whether variations in species occurrence or percentage com-position in relation to other taxa could be attributed to any plant-related effect. B-13 84LUCIE1 FSHSHELL, 7
SUMMARY
Environmental monitoring at the St. Lucie Plant has been conducted to examine fish composition and abundance and to evaluate the local habi-tat, distribution and life history of these fish in terms of plant opera-tion. This is the ninth annual environmental monitoring report presenting the results of these studies. Beginning in February 1982, gill netting was intensified in the immediate vicinity of the plant to enable a more accurate assessment of fish distribution and abundance at the cooling system's ocean intakes and discharges. Gill netting was con-tinued in the intake canal, but trawl, beach seine and ichthyoplankton study components were deleted from the monitoring program following the May 1982 sampiing. Gill netting data showed that fish were not accumulating in the intake canal and that, compared to the number of fish collected at the ocean intake structures, the number entrapped in the intake canal was low. This low entrapment is attributed primarily to the velocity caps at the ocean intakes. These appeared to be effective in enabling fish to avoid being drawn into the intake pipes. Several of the fishes collected in the intake canal, such as snappers, sheepshead, drum and mullet, were species of sport and commercial importance. However, the loss of these fishes to sport or commercial interests was negligible considering the low numbers encountered. It is particularly noteworthy that the impor-tant migratory fishes usually avoid entrapment; only 15 mackerel and 37 I bluefish have been collected in the past nine years. B-14 84LUCIE1 FSHSHELL, 7 J
I During the intensified ocean gill netting program, there were no statistically significant differences in the numbers of fish collected among stations in the vicinity of the plant. The largest number of fish was collected at intake Station F1 during 1984, as was the case in 1982, whereas the largest number was found at discharge Station F3 in 1983'. The reason for the large number of fish at Station F1 in 1984 was con-sidered fortuitous, resulting from the chance occurrence of a large number cf schooling fish on several occasions. In 1982, 1983 and 1984, concentrations of fish in intake and discharge areas only occurred during part of the year, showing that fish were not held there and eventually moved on. This has particularly important implications for the migratory species, such as the Spanish mackerel, because it shows that these struc-tures are not important enough as an attractant to offset natural migra-tory movements. There have been year-to-year variations in both the number of fish collected during ocean gill netting and in the taxa of fish making up the catch. These variations are attributed to chance occurrences of the fishes encountered and to natural variations in species abundance. Because of the large size of the study area and the highly motile, often migratory habits of the fishes involved, it is doubtful whether variations in species occurrence or percentage composition could be attributed to any plant-related effect. I 84LUCIE1 FSHSHELL, 7 B-15
1 1 LITERATURE CITED ABI (Applied Biology, Inc.). 1977. Ecological monitoring at the Florida Power & Light Co. St. Lucie Plant, annual report 1976. Volume 1. AB-44. Prepared by Applied Biology, Inc. for Florida Power & Light Co., Miami.
. 1978. Ecological monitoring at the Florida Power & Light Company, St. Lucie Plant, annual report 1977. Volume
- 1. A3-101. Prepared by Applied Biology, Inc. for Florida Power &
Light Co. , Miami .
. 1979. Florida Power & Light Company, St.
Lucie Plant, annual non-radiological environmental monitoring report 1978. Volume II, Biotic monitoring. AB-177. Prepared by Applied Biology, Inc. for Florida Power & Light Co. Miami.
. 1980. Florida Power & Light Company, St.
Lucie Plant, annual non-radiological environmental monitoring report 1979. Volumes II and III, Biotic monitoring. AB-244. Prepared by Applied Biology, Inc. for Florida Power & Light Co. Miami.
. 1981a. Proposed St. Lucie Plant preoper-ational and operational biological monitoring program. August 1981.
I AB-358. Prepared by Applied Biology, Inc. for Florida Power & Light Co. Miami.
. 1981b. Florida Power & Light Company, St.
Lucie Plant, annual non-radiological environmental monitoring report 1980. Volume II, Biotic monitoring. AB-324. Prepared by Applied Biology, Inc. for Florida Power & Light Co., Miami.
. 1982. Florida Power & Light Company, St.
Lucie Plant, annual non-radiological environmental monitoring report 1981. Volume II, Biotic monitoring. AB-379. Prepared by Applied Biology, Inc. for Florida Power & Light Co., Miami. I . 1983. Florida Power & Light Company, St. Lucie Plant, annual non-radiological environmental monitoring report 1982. Volumes 1 and 2. AB-442. Prepared by Applied Biology, Inc. for Florida Power & Light Co., Miami.
. 1984. Florida Power & Light Company, St.
Lucie Plant annual non-radiological environmental monitoring report I 1983. AB-5$0. Prepared by Applied Biology, Inc. for Florida Power
& Light Co., Miami.
Beaumariage, D.S. 1969. Returns from the 1965 Schlitz tagging program including a cumulative analysis of previous results. Florida Department of Natural Resources Marine Laboratory, Technical Series No. 59. 39 pp. (f rom Moe,1972) . I B-16 t 84LUCIE1 FSH5 HELL, 7 I J
I LIT 7RATURE CITED (continued) Beaumariage, D.S. 1973. Age, growth, and reproduction of king mackerel Scomberomorus cavalla, in Florida. Florida Department of Natural Resources Marine Laboratory, Publication No.1. 45 pp. Clark, J. and W. Brownell. 1973. Electric power plants in the coastal I zone: environmental issues. American Littoral Society, Special Publication No. 7, Highlands, N.J. Deuel, D.G., J .R . Clark and A .J . Mansueti. 1966. Description of embryonic and early larval stages of bluefish, Pomatomus saltatrix. i Transactions American Fisheries Society 95(3):264-271. Moe, M.A. , J r. 1972. Movement and migration of south Florida fishes. Florida Department of Natural Resources Marine Research Laboratory, Technical Series No. 69. 25 pp. Robins, C.R., R.H. Bailey, C.E. Bond, J.R. Brooker, E.A. Lachner, R.N. Lee and W.B. Scott. 1980. A list of common and scientific names of fishes from the United States and Canada, 4th ed. American I Fisheries Society, Special Publication No.12. 174 pp. Wollam, M.B. 1970. Description and distribution of larvae and early l Juveniles of king mackerel, Scomberomorus cavalla (Cuvier), and Spanish mackerel, Scomberomorus maculatus (Mitchill); (Pisces: Scombridae); in the western North Atlantic. Florida Department of Natural Resources Marine Research Laboratory, Technical Series No.
- 61. 35 pp.
I I - B-17 84LUCIE1 FSHSH ELL, 7
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I I TABLE B-1 NUMBER, SIZE AND PERCENTA0E (XNPOSITION OF SHELLFISHES AND FISHES COLLECTED BY GILT. NETTING AT INTAKE CANAL STATIONS ST. LUCIE PLANT 1984 Percentage composition I Species Number of Individuals Range of lengths (m) Total weight (q) Number of Individuals Total welqht blue crab 28 92-171 4.338 93.3 74.5 I spiny lobster Shellfish total smooth dogfish 2 30 216 90-103 542-726 1.486 5,824 161.975, 6.7 100.0 35.I 25.5 100.0 52.9 11.2 7.9 I hardhead catfish 69 233-340 24.072, spot 41 168-203 6,857 6.7 2.2 crevalle jack 29 172-343 9,159 4.7 3.0 Atlantic bumper 28 104-200 2,609 4.6 0.9 Atlantic spadefish 25 83-336 17,350a del S*7 I white mullet lane snapper s11vor porgy porkfish 22 22 18 15 254-359 183-314 133-224 139-215 II,578e 6,928 5,03a 3,271 3.6 3.6 2.9 2.4 3.8 2.3 1.6 1.1 1.0 I pinfish 13 118-244 3,109 2.1 black margate 12 158-348 6,859 2.0 2.2 Irish pompano 8 137-227 1,576 f.3 0.5 theepthead 7 152-337 5,917 1.1 1.9 gray snapper 7 211 383 2,959 1.1 1.0 I white grunt bonnethead Atlantic croaker pigfish 5 5 5 5 192-275 400-438 227-261 182-190 1,603, 1,453 1,401 913 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.3 I Atlantic sharpnose shark 4 551-590 3,138 0.7 1.0 bl 0head searobin 4 192-234 1,058 0.7 0.3 ye1Iowfin menhaden 4 199-233 978 0.7 0.3 southern stargazer 3 179-315 1,676 0.5 0.5 gulf kingfish 3 272-318 1,230 0.5 0.4 I blue runner l ookdown leopard searobin southern flounder 3 3 3 2 215-308 109-172 167-168 414-523 1,183, 322 212 5,400 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.3 0.4 0.1 0.1 f.8 0.9 I snook 2 412-449 2,693 0.3 mutton snapper 2 199-415 2,380 0.3 0.8 sea bream 2 245-256 1,069 0.3 0.3 striped mullet 2 244-318 947 0.3 0.3 sand dec 2 266-267 843 0.3 0.3 I sallors cholce striped croaker striped searobin Florida pompano 2 2 2 2 165-221 183-202 184-186 152-166 469 468 323 245 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.3 I naked solo 2 118-119 109 <0.1 black arouper i 415 1,865 0.2 0.6 black drum I 409 1,770 0.2 0.6 gulf flounder 1 28 5 533 0.2 0.2 Atlantic moonfish 269 521e 0.2 0.2 I 1 sea bass 1 267 450 0.2 0.1 eouthorn kingfish I 276 416 0.2 0.1 burro grunt 1 239 290 0.2 0.1 Inshore lizardfish 1 322 265 0.2 0.9 0.2 0.1 I wenkfish 1 273 226 spotted scorpionfish 1 166 223 0.2 0.1 ladyfish 1 27I 222 0.2 0.1 192 193a 0.2 0.9 banded drum 1 harvestfish 150 100 0.2 40.1 I 1 36 0.2 40.1 lined sole I 93 306.470 100.0 100.0 Fish total 615 - I 1 al e 84ticiti no - e fre9 ment . 0-26 I TABLED-1
W W W M M M M M M M W W W W W W W W W TABLE B-2 a NUMBER OF FISHES COLLECTED PER MONTH BY GILL NETTING AT INTAKE CANAL STATIONS ST. LUCIE PLANT 1984 Total by Percentage May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec taxon composition Taxon Jan Feb Mar Apr 1 7 225 36.6 shark 43 174 69 11.2 1 26 3 is 21 catfish 10.7 25 10 1 .1 8 66 jack 10 1 5 4 2 7 33 6 57 9.3 drtn 6.5 9 7 7 10 7 40 grunt 6.5 9 2 2 1 9 5 40 c= porgy 12 2 4 8 13 3 31 5.0 L snapper 1 1 7 7 25 4.1 spadefish 7 1 2 5 24 3.9 2 1 1 4 11 cullet 4 2 1 3 10 1.7 scorpionfish, searobin 8 1.3 1 1 1
=oj arras 3 2 2 1 1 20 3.2 other fish 7 6 2 1 c c d 100.0 Tctal 104 229 27 [ I 28 O 0 O 35 115 74 615
#Four 24-hour net sets per month.
Nets did not fish on bottom due to high flow velocities in intake canal. Nets clogged with algae. d Two net sets in Septec:ber. 84LUCIE1 TAELE B-2
TABLE B-3 I COMMERCIAL FISHERY LANDINGS FOR ST. LUCIE COUNTY, MARTIN COUNTY AND THE, FLORIDA EAST C0AST 1982 I Commercial catch (kg) Florida I Speciesb St. Lucie County Martin County east coast I bluerunner bluefish bonito 21,595 236,146 19,680 46,911 321,168 6,770 76,215 910,835 31,740 catfish, sea 2,112 15,834 18,887 crevalle (Jacks) 197,590 98,661 336,774 l croaker 9,403 13,031 43,254 dolphin 7,858 1,475 36,235 goatfish 329 46,113 56,908 I groupers and scamp 26,130 11.116 305,591 herring, thread 0 5,618 5,618 king mackerel 641,863 82,054 2,108,059 I kingwhiting(kingfish) 9,655 20,503 401,167 marlin and sailfish 8,319 340 15,569 mullet, black (striped) 111,416 67,769 1,186,465 pompano 21,565 26,878 99,733 l sand perch (mojarra) 388 63,052 67,775 sea trout, gray 8,923 2,590 79,926 sea trout, spotted 28,090 6,868 332,161 I sharks 20,344 413 69,073 sheepshead 6,101 85,730 165,121 snapper, mangrove 5,490 3,232 28,466 I Spanish mackerel spot 899,944 195,582 541,769 29,314 2,385,302 2,010,010 twordfish 451,503 0 1,368,954 I tenpounder (ladyfish) tilefish tuna 587,654 12,553 0 53,739 38,327 71 63,188 1,467,289 66,709 I unclassifled, food unclassified, misc. other fishc 15,912 137 23,055 11,838 8,201 20,723 71,530 188,425 6,471,348d Total 3,569,327 1,630,108 20,468,327 l I a Data provided by NOAA, National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast Fisheries Center, Miami. bSpecies in which over 4536 kg (10,000 lb) were landed in either St. I Lucie or Martin Counties. cSpecies in which less than 4536 kg (10,000 lb) were landed in both St. I d Lucie and Martin Counties. Menhaden compose 73 percent of this amount; menhaden landings are insignificant in St. Lucie and Martin Counties. 84LUCIE1 0-28 TABLEB-3
M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M TABLE B-4 NUMBER IJiD PERCENTAGE C0" POSITION OF FISHES COLLECTED BY GILL NETTING AT INTIEE CANAL STATIONS DURING ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING ST. LUCIE PLANT 1976 - 1984 1976 1977 1978 Ntzaber Ntz ber lmber of Percentage of Percentage of Percentage Taxon fishes cosmosition fishes composition fishes composition drtzs 111 25.0 23 5.7 33 2.3 mul1et 90 20.3 28 7.0 103 7.1 grunt 63 14.2 41 10.2 309 21.2 ca snapper 62 14.0 49 12.2 244 16.7 g j ack 37 8.3 56 14.0 336 23.1 scorpionfish, 16 3.6 8 2.0 92 6.3 searobin porgy 11 2.5 47 11.7 103 7.1 moj arra 10 2.3 3 0.8 18 1.2 spadefish 2 0.4 84 21.0 57 3.9 shark, ray 2 0.4 34 8.5 23 1.6 catfish 0 0.0 1 0.2 64 4.4 other fish 40 9.0 27 6.7 73 5.1 Total 444 100.0 401 100.0 1455 100.0 Meters of net 5570 - 3292 - 4267 - fished TABLE CONTINUED
W M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M TABLE B-4 (continued) NUMBER AND PERCENTAGE COMPOSITION OF FISHES COLLECTED BY GILL NETTING AT INTAKE CANAL STATIONS DURING ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING ST. LUCIE PLANT 1976 - 1984 1979 1980 1981 Number Nu::ber Number of Percentage of Percentage of Percentage Taxon fishes composition fishes composition fishes composition drua 27 4.1 485 32.3 59 6.5 mullet 6 0.9 19 1.3 52 5.8 grunt 96 14.5 233 18.8 299 33.1 e snapper 151 22.9 136 9.1 118 13.1 g jack 70 10.6 106 7.1 109 12.1 scorpionfish, 23 3.5 50 3.3 13 1.4 searobin porgy 172 26.0 197 13.1 114 12.6 coj arra 23 4.2 38 2.5 34 3.8 spadefish 6 0.9 17 1.1 22 2.4 shark, ray 14 2.1 66 4.4 3 0.3 catfish 20 3.0 40 2.7 46 5.1 other fish 48 7.3 64 4.3 34 3.8 Total 661 100.0 1501 100.0 903 100.0 Meters of 4389 - 4389 - 4145 - net fished 84LUCIE1 TABLEB-4,A,B
W W W W M M M M W W W W W W W W W TABLE B-4 (continued)
!."JM3ER is'0 PERCENTAGE COMPOSITION OF FISHES COLLECTED BY GILL NETTING AT INTAKE CA!U4L STATIONS DURING ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING ST. LUCIE PLANT 1976 - 1984 1982 1983 1984 Nunber Nucter Nue:ber of Percentage of Percentage of Percentage Taxon fishes c g osition fishes coeposition fishes coeposition drus 8 2.0 25 4.8 57 9.3 nullet 25 6.3 15 2.9 24 3.9 grunt 91 22.8 56 10.6 40 6.5 snapper 48 12.0 28 5.3 31 5.0 g jack 20 5.0 90 17.1 66 10.7 scorpionfish, 23 5.8 20 3.8 10 1.7 searobin porgy 65 16.3 87 16.5 40 6.5 cojarra 12 3.0 33 6.3 8 1.3 spadefish 3 0.8 17 3.2 25 4.1 shark, ray 3 0.7 21 4.0 225 36.6 catfish 95 23.8 105 20.0 69 11.2 other fish 6 1.5 29 5.5 20 3.2 Total 399 100.0 526 100.0 615 100.0 Meters of net 2760 -
2880 - 2760 - fished 84LUCIE1 TABLEE-4,A,B
TABLE D-S I NUM0ER. SIZE AND PERCENTAGE COMPOSITION OF FISHES COLLECTED BY OlLL NETTING AT OCEAN STAfl0NS ST. LUCIE PLANT 1984 I Range of Percentage composition Number of Total Number of Total Species Individuals lengths (mm) welqht (g) Individuals welqht Atlantic bumper 1952 3I-227 121,511 27.9 S.8 Spanish mackerel 865 248-S2S 409.725 15.5 19.7 Atlantic croaker Sl9 164-262 90,480 9.3 4.4 spot 508 147-199 59,951 9.1 2.9 bluefish 403 218-430 309,194 7.2 14.9 yellowfin menhaden 351 162-276 86,944 6.3 4.2 blue runner 207 103-323 74,853 3.7 3.6 I Atlantic menhaden banded drta crewal1e Jack Atlantic sharpnose shark 192 153 141 126 168-308 149-204 92-475 460-101S S2,158 27.469, 92,289 166,413 3.4 2.7 2.5
- 2. 3 2.5 I.3 2.5 8.0 southern kingfish 95 165-308 31,131 1.7 1.5 smooth dogfish 87 $38-697 63,944 1.6 3.1 bonnethesd 70 344-1001 81,901 1.3 3.9 AtIantle theead herring S6 IS3-206 6,061 1.0 0.3 hybrid menhaden $4 202 238 11,993 1.0 0.6 hardhead catfish di 172-314 9,402 0.7 0.5 silver seatrout 23 202-260 4,172 0.4 0.2 weektish 16 228-307 S,363b 0.1 0.3 scalloped hammerhead 13 511-2050 264,497 0.2 12.7 9,227 I
ladyfish 13 352 462 0.2 0.4 Florida pompano 12 190-296 4,682 0.2 0.2 gafftopsall catfish 12 139-414 3,960 0.2 0.2 plafIsh 10 155 225 1,962 0.2 0.I harvestfIsh 7 78-166 1,068 0.1 0.1 I king mackerel Atlantic spadefish spinner shark great barracuda 4 4 3 3 349-S81 76-161 788-1660 808 869 3,7tS 417e 76.310 17,050 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 40.1 3.7 0.8 butterfish I 3 135-159 280 0.1 <0.1 blacknote shark 2 1007-1014 10.350 <0.1 0.5 blachttp shark 2 M29 852 7,450 <0.1 0.4 Atlantic cutlassfish 2 795-994 1,285 <0.1 0.8 cobla 2 294-349 671 <0.1 <0.1 I gult kingfish whitebone porgy leatherjacket coenote rey 2 2 2 1 254 256 153-158 182 269 656
$97 310 30 3 4,950 40.1
<0.1 40.1 (0.1
<0.1 40.1
<0.1 0.2 finetooth shark 1 752 2,lA0 <0.1 0.1 sheepshead 1 211 1,962 40.1 0.1 orange filefish I 407 917 40.1 40.1 Inshore lizardfish 1 414 713 <0.1 40.1 Atlantic monfish I 204 215 <0.1 40.1 I Atlantic threadfin dushy flout ler frlsh pompano pinfish 1
i 1 1 196 201 156 165 182 176 134 114 40.1 40.1
<0.1
<0.1
<0.1
<0.1
<0.1
<0.8 I
send drum 1 178 110 40.1 <0.1 scaled sardine 1 160 109 <0.1 40.9 striped searobin 1 128 $2 40.1 40.1 Total S570 - 2.079,101 100.0 100.0 includes one fragment, weloht of two fish estimated. Wolght of one fish estimateil. 84LUCl[1 7 AHLiff-S 0-32 I
W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W TABLE B-6 P M ER OF FISHES COLLECTED PER STATION BY GILL NETTING AT OCERI STATIONS ST. LUCIE PLANT 1984 Station Percenta9e Tax::n F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 F6 F7 C1 Total cceposition Atlantic bu:per 327 113 758 162 50 70 26 46 1552 27.9 drma 445 257 3 314 214 33 11 30 1317 23.6 Spanish mackerel 102 116 50 140 225 159 19 53 865 15.5 cenhaden 172 93 87 55 132 17 8 28 597 10.7 i ? bluefish 14 23 106 46 13 170 11 15 403 7.2 l 5 shark 41 63 13 9 16 37 12 114 305 5.5 l blue runner 25 33 10 14 23 66 25 10 207 3.7 crevalle jack 30 12 34 7 2 45 5 6 141 2.5 Atlantic thread herring 13 2 17 3 19 1 1 0 56 1.0 catfish 3 3 2 6 6 19 13 1 53 1.0 j ack D 1 1 4 3 0 3 2 1 15 0.3 c 4 5 6 10 9 4 5 59 1.1 cther fish 16 Total 1190 740 1039 765 711 629 137 309 5570 100.0 a Spot, Atlantic croaker and 6 other species. Three species other than Atlantic beper, blue runner and crevalle jack. cNineteen species. 82LUCIE1 TAELE B-6
I TABLE B-7 NUMBER OF FISil COLLECTED DURING EACil SAMPLING PERIOD I BY GILL NETTING AT OCEAN STATIONS ST. LUCIE PLANT 1984 I Station Date F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 F6 F7 C1 Total 18 Jan 79 35 86 72 36 33 21 40 402 26 Jan 127 54 24 5 14 45 2 0 271 16 Feb 54 95 78 212 222 108 2 24 795 24 Feb 0 1 1 1 2 1 7 3 16 19 Mar 102 85 13 5 4 2 0 0 211 10 Apr a 2 9 1 1 0 4 3 1 21 18 Apr 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 4 25 May b ,b ,b 56 14 0 75 I 2 3 - c 21 Jun 1 0 0 0 0 6 1 0 8 l 12 Jul 17 Au9 1 104 0 3 0 3 0 4 2 11 2 3 0 10 0 10 148 5 14 Sep 390 203 115 145 94 5 10 4 966 16 Oct 47 48 4 21 16 21 9 39 205 30 Oct 100 102 705 56 82 8 24 1 1158 5 Nov 1 0 2 105 2 1 7 102 220 20 Nov 3 2 9 14 4 134 4 5 175 11 Occ 78 82 36 104 217 186 17 31 751 20 Occ 18 18 11 19 4 14 6 49 139 TOTAL 1190 740 1089 765 711 629 137 309 5570 1
#Delayed March sampiin9 l b Samplin9 terminated because of dense a19a1 accumulation that clo99ed the not.
0-34 84LUCIE1 l TABLER-7
I TABLE B-8 RANGES OF PHYSICAL MEASUREMENTS RECORDED OURING OCEAN GILL NET COLLECTIONS ST LUCIE PLANT 1984 Date Water temperature Sallnity Dissolved Oxygen Turbid ity Current I (*C) (ppt) (ppm) (JTU) direction to 18 January 16.0-17.2 33.4-34.5 ?.1-8.8 2.8-26.0 north 26 January 22.9-24.2 34.5-35.5 7.2-7.8 0.7-9.3 north 16 February 22.2-24.1 35.0-35.5 7.3-7.8 2.8-8.1 south 24 February 22.4-23.9 35.0-35.5 6.9-8.0 1.1-7.1 south 19 March 22.7-23.8 34.5-35.0 6.6-8.0 1.7-11.3 north 10 April 22.6-23.8 35.0-35.5 6.8-7.5 1.5-3.5 south 18 April 21.4-22.8 35.0-36.1 5.8-6.5 0.5-3.7 north 25 May 24.2-26.6 34.5-35.5 6.9-7.3 0.5-3.5 south 21 June 23.2-25.2 35.0-35.5 7.7-8.4 0.1-2.5 north 12 July 27.3-29.0 34.5-35.5 7.3-8.0 0.0-2.8 north 17 August 21.5-29.8 34.5-35.0 6.4-9.6 0.3-3.1 no current 14 september 28.7-30.3 34.5- 35.5 6.3-7.3 1.5-13.5 north 16 October 25.1-27.0 34.5-35.5 6.8-7.5 7.7-100.0 north 30 October 26.0-27.7 34.5-35.0 7.0-8.1 1.5-6.2 no current 5 November 26.1-28.3 34.0-35.0 6.5-7.1 1.1-6.2 south 20 Fevember 23.4 24.6 35.0-35.5 6.7-7.1 1.3-5.9 north 11 December 21.3-23.1 34.5-35.5 7.3-7.7 1.5-12.5 north 20 December 21.6-22.3 34.0-35.0 6.7-7.6 0.5-25.5 north
*26.0 at FI, <9 at other stations, b
Delayed March sample.
" Surf ace temperatures at all stations 128.9, bottom temperatures <22.5.
I 100.0 at F3 on bottom: FI, F2, F4, F5 <351 F6, F7, C1 < 17 84 LLCI El TABLEU-8 I I B-35
I TABLE B-9 NUMBER (AND PERCENTAGE COMPOSITION) 0F FISHES COLLECTED I BY OCEAN GILL NETTING DURING ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING ST. LUCIE PLANT 1976-1984 I Taxon 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 l Atlantic bumper crevalle jack 557(32.1) 327 18.9 211(172) 5 . 482(55.1) 46 5.3) 247(15.3) 22213.8) 95(10.0) 13 1.4) blue runner 273 15.7 71 . 9110.4) 77 . 10711.3) otherjacks 26 1.5) 48 . 7(0.8) 33 . 202.1) Spanish mackerel 179(10.3) 407(33.3) 61(7.0) 238(14.8) 218(23.0) I king mackerel bluefish 3(0.2) 91(5.3) 29(2.4) 331(27.1) 1(0.1) 12(1.4) 12(0.8) 221(13.7) 21(2.2) 74(7.8) menhaden 85(4.9) 12(1.0) 12(1.4) 81(5.0) 123(13.0) I drum shark 42 9 35 20 121.4) 31 3.5) 24014.9) 169 10.5) 13614.4) 97 10.3) other fish 142 . 54 . 119 13.6) 704.3) 424.5) Total 1734(100.0) 1223(10a.0) 874(100.0) 1610(100.0) 946(100.0) Number of net sets 60 72 72 72 72 l 1976-1982a - Stations 0-5; monthly sampling. 1982b-1984 - Stations F1-F7, C1; monthly or bi-monthly sampling. 1982a - January-May; 1982b - February - December. TABLE CONTINUED 84LUCIE1 TABLEB-9 I I I B-36 I
I TABLE B-9 (continued) NUMBER (AND PERCENTAGE COMPOSITION) 0F FISHES COLLECTED I BY OCEAN GILL NETTING DURING ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING ST. LUCIE PLANT 1976-1984 Taxon 1981 1982a 1982b 1983 1984 I Atlantic bumper crevalle jack blue runner 235(17.2) 31(2.3) 64(4.7) 3(1.7) 0(0.0) 15(8.3) 474(11.4) 212(5.1) 241(5.8) 422(7.5) 278(5.0) 273(4.9) 1552(27.9) 141(2.5) 207(3.7) other jacks 13(0.9) 1(0.6) 65(1.6) 38(0.7) 15(0.3) Spanish mackerel 153(11.2) 78(43.3) 1072(25.8) 1047(18.7) 865(15.5) king mackerel 5(0.4) 4(2.2) 34(0.8) 35(0.6) 4(0.1) bluefish 103(7.5) 15(8.3) 224(5.4) 1053(18.8) 403(7.2) menhaden 409(30.0) 3(1.7) 773(18.6) 602(10.8) 597(10.7) I drum shark other fish 196(14.4) 84(6.1) 72(5.3) 10(5.6) 4(2.2) 47(26.1) 787(19.0) 45(1.1) 225(5.4) 1401(25.0) 129(2.3) 320(5.7) 1317(23.6) 305(5.5) 164(0.3) Total 1365(100.0) 180(100.0) 4152(100.0) 5598(100.0) 5570(100.0) Number of net sets 72 30 127 139 141 1976-1982a - Stations 0-5; monthly sampling. 1982b-1984 - Stations F1-F7, C1; monthly or bi-monthly sampling. 1982a - January-May; 1982b - February - December. 84LUCIE1 TABLEB-9,A I I I I B-37 i i
I C. MACR 0 INVERTEBRATES I EPA NPDES Permit Required Condition (issued January, 1982; as delineated in ABI [1981] and approved by theEPA). Benthic Organisms - Benthic organisms will be collected quarterly and inventoried as to kind and abundance. Physical measurements will be made at the same time as benthic sample collections. Parameters measured will be water temperature, sali-nity, dissolved oxygen and turbidity. INTRODUCTION Benthic macroinvertebrates are functionally defined as those orga-nisms living on the bottom of aquatic habitats and which are large enough to be retained on a sieve of predetermined size (generally with a mesh size of 0.5 to 1.0 mm). In coastal marine environments, these organisms exhibit a diversity of forms, occupy a variety of habitats and include most of the major taxa and feeding types. While few macroinvertebrate species are of direct economic value, many are indirectly linked to com-mercially important fish and shellfish through complex, interconnected food webs. Benthic organisms respond to a variety of physicochemical variables including temperature, salinity, oxygen tension, wave energy and tur-bulence, tidal exposure, turbidity and substrate composition. They are also involved in a variety of interactions with other biotic components of the system. Assemblages of benthic animals are thus mosiacs of overlapping individual species distributions, with each species responding uniquely to existing environmental conditions (both biotic and C-1 84LUCIE2 MACRO-22
, abiotic). ChaI1ges in one or more environmental factors may cause sub- , sequent changes in the population characteristics of the animals comprising the assemblage. The degree to which an individual species is impacted is dependent on the magnitude, speed and duration of the envi rodental change.
The generation of elect ricity by coastal power plants is often accompanied by the direct discharge of large quantities of heated water into adjacent bays and oceans. These discharges may elevate temperatures in natural waters above ambient levels and can affect nearly all biologi-cal processes, including: enzymatic pathways; physiological, reproduc-tive and feeding rates; incidence of disease and parasites; and timing of migration, spawning, reproduction and sexual maturation (Albaster,1965; h Naylor, 1965; Warinner and Brehmer, 1966; Krenkel and Parker, 1969; Wilber,1969; Coutant,1970; Sylvester,1972; see also symposium volumes Gibbons and Sharitz,1974; Esch and McFarlane,1976). Additionally, tem-perature directly affects the solubility of gases in water, including oxygen and carbon dioxide, biochemical oxygen demand, ionic balance, and the rates of solution and precipitation. Synergistic combinations of the above factors can cause stress and/or mortality of aquatic organisms and thus directly affect population and community structure (Grimes,1971; Virnstein,1972; Gallaway and Strawn,1974; Carr and Giesel,1975; Logan and Mauer, 1975; Eidman, 1978; Jordan and Sutton,1984; see also sym-posium volumes Gibbons and Sharitz,1974; Esch and McFarlane,1976). I C-2 I 84LUCIE2 MACRO-22
I Benthic communities have been monitored in the nearshore marine environment adjacent to the St. Lucie Plant since September 1971 to assess the potential effects of the plant's oceanic thermal discharge. The current program, begun in January 1982, was intended to provide con-tinued operational monitoring of Unit 1 as well as preoperational and operational monitoring of Unit 2. Unit 2 began commercial operation in August 1983 and has been operating almost continuously since then. Unit 1, however, was inoperative through most of 1983 and was not placed in service again until May 1984. The latter part of 1984 represents the first period of simultaneous operation for both units. MATERIALS AND METHODS Station Locations and Rationale As in 1982 and 1983, seven permanent benthic stations were sampled during monitoring in 1984 (Figure C-1). Station B1, established during baseline studies and sampled quarterly since operational monitoring began in 1976, was located adjacent to the Y-port diffuser in about 8.3 m of water. Station B2 was located about 100 m north of Station B1 and slightly inshore at 7.3 m depth. Both were situated on a topographic shelf referred to as the beach terrace. When the Y-port diffuser is in use, prevailing currents transport a major portion of the discharge plume north along the beach terrace. As it moves and mixes with receiving waters, heat is dissipated. Consequently, Stations B1 and B2 should represent a gradient of decreasing thermal effects. C-3 I 84LUCIE2 MACRO-22 I
I A control station (BC) for the beach terrace habitat was located about 4.3 km south of the plant in about 6.7 m of water (Figure C-1). This location has served as a control since 1977 and is well outside the zone of potential plant impact. The four remaining stations were located in a broad trough lying between the beach terrace and an offshore bar about 3 km from shore (Figure C-1). The discharge line with the multiport diffuser extends into this deeper area. Stations B4 and B5 were located toward the end of the multiport diffuser in about 10 m of water. Both stations were about 50 m away from the line to the south and north, respectively. Station B3 was established during baseline studies and has been sampled quarterly since 1976. It was located approximately 2.6 km north of the multiport diffuser and 2.1 km from shore in about 11 m of water (Figure C-1). This station was previously demonstrated to be distant enough from the Y-port diffuser to be unaffected by plant operations. However, currents within the study area flow predominantly to the north. Consequently, Station B3 was maintained during the current benthic program because the thermal plume resulting from the simultaneous opera-tion of two units may drift into this area. Station C1, the control for Stations B3, B4 and B5, was located about 2 km from shore and east of the multiport diffuser in 11 m of water (Figure C-1). Similar to Station B5, it was established during baseline studies and has been sampled quarterly since 1976. It was also outside C-4 84LUCIE2 MACRO-22
l 1 the influence of Unit 1 operations. Because ocean currents in the i vicinity of the discharge system are estimated to travel eastward only four percent of the time (ABI,1981), Station C1 is not expected to be affected by thermal effluents even when both units are operating. Collection and Laboratory Procedures Benthic macroinvertebrates were collected with a Shipek sediment grab which samples a surface area of 400 cm2 (Holme and McIntyre,1971). This device has been used throughout baseline and operational monitoring at the St. Lucie Plant. The Shipek grab operates more effectively than other sampling devices in the shelly substrata found at the trough sta-tions because of its ability to 1) shear obstructing materials caught in its rotating jaws, and 2) close on a horizontal rather than vertical plane, thus preventing sample washout (EPA, 1973). The Shipek's prin-cipal deficiencies are its inability to operate in all substrate types with the same efficiency (depth of penetration) and, within a substratum type, its inconsistency to remove the same volume of sediments. Despite these potential drawbacks, statistical tests applied to data from both beach terrace and trough habitats showed no significant correlations bet-ween the number of organisms collected and depth of sediments within the sample bucket (ABI, 1983). Thus, within a substratum type, inferences regarding community structure are assumed to be free of bias introduced by minor differences in grab operating efficiency. Four replicate samples were collected quarterly (March, June, October and December) at each of the seven stations. Three were used for I C-5 84LUCIE2 MACRO-22 I
examining community structure and the fourth was used for sediment grain-size analyses. All samples were preserved in a 10-percent buffered, formalin-seawater solution, and the biological samples were stained with rose bengal dye. In the laboratory, biological sample.; were washed through a No. 25 standard sieve (0.710 mm mesh) to remove fine sediments and particulate matter. All material retained on the sieve was sub-sequently hand sorted under low magnification and all organisms removed, counted and identified to the lowest practicable taxon. Following taxonomic determinations, organisms from all three repli-cates at each station were combined by major taxa (annelids, molluscs, arthropods, echinoderms and other) and biomass was determined for each group. Samples were dried at 105*C to constant weight, measured to the nearest 0.001 g, combusted in a muffle furnace at 500*C for one hour and reweighed to provide ash-free dry weights (APHA,1981). The substrate material of the fourth replicate was rinsed, dried, disaggregated and placed in a graduated nest of nine sieves (mesh sizes I of 16, 8, 4, 2, 1, 0.5, 0.25, 0.125 and 0.063 mm, respectively). The nest of sieves was then shaken for 15 minutes on a Tyler Ro-Tap sieve shaker to separate the sample into size-class fractions. Particle size-class distribution, mean particle diameter and sorting coefficients were subsequently calculated according to the procedures of Folk (1968). Water temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen and turbidity were measured at surface, mid-depth and bottom during collections at each sta-C-6 84LUCIE2 MACRO-22
r tion. Water temperature and dissolved oxygen were measured in, situ with a YSI Model 54 00 meter. Water samples were collected with a Kemmerer water bottle, stored on ice and returned to the laboratory. A temperature-compensated, hand-held refractometer was used to measure salinity and a Hellige Turbidimeter was used to determine turbidity l evels. Data Analysis The primary function of the benthic monitoring program is to test ,l null hypotheses concerning the impact of thermal discharges from the St. Lucie Plant. Effluents from the plant can potentially affect the struc-ture of benthic communities in two principal ways: 1) within the boun-daries of the thennal plume, water temperatures may adversely affect physiological processes of constituent species; and 2) near the discharge lines, increased water velocity and turbulence may physically disturb the sediment and displace its inhabitants or may alter substrate characteristics. I To properly utilize statistical inference testing, assumptions and null hypotheses must be made a priori and clearly stated. Assumptions made during this study were: 1) triplicate grabs taken quarterly ade-quately and unambiguously sample the communities; 2) treatment (potentially affected) stations can be compared with valid control stations; and 3) all stations of similar habitat type are equally accessible to all potential macroinvertebrate colonizers. C-7 I 84LUCIE2 MACRO-22 I
I These assumptions are considered valid, but some discussion is warranted. Triplicate grab sampling is adequate for the more common species but not for the rare species (ABI, 1978). However, in areas that are as biologically diverse and physically dynamic as the St. Lucie Plant study area, it is impractical to analyze the large number of samples required to reach species saturation. To compensate for this sampling inadequacy, most indices used to evaluate community structure were those that are affected primarily by numerically abundant taxa. Secondly, I quarterly sampling is sensitive to major changes in benthic community structure but may not be frequent enough to detect short-term changes. Nevertheless, considering the high degree of natural temporal and spatial community variability, it is the long-term trends that are considered the more important relative to assessing potential power plant effects. -I Regarding assumption 2, based on sediment analyses conducted quarterly since 1976, Stations BC and C1 serve as valid control stations for beach terrace and trough stations, respectively. Finally, because of existing current patterns and the large volume of water naturally moving through the study area, it seems obvious that pelagic larval forms would have equal probabilities of settling at any particular location. I The null and alternative hypotheses used to examine spatial dif-ferences in total faunal density, species richness and diversity patterns between treatment and control stations are: I H: Stations in the vicinity of the power plant discharge o system are not different in the criteria variable from I their control station. H: Stations in the vicinity of the power plant discharge I a system are different in the criteria variable from their control station. C-8 84LUCIE2 MACRO-22 I
I One-way ANOVA and Tukey-Kramer multiple range tests were used for testing total faunal density and species richness, and the t-test method described by Poole (1974) was used to compare diversities. Each of these I tests, along with a variety of other statistical methods and biological indices used in evaluating benthic data collected at the St. Lucie Plant, are described in Appendix Table C-2. ANOVA results are provided in Appendix Tables C-3 through C-18. All statistical tests were performed at the P10.05 level of significance. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Physical Environment Numerous physicochemical variables, often acting synergistically on different developmental stages of each species, affect the structure and function of benthic macroinvertebrate communities. During 1984, tem-perature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, turbidity and substrate composition were measured concurrently with biological collections at the St. Lucie Plant to assess the influence of these environmental variables on observed patterns of community structure. Because benthic collections were only taken quarterly, comparable monthly water quality data from the nekton program (Section B. Nekton) were used to augment the physical data base, in order to provide a better measure of temporal variability within the study area. Temperature Although overall seasonal patterns of physicochemical variables, particularly temperature, may be quite regular from year to year, I C-9 i 1 84LUCIE2 l MACRO-22 l lI i
I variatiens in the timing and magnitude of the cogonent peaks are not uncommon in nearshore and estuarine habitats (Mahoney and Livingston, 1982; Flint and Younk,1983) and have been closely linked to general cli-matological changes (Meeter et al. , 1978). During 1984, mean bottom water temperatures ranged from 16.1'C in January to 29.1*C in September (Figure C-2). This seasonal variation, while deviating slightly from 1983, is consistent with past years (ABI,1982). I Two noteworthy differences in the seasonal temperature patterns be-tween 1983 and 1984 were 1) an abrupt increase in bottom temeratures during January 1984 to a relatively stable level throughout late winter and spring and 2) low summer bottom temperatures during 1984 (Figure C-2). While the rapid January warming may be coupled to the generally I warm air temperatures during this period, the rapid summer temperature declines were evidence of at least two major upwelling events. Except for 1983, these cold water intrusions have been observed with regularity since operational monitoring began in 1976. I Upwelling typically occurs during late spring and summer months along the eastern coast of Florida when relatively cold offshore bottom water is drawn shoreward over the shelf to replace warm surface waters displaced offshore by persistent winds. During the summer of 1984, loca-lized upwelling events were observed over a broad area of the Florida shelf from West Palm Beach to Cape Canaveral and were first noted as early as May in the more northern regi ons (R. Gibson and P. Jensen, Harbor Branch Foundation, Inc., personal commu nication). During the I C-10 I 84LUCI E2 MACRO-22 I
August upwelling episode, bottom water temperatures at St. Lucie moni-toring stations were depressed by as much as 7.7 C relative to surface waters (Table C-1). I Thermal impact from the St. Lucie Plant appeared relatively minor during 1984, even though both units were operating almost continously for the last half of the year. Bottom water temperatures taken concurrently with bi ologi cal collections differed only slightly among stations; I average differences between discharge and control stations were less than 0.5'C. Maximum elevation of water temperatures above ambient for beach terrace and trough discharge stations were only 1.4 C and 1.7'C, respec-tively (Table C-1). In general, differences in bottom water temperatures between control and discharge stations remained relatively constant I throughout 1984, indicating little immediate effect of the increased discharge of heated effluents after May when both units cperated simulta-neously. I In both beach terrace and trough habitats, observed temperature dif-ferences throughout the water column were slightly more pronounced than differences between stations (Table C-1). Generally, differences between surface and bottom temperatures were greater at the discharge station adjacent to the Y-port diffuser than at the discharge stations adjacent to the multiport diffuser. Except for one period of upwelling (observed on August 17), the maximum observed difference between surface and bottom water temperature was 2.2 C and 1.2*C for beach terrace and trough sta-tions, respectively. The use of surface-oriented, high velocity jets to I C-11 I 84LUCIE2 MACRO-22 I l
t I divert heated effluents from the bottom, coupled with the lower density of these effluents relative to the cooler surrounding water, result pri-marily in a surface plume of warmer water with limited potential impact on benthic communities. I I Salinity As in previous years, salinities during 1984 were very uniform within the study area, ranging only from 33.4 to 35.5 ppt. No apparent gradients were observed either between stations or within the water column and seasonal variations were minor. Dissolved Oxygen (00) i Because of the dynamic nature of the nearshore environment created I by high energy waves and long-shore currents, dissolved oxygen levels within the St. Lucie study area fluctuate less and do not reach the low levels often encountered in enclosed, protected estuarine and coastal habitats. During 1984, mean bottom D0 levels measured concurrently with biological collections ranged from 6.1 ppm in April to 8.4 ppm in I January. Individual values ranged from 5.8 to 9.6 ppm. I Although highest D0 values were generally associated with cooler water, particularly summer upwellings, no consistent seasonal pattern was observed. D0 was only weakly correlated with temperature (r = -0.44; p10.05). I I C-12 84LUCIE2 MACRO-22 I
I Differences in bottom D0 levels between discharge and control sta-tions were small, rarely exceeding 1.0 ppm (Table C-2). On the beach terrace, 00 values were often higher at the discharge station adjacent to the Y-port diffuser than at the corresponding control station. The lack of appreciable vertical or horizontal gradients in dissolved oxygen be-tween comparable discharge and control stations indicates that the effect of thermal effluents on the availability of oxygen to resident benthos was minimal. Any negative effects which might be present appear to be partially or wholly offset by increased mixing from turbulence around the discharge jets. Turbidity , Measures of turbidity reflect the amount of particulate matter I suspended in the water column. Environments with high turbidity levels, while beneficial to some deposit-feeding organisms requiring the constant deposition of food particles, may be unsuitable to many suspension feeders whose feeding apparatus may be clogged by high concentrations of particulates in suspension. Consequently, turbidity conditions can influence the structure of benthic macroinvertebrate communities. I . As in previous years, three generalities can be drawn t rom the 1984 turbidity data: 1) highest turbidities occurred during late fall when storm activity was greatest, and lowest values were observed during the summer when sea state was relatively calm; 2) beach terrace stations usually had higher turbidities than trough stations, probably because of shallower depths and finer, more easily suspended sediments; and 3) bot-I C-13 I d4LUCIE2 MACRO-22 I
B tom turbidities were usually higher than those for surface waters except during the calmer spring and summer months when surf ace turbidity equaled or was slightly higher than bottom values. Except on a few occasions, bottom turbidities at discharge stations were only slightly higher (<5.0 JTU) than those for comarable control stations (Table C-3). Only during October did bottom turbidities at any discharge station exceed 25 JTU. During that month, very high tur-bidities were observed on the beach terrace, and bottom levels at the discharge station adjacent to the Y-port diffuser exceeded those at the control station by 66.0 JTU. However, that situation was short-lived and as soon as ocean turbulence subsided, levels quickly returned to normal. On several occasions, turbidities on the beach terrace were actually lower at the discharge station than at the control. I Within the trough habitat, observed differences between discharge and control turbidities were minor (Table C-3). The largest observed difference between discharge and control stations was only 14.9 JTU, and only on two dates were turbidities adjacent to the multiport diffuser l greater than 5.0 JTU above ambient conditions. During 1983, turbidity data suggested that during periods of calm (i .e. , sume r), turbulence asssociated with the discharge of heated effluents may have elevated turbidities near the discharge pipes above ambient levels. Data collected during 1984 did not support this. Because of the dynamic nature of the nearshore environment adjacent to C-14 84LUCIE2 MACRO-22 I
I the St. Lucie Plant, natural forces appear much more influential in establishing turbidity patterns within the study area than the operation of the power plant. Substratum Substrate composition can have a major influence on the organization l and structure of marine benthic communities (Sanders,1958; Young and Rhoads, 1971; Bloom ,et al . , 1972; Allen and Dodge,1974; Gray, 1974; Rhoads,1974). Often, quite dissimilar faunas can be found in relatively close proximity because of divargences in sediment characteristics. Within the nearshore environment adjacent to the St. Lucie Plant, three major substrate types associated with distinct topographic zones have been reported (Gallagher,1977; ABI,1983): 1) 6 hard-packed sediment composed primarily of fine, relatively homogeneous quartz sand on the beach terrace; 2) a coarse, relatively heterogeneous substrate made up of larger, biogenically derited particles in tae trough; and 3) a soft, homogeneous, medium-sized calcareous sand on the offshore shoal. Benthic monitoring in the area since 1976 has demonstrated that each substrate type supports a unique assemblage of benthic organisms (ABI, 1982). I During the current benthic monitoring program, begun in 1982, only the beach terrace and trough habitats were used to examine macroinver-tebrate structure adjacent to the St. Lucie Plant. Because of its posi-tion outside of the zone of potential power plant impact and its unique characteristics, the offshore shoal was deleted from monitoring programs I at the plant after 1981. I C-15 84LUCIE2 I MACRO-22 I
I As in past years, beach terrace substrata in 1984 (Stations BC, B1 and B2) were composed primarily of fine to very fine, moderately sorted quartz sand. Mean grain size varied from 2.40p to 3.534; sorting coef-ficients ranged fron 0.474 to 1.414 (Table C-4). Grain-size distribution curves for Stations BC and B2 were generally more peaked and temporally varied less than those at Discharge Station B1 (Figures C-3 to C-6). Station B1 also differed in having slightly larger percentages of medium sands in the samples than the other two beach terrace stations (Table C-4). 5 Sediment grain-size distributions were tested for significant dif-ferences between stations and quarters using a Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test (Sokal and Rohlf,1981; Appendix Table C-2). When this test was applied to grain-size distribution data from the beach terrace, Discharge Sta-tions B1 and B2 differed significantly from Control Station BC during the first quarter of 1984; Station B1 also differed from the control during the second quarter (Figure C-7) . In each case where differences occurred, sediments at Station BC were slightly finer. On a temporal basis, Station B2 sediments were the most statisti-cally similar of those stations on the beach terrace, with grain-size distributions not varying significantly during any quarter (Figure C-7). Stations BC and B1 had several significant within-station differences, both resulting from deviant grain-size distributions during the latter half of the year. At Control Station BC a relatively large percentage of I C-16 84LUCIE2 MACRO-22 I
I coarse and medium sands were contained in the December collections, causing that quarter to differ significantly from the others (Figure C-6). Sediments at Station B1 during December were also significantly different from those collected during other quarters, except that Quarter 4 sediments at Station B1 were finer than in previous quarters. The 8.7 percent contribution by silts and clays to the December sediment com-position of Station B1 was the highest ever recorded on the beach terrace during the present monitoring program (ABI, 1983, 1984; Table C-4). I As expected, sediment composition on the beach terrace differed significantly from that of the trough (Figure C-7). In the trough habi-tat (Stations B3, B4, B5 and C1) during 1984, sediments consisted predo-minantly of pebbly to medium, poorly sorted fragments of mollusc shells, barnacle plates and echinoderm tests (Table C-4). Mean grain size ranged from -1.19p to 2.179 and sorting coefficients ranged from 1.23p to 1.84p (Table C-4). I Grain-size distribution curves for trough stations exhibited con-I siderably more spatial and temporal variability than those produced for beach terrace stations (Figures C-3 through C-6). Sediments of Stations B3 and C1 had more constant grain-size distributions and were usually more peaked than those of Stations B4 and B5, adjacent to the multiport diffuser. 'I 1 l The Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test applied to trough sediment data showed that Station B5 accounted for the majority of significant spatial dif-l I C-17 84LUCIE2 I MACRO-22 R
I ferences in substrate between stations (Figure C-7). During June, sedi-ments at Station B5 were significantly different from those at all other trough stations. During that quarter, unusually large percentages of rredium, fine and very fine sands were contained in the sample. Sediments at Station B5 remained significantly finer than those at Station B4 during October. The only other significant difference among stations occurred in December when Station B4, the other trough station adjacent to the Y-port diffuser, had relatively large percentages of very coarse particles in comparison with other trough stations (Figure C-6). It dif-fered significantly only from the Control Station C1, however (Figure C-7). I Statistically, sediment grain-size distributions at trough stations l I varied less over time than those on the beach terrace (Figure C-7). Only at Station B5, where high percentages of fine sediments were collected during June, did any significant within-station differences occur between quarters. The relative lack of significant differences between stations and quarters in the trough habitat results primarily from the large spread of size classes (heterogeneity) within the distributions being compared.
- In order to assess the long-term variability in sediment composition within the study area, data from all three years of the present moni-toring program were compared. it should be noted that in the Kolmogorov-Smirnov analyses presented for 1984, the method used to calcu-late the critical value for significance tests was revised from past lI I
C-18 84LUCIE2 I MACRO-22 I
~ years. This revision reduces the number of degrees of freedom in the I test and generally results in fewer significant differences between samples being compared. Thus, for comparative purposes, sediment data from 1982 and 1983 were reanalyzed using the revised method. I During all three years of the present monitoring program, sediment I grain-size distributions at beach terrace stations differed significantly from those at trough stations (Figures C-7 through C-9). Substrate com-position at beach terrace stations resembled that of trough sites on only two dates during this period. In June 1983, sediment composition at Station B4 was similar to all three beach terrace stations; in June 1984, sediment grain-size distribution at Station B5 was similar to that of Station B1 on the beach terrace. Within both beach terrace and trough habitats, sediment charac-teristics examined between 1982 and 1934 have exhibited considerable spa-tial and temporal variability (ABI, 1983, 1984; Table C-4). No significaat differences were detected among beach terrace stations during 1982 (Figure C-8). During the last two quarters of 1983, sediment com-position at Station B1 differed significantly from Stations BC and B2 (Figure C-9). In 1984, sediments at Station B1 were significantly dif-ferent from those at Station BC during the first two quarters and dif-ferent from those at Station B2 during Quarter 2 (Figure C-7). On each occasion that a significant difference has been detected during the pre-sent monitoring program, sediments at Station B1 have been coarser than those at the other two beach terrace stations (ABI, 1983,1984; Table C-19
- I 84LUCIE2 MACRO-22 t
I I C-4). Station B1's more offshore position and its proximity to tur-bulence from the Y-port diffuser may account for the more variable and coarser nature of the substrate at that station. By contrast, sediments at Stations BC and B2, more distant from the Y-port diffuser, have been significantly different from each other only once (Quarter 1, March 1984) during the past three years of benthic monitoring. Sediments at trough stations were statistically similar during the three years of monitoring, with significant differences between stations occurring primarily in June of each year (Figures C-7 through C-9). During that quarter, significantly finer sediments at Stations B4 and/or B5 (located on either side of the multiport diffuser) were responsible for the observed differences (ABI, 1983 and 1984; Table C-4). This increase in the relative proportions of finer particles at one or both sites adjacent to the discharge pipe prompted an earlier suggestion that the settling of fine sediments at those locations was possibly enhanced when turbulence from cooling water discharges was minimal (ABI,1984). However, during June of 1984, both units of the St. Lucie Plant were operating and turbulence would be expected to be relatively high. Yet the same temporal sediment pattern observed during 1982 and 1983 per-sisted (even though the affected station differed). In view of natural temporal and spatial variability in the study area, these differences may be unrelated to plant operation, even though they may be related to the physical placement and configuration of the multiport diffuser. I I C-20 .I l 84LUCIE2 MACRO-22 1 I
I In summary, the general pattern of sediment composition and distri-bution within the study area has remained relatively constant between 1982 and 1984 and essentially unchanged from that reported previously (Gallagher,1977). Mean diameter of sediments has been shown to increase with increasing distance from shore, and those stations nearest to the discharge pipes (B1, B4 and B5) have had the greatest variability in I sediment characteristics between quarters. It is still unclear whether the spatial and temporal heterogeneity observed within the beach terrace and trough zones results from 1) collections taken from a naturally patchy environment, 2) actual substrate changes caused by naturally occurring physical processes, or 3) disturbance associated with cooling water discharge. Some evidence (Wilcox and Gamble,1974) indicates that natural sediment heterogeneity is high in the nearshore environment off Hutchinson Island, and that this patchiness affects the distributional patterns of some organisms (i.e., echinoderms). In addition, it has been noted by field personnel that relatively small changes in the position of the collecting vessel may result in visually detectable differences in sediment composition between grabs at the same station. Benthic Macroinvertebrate Community Structure Density A total of 18,962 benthic macroinvertebrates were collected during benthic monitoring in 1984, yielding densities that ranged from 192 (Station BC in December) to 19,300 (Station Cl in June) individuals per squaremeter(TableC-5). Mean quarterly densities for all stations com-bined ranged from 3,630 individuals /m 2 in December to 7,120 C-21 I 84LUCIE2 MACRO-22 I
I individu als/m2 in October. Mean abundance was highest during late summer to early fall (September or October, Quarter 3) every year. Although overall densities in 1984 were comparable to those recorded in 1982 and 1983, seasonal patterns were sli ghtly di fferent over the three year period (Figure C-2). Differences between years were most pronounced during the first two quarters. Seasonal density patterns in 1984 varied strikingly between beach terrace and trough stations. Minimum mean densities at beach terrace stations occurred in October (mean = 400 individuals /m 2), with maximum mean levels recorded in March (mean = 916 individuals /m2 ; Figure C-10). At trough stations, densities were highest in October (mean = 12,160 individuals /m2 ) and lowest in December (mean = 6,042 individuals /m2 ; Figure C-11). I Stations on the beach terrace had consistently lower densities throughout the year than those found at trough sites (Table C-5). Mean density on the beach terrace (all stations, all quarters) was 544 (range
= 192 to 1,583) individuals /m 2 compared with 9,468 (range = 1,675 to 19,300) individuals /m2 for the trough. These values are very similar to l
those recorded during 1982 and 1983 (ABI,1983,1984). I Considerable variation in the timing and magnitude of abundance peaks from year to year is indicated by examination of long-term density data from both beach terrace (Figure C-12) and trough (Figure C-13) habi-tats. This variability appears to be a natural feature of coastal I C-22 84LUCIE2 l MACRO-22 L I
I benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages (Frankenberg, 1971; Livi ngston, 1976; Livingston et al.,1976; Mauer et al.,1976; Poore and Rainer, 1979; Dugan and Livingston,1982; Flint and Younk,1983). Few significant differences in density were noted between beach l i.errace control and discharge stations during 1984 (Table C-6). Control Station BC had a significantly lower density than treatment Stations B2 in March and B1 in December (Figure C-10; Appendix Tables C-3 through C-6). All other conparisons between densities at control and treatment stations were not significant, although densities differed occasionally between treatment sites. In March 1984, Station B1 had significantly lower density than Station B2, while in both October and December den-sities were higher at Station B1 than Station B2 (Figure C-10). This combination of results indicates that the combined operation of Units 1 and 2 has had no inmediate negative impact on densities of macroinver-tebrates adjacent to the Y-port diffuser on the beach terrace. Natural temporal and spatial variability appears more influential in accounting for observed density patterns in this habitat and has effectively masked any plant effects that may have occurred to date. in contrast to the beach terrace, numerous differences in density occurred between trough stations and their control (Table C-6; Appendix Tables C-7 through C-10). In all cases where significant differences were noted, densities at control Station C1 were greater than at treat-ment sites (Table C-6; Figure C-11). During March and June, both treat-ment stations adjacent to the multiport diffuser (Stations B4 and B5) had I C-23 04LUCIE2 I MACRO-22 I
I significantly lower densities than at Control Station C1. Treatment Station B3, distant from the multiport diffuser, also had significantly higher densities than Station BS in March and both Stations 84 and B5 in 5 June. Although densities were similar between Stations B3 and C1 during March, Control Station C1 had significantly higher density than all treatment stations in June. No significant differences in densities occurred among trough stations in October, but again in December Station 84 had lower densities than Station C1. Rejection of the null hypothesis of similar densities between trough discharge and control stations during some quarters suggests that power plant operations are having some effect on communities adjacent to the multiport diffusers. The lower densities at Stations 84 and B5 observed during the past two years have been attributed to turbulence in the imme-diate vicinity of the multiport diffuser (ABI, 1983,1984). However, it is unclear whether plant operations are responsible for lower densities at both of these sites. Densities at Station B4 have been low and rela-tively constant over the three years that this site has been monitored (Figure C-13). Thus, it is possible that Station B4 historically has had densities intermediate between the beach terrace and other trour,h sta-tions, and that low densities at this location are unrelated to plant discharges. Intermittent lower densities at Station B5 during 1983 and 1984 compared to 1982 do, however, suggest a plant effect at this site (FigureC-13). I I C-24
I During 1984 monitoring, densities of macrofauna were generally uncorrelated with any of the four water quality parameters measured (Table C-7). Density was significantly related (inversely) only to tur-bidity in December (r = -0.775). In contrast to water quality parame-ters, macrofaunal densities were often correlated with sediment mean l grain size. When all stations were combined, densities were inversely related to mean grain size in March (r = -0.882) and October (r =
-0.811), as well as when all quarters were combined (r = -0.716). This relationship was not significant when terrace and trough stations were analyzed separately. A similar pattern has been observed in the past and l
indicates that major sediment types (i.e., those of the beach terrace and trough) strongly influence densities of macroinvertebrates within the study area. However, within a major habitat, factors other than mean grain size appear to be more influential in structuring observed density patterns. Species Richness The actual number of species collected (species richness) is the simplest and most direct measure of faunal diversity. During 1984 moni-toring, 384 macroinvertebrate taxa were collected from the nearshore environment adjacent to the St. Lucie Power Plant (Appendix Table C-1). This value is about 18 percent lower than the 472 and 469 taxa collected in 1982 and 1983, respectively (ABI, 1983,1984). Consistent with past years, species richness (both mean and cumula-tive numbers of taxa) was lower at beach terrace stations than at trough I C-25 84LUCIE2 I MACRO-22 I
I stations in 1984 (Table C-5). Mean number of taxa in the sandy beach terrace substrates (all stations and quarters combined) was 21.8 (range = 12-34), compared to 81.0 (range = 44-107) for the shelly substrates of the trough. I As with density, few significant differences in species richness were observed in 1984 among stations on the beach terrace (Table C-6; Appendix Tables C-11 through C-14). Control and discharge stations had similar numbers of taxa present in all quarters except December, when l species richness was significantly higher at Station B1 than at Station BC (Table C-5). Additionally, the two discharge stations had similar species richness during all quarters except December, when Station B1 had a significantly greater number of taxa than Station B2. As with den-sities, no negative impact on species richness from plant operations is indicated by this analysis. l Similar to the beach terrace, few differences in species richness during 1984 were noted between control and discharge stations in the trough habitat (Table C-6; Appendix Tables C-15 through C-18). Species richness at the trough treatment stations resembled those at Control Station C1, except at Station B3 in March and Station B5 in June, when significantly fewer species occurred at the discharge stations than at the corItrol station. Differences in species richness among discharge stations were limited to June, when Station B5 also had significantly fewer taxa than Station B4. I C-26 I 84LUCIE2 MACRO-22 I
1 I Failure to reject the null hypothesis of equality in species rich- l ness between control and discharge stations suggests that during 1984, plant operations had little effect on the number of taxa in the trough habitat. This observation differs from the previous two years when control and discharge sites were dissimilar on more occasions (Table l C-6). I Macrofaunal species richness was uncorrelated with any of the four water quality characteristics measured except in December, when it was inversely correlated with bottom water turbidity (Table C-7; r = -0.823). l Similar to density, number of taxa was highly correlated (inversely) with sediment mean grain size: species richness increased as substrata became coarser. This relationship was significant for all stations combined (r
= -0.908), but not significant when beach terrace and trough stations were analyzed separately.
Diversity (H') The Shannon-Weaver information theory function (H') is one of I numerous complex measures of faunal diversity (Pielou,1966; Peet,1974; Krebs,1978; Washington,1984; Appendix Table C-2). This index considers not only the number of species (species richness) present in a collection but also the distribution of individuals among the species present (evenness, J'). Changes in either of these two different, and often I independently varying, components can result in changes in the index value. Historically, diversity indices have been used to assess questions concerning environmental quality (Wilhm and Dorris, 1966; I I C-27 84LUCIE2 I MACRO-22 i
I Bechtel and Copeland,1970); however, recent reevaluation of index pro-perties (Hurlburt,1971; Goodman,1975; Green,1979; and others) has made I their utility questionable. As in past years, diversity (H') was highly variable during 1984, with values ranging from 3.240 to 4.616 on the beach terrace and from 2.211 to 5.363 in the trough (Table C-5). Diversity values from the beach terrace generally varied less between quarters and stations than those values from the trough habitat although no consistent annual pat-terns were apparent (Figures C-10 and C-11). As with species richness, diversity values were lower in 1984 than in either 1982 or 1983. In 1982, this difference was prima rily limited to trough stations (ABI, 1983, 1984). I Diversities at the beach terrace control station differed signifi-cantly from those at the discharge stations in March and June (Table C-8). Diversity at Control Station BC was significantly higher than at Discharge Station B2 in the first quarter and significantly lower than at I Discharge Station B1 in the second quarter. In contrast to the general lack of significant differences among trough stations in 1982 and 1983 (ABI,1983,1984), diversity values dif-fered considerably between trough stations during 1984 (Table C-8). In every quarter of 1984, Discharge Station B4, adjacent to the multiport diffuser, had significantly higher diversities than those found at the control site. These high values resulted primarily from high evenness I C-28 84LUCIE2 I MACRO-22 I
I Evenness was usually much lower at (J') at this station (Table C-5). Stations B3, B5 and C1 than at Station B4 because of the dispropor-tionately high contribution to total abundance by relatively few taxa. Diversities at Discharge Station B5, also adjacent to the multiport dif-fuser, were significantly higher than control values during March and l June (when evenness at Station B5 was high), yet were significantly lower in December (Table C-8). No difference in diversity occurred between these stations in October. Offshore Station B3 had significantly lower diversity values than those at the control during the first three quar-ters of 1984 and significantly higher diversity during December. Pronounced fluctuations in diversity have occurred at both beach terrace and trough stations (Figures C-12 and C-13) since 1976. Yet, these fluctuations have no apparent seasonal pattern and show few con-sistent differences among stations. Except for a significant correlation with bottom water temperature in December (r = 0.810), diversity (H') was unrelated to any of the I measured physicochemical parameters, including sediment mean grain size (Table C-7). This lack of correlation with environmental variables is not surprising given the nature of the index and its high variability among stations and quarters. I I C-29 I 84LUCIE2 MACRO-22 I
s i . Rarefaction Diversity I Another method of comparing faunal diversity between collections uses the technique of rarefaction (Hurlburt, 1971; Heck et al.,1975; Simberloff,1978) . Because of the high correlation usually found between numbers of species anc; numbers of individuals within a collection, spe-cies richness cannot be directly compared between samples of different size (i .e. , numbers of -individuals). Rarefaction techniques allow com-parisons between numbers of species in two or more samples after the collections are scaled down to an equal number of individuals. Curves l s are constructed for each collection whereby the expected numbers of spe-cies (ENS) are calculated for various densities of animals. Each curve is bracketed by a band 1.96 standard deviations wide, which constitutes approximately 95 percent confidence limits (Simberloff, 1978). Curves
, with steep slopes represent faunal assemblages with relatively large num-bers of taxa per unit number of individuals, whereas curves with shallow slopes indicate fewer taxa for the same number of individuals.
I Rarefaction curves and their (95 percent) confidence intervals were generated for the macrofaunal assemblages sampled quarterly at each sta-tion and were compared for both beach terrace and trough habitats separa-tely (Figures C-14 and C-15). In general, the relative positions of the rarefaction curves generated for each habitat reflected the same quar-terly relationships among stations as were noted for Shannon-Weaver (H') diversities (Tables C-4 and C-8). However, a few differences existed between results obtained from significance tests of diversity and those obtained from tests of expected numbers of species. On the beach .I l C-30 84LUCIE2 MACRO-22 l
terrace, the expected number of species at Discharge Station B1 was significantly greater than the control during both March and June. Tests of expected numbers of species were similar to those of diversity (H') for Station B2, which had significantly fewer expected number of species than the control in March. In the trough habitat, Control Station C1 had significantly more expected species than Station B3 during March, October and December, and larger numbers than Discharge Station B5 during October and December (Figure C-15) . Discharge Station B4, however, had significantly more expected species than the control site during the last three quarters of 1984. Only during March were expected numbers of species similar between Control Station C1 and both discharge stations adjacent to the multiport diffuser. I As shown by significance tests of diversity (H'), graphic comparison of rarefaction curves indicates very little effect of plant operations on beach terrace benthic communites. However, significantly higher species accumulation rates at Station B4 and significantly lower species accumu-lation rates at Stations B3 and B5, relative to the control, suggest that plant operations may affect the structuring of benthic communities in the trough. As noted for diversity (H'), natural variability also may play an important role in this dynamic habitat. I I C-31 I 84LUCIE2 MACRO-22
Biomass Because of its ecological importance in trophic organization, biomass is often used to quantify the standing crop of macroinvertebrates in benthic communities. Since the present monitoring program began in 1972, ash-free dry weights have been used instead of dry weights to determine biomass. This method eliminates much of the bias previously encountered when faunal assemblages containing disproportionate numbers of heavy-bodied forms (e.g., molluscs and echinoderms) were compared with assemblages containing primarily soft-bodied forms (e.g., polychaetes, sipunculans and nemerteans). However, ash-free dry weights (and biomass determinations in general) are still heavily influenced by the size and relative number of organisms collected. The occurrence of a single, large, rare specimen in a collection of much smaller individuals, while not seriously influencing density or species richness, can significantly affect the biomass and make data interpretation difficult. On the beach terrace, biomass ranged from 0.059 g/m2 (Station B2 in December) to 0.788 g/m2 (Station BC in October; Table C-5). Although mean quarterly biomass was similar among the three beach terrace sites during 1984, mean annual biomass (mean for all quarters and stations combined equals 0.301 g/m2 ) was somewhat lower than in previous years (mean = 0.562 and 0.620 g/m 2 , respectively, for 1982 and 1983; ABI,1983, 1984).
, At trough stations, biomass values ranged from 0.504 g/m2 (Station B5 in June) to 28.386 g/m2 (Station B3 in June; Table C-5). Mean quar-I C-32 84LUCIE2 MACRO-22 I
. terly biomass differed appreciably between stations, with sites most distant from the multiport diffuser (Stations B3 and C1) having higher values than those adjacent to the diffuser (Stations B4 and B5).
However, much of the difference in biomass between these two station groups was caused by the occurrence during a single quarter of a few large specimens. During June, a single, large Encope michelini was collected at Station B3 and two large Mellita quinquiesperforata were obtained at Station C1. Both of these sand dollars have patchy distribu-tions in the nearshore environment adjacent to the St. Lucie Power Plant and are seldom collected in grab samples. However, their occurrence in the second quarter samples comorised 92 and 79 percent, respectively, of the total biomass collected at the two stations. When values for these three large specimens were excluded from June totals, biomass was more similar between trough stations adjacent to the multiport diffuser and those farther away (Table C-5). As observed for both density and species richness, biomass was unre-lated to any of the four water quality parameters measured, yet was significantly correlated (inversely) with sediment mean grain size (Table C-7). The relationship with sediment mean grain size was observed only during three quarters when all stations were combined. However, when all quarters were analyzed together and when trough and terrace habitats were analyzed separately, this relationship was not significant. I
\
C-33 I 84LUCIE2 MACRO-22 I
I Dominance Measures of dominance reflect the disproportionate contribution of some taxa to total abundance within a community. Dominance by certain taxa occurs naturally as some species are better adapted than others to particular environmental conditions. Changes in dominant organisms over time may reflect natural variation or permanent change in one or more biotic and/or abiotic factors affecting the community. Dominance shifts r;iay also indicate natural cycles in the life histories of component spe-cies within an assemblage. High levels of dominance are often associated with communities experiencing some form of environmental stress, either natural or anthropogenic, as only a few species are able to cope success-fully with the specific adverse condition (s) affecting the community. I As in 1982 and 1983, all taxa at each station were ranked from most to least abundant. Beginning with the most abundant, those taxa for i whicn cumulative abundances first exceeded 50 percent of the total number l l of individuals present were classified as dominants. Occasionally, two or more taxa occurred in equal numbers in a collection. In such cases, all taxa with that marginal abundance were designated as dominants. Using the criteria of 50 percent cumulative abundance, 42 taxa were classified as dominants at one or more stations during 1984 (Table C-9). This group included 17 annelids, nine molluscs,12 arthropods, two echi-noderms and individuals of two minor phyla (Nemertinea and Sipuncula). lI I l C-34 84LUCIE2 MACRO-22 lI
I On the beach terrace, all stations had a similar number of taxa classified as dominants during at least one quarter (13,14 and 12 taxa, respectively, at Stations BC, B1 and B2). Likewise, these stations had I very similar mean numbers of dominant taxa per quarter (3.8, 4.2 and 3.5, respectively). Considerable shifting of the dominant taxa occurred between quarters on the beach terrace. No single taxon was classified as a dominant in all quarters at any of the beach terrace stations. In fact, only at Station B1 did a taxon (Nemertinea) appear as a dominant in as many as three quarters. A high turnover in dominant taxa was also indicated, as only four taxa (Magelona sp. C, Parvilucina multilineata, Eudevenopus l honduranus and Nemertinea) were classified as dominants during two suc-cessive quarters at any station. The physically dynamic nature of the relatively shallow beach terrace may account for patterns of dominance observed there. At trough stations, dominance was more pronounced than on the beach terrace (i.e., average number of dominants was lower) at all sites except discharge Station B4, which had relatively low dominance during the first half of the year (Table C-9). Stations B3, B5 and C1 had very similar numbers of taxa classified as dominants during at least one quarter (three, three and two taxa, respectively) and 15 dominant taxa occurred at Station B4. Among trough sites, Station B4 had the highest mean number of dominants (6.0) and Stations B3, 85 and C1 averaged only 1.8, 2.2 and 2.0 dominant taxa per quarter, respectively. I C-35 I 84LUCIE2 MACRO-22
I Dominance at trough stations was primarily restricted to two taxa, the polychaete Filogranula sp. A and Sipuncula (Table C-9). These taxa have consistently been top ranked dominant taxa at trough stations since 1982. During every quarter of 1984, they ranked first or second in abun-dance at Stations B3, B5 and C1, and were always a dominant, although not ranked as highly, at Station B4. In two successive quarters (June and October) at Station B3, Filogranula sp. A alone made up over 50 percent of the total numbers of individuals collected at that station (Table C-5; I Appendix Table C-1). When all quarters were combined, Sipuncula and Filogranula sp. A cumulatively accounted for 68, 59 and 66 percent of all macroinvertebrates collected at trough Stations B3, B5 and C1, respec-tively. I While both the number and composition of dominant taxa at Station B4 differed from all other trough stations during the first half of 1984, dominance structure was similar between stations during the last two quarters. Sipuncula and Filogranula sp. A collectively accounted for { only eight percent of all individuals at Station B4 during March and June, but 38 percent of total abundance in October and December. Although the suites of species comprising the dominant taxa have varied l temporally at all trough stations, the greatest degree of variability historically has occurred at Station B4 (ABI,1983,1984). During 1983, dominance patterns at Station B5 also deviated somewhat from those observed at Stations B3 and C1. These data suggest that the multiport diffuser periodically disrupts the pattern of dominance typically found l in the trough. Sediment instability caused by increased turbulence in 'I C-36 'l 84LUCIE2 m MACRO-22
- I
the vicinity of the diffuser may preclude the establishment of large populations of taxa commonly found at trough stations unaffected by the discharge. I Community Composition Annelids numerically dominated macroinvertebrate communities within the study area, accounting for approximately 56 percent of all benthic organisms collected during 1984 (Figure C-16). On the beach terrace, annelids comprised between 25 (Station B1) and 50 (Station B2) percent of total faunal abundance at each station (mean = 38 percent). At trough stations, they contributed between 52 (Station B4) and 63 (Station B3) percent (mean = 57 percent). Molluscs and arthropods ranked as the second and third most abundant taxa, respectively, for all beach terrace stations combined, comprising 26 and 25 percent of the fauna collected for the year. Relative abundances of these two taxa were higher at beach terrace than at trough stations, where their combined abundance accounted for only six percent of the total number of individuals collected. Sipunculans were the second most abundant taxon at trough stations, 'I constituting about 29 percent of the fauna collected. j l l Relative abundances of major taxa differed between stations on the l beach terrace during 1984 (Figure C-16). Station B1, adjacent to the Y-port discharge, had relatively fewer annelids and relatively more arthro-pods and molluscs than Stations BC and B2. However, faunal composition differed more strikingly between Discharge Stations B1 and B2 than bet-ween Stations 21 and Control Station BC. Over the last three years, com- 'I C-37 I 84LUCIE2 MACRO-22 i
munity composition has changed more at Station B2 than at either Station BC or Bl. Annelids dominated the fauna at Station B2 during 1982, accounting for nearly 60 percent of the total number of individuals collected (ABI,1983). During 1983, annelids comprised about 20 percent of total abundance, and nearly 50 percent of the fauna was represented by molluscs (ABI, 1984). Faunal composition during 1984 was similar to that observed in 1982, although the relative abundance of annelids was not as high as in the former year. Dramatic shifts in the relative abundances of major taxa are not uncommon in nearshore habitats and generally l reflect natural fluctuations in the population densities of the indivi-dual species comprising the assemblages (Buchanan et al.,1974; Boesch et al.,1976; Livingston et al.,1976; Dugan and Livingston,1982). During 1984, faunal conosition was more similar among stations in the trough environment than those on the beach terrace (Figure C-16). At Station B4, near the multiport diffuser, relative abundances of molluscs and arthropods were higher and sipunculans lower than at other trough sites. In general, community composition at trough stations has been I more stable over time than at beach terrace stations, with a similar pat-tern of relative abundance noted among stations during all three years of NPDES monitoring (ABI, 1983, 1984; Figure C-16). As previously discussed, biomass is affected by both the relative number and size of individuals within a collection. The occurrence of a few large specimens can significantly influence the total biomass of a collection and bias the results in favor of the larger, but rarer, taxon. C-38 84LUCIE2 MACRO-22
Because of the influence of large, infrequently collected taxa, biomass values can be highly variable both spatially and temporally. I Although numerically dominant at most stations, annelids, because of their relatively small size, generally accounted for a disproportionately small percentage of total annual biomass (Figure C-16). The major biomass contributor differed at each station on the beach terrace. Representatives of several minor taxa, primarily nemerteans and sea pan-sies (Renilla spp.), accounted for about 50 perent of the biomass at Control Station BC, with molluscs and arthropods contributing just under 20 percent each. At Station B1, molluscs and annelids dominated biomass (38 and 36 percent, respectively), while representatives of the minor taxa contributed less than 10 percent. Annelids accounted for the highest biomass (38 percent) at Station B2, with miscellaneous minor taxa and molluscs making up the majority of the remainder (27 and 24 percent, respectively ). Relative biomass contributions differed dramatically among trough stations (Figure C-16). Echinoderms were the major biomass contributor at Stations B3 and C1, even though they accounted for less than two per-cent of the total faunal abundance at either site. The occurrence in June of a single large sand dollar at Station B3 and two large sand dollars at Station C1 heavily biased the annual biomass for these sta-tions. Biomass at Discharge Station B4 was more evenly distributed among major taxa than at other trough stations. Cephalochordates and arthro-pods accounted for slightly over half of the biomass (30 and 21 percent, C-39 I 84LUCIE2 MACRO-22
I respectively), with annelids, echinoderms and miscellaneous taxa each contributing about 13 percent. Station B5 was the only trough site where annelids comprised the majority of the biomass (47 percent). Cephalochordates ranked second, contributing 24 percent. Relative numbers of taxa contributed by each of the major macroin-vertebrate groups were very similar within beach terrace and trough habi-tats (Figure C-16). On the beach terrace, annelids and arthropods were the most diverse groups at all stations, contributing nearly equal num-bers of taxa. At trough stations, annelids accounted for over twice the number of taxa of any other group. Molluscs were the second most diverse group at all trough stations except Station B5, where arthropods were slightly more diverse. I Community Similarities Two indices of comunity similarity, Czechanowski's qualitative (Wolda,1981) and Morisita's (1959) quantitative index, were used to com-pare species composition between collections (Appendix Table C-2). Czechanowski's qualitative index compares the number of species shared between two samples to the total number in both samples combined and is unconcerned with individual species abundances. Morisita's quantitative index, on the other hand, takes into account the number of individuals in the two collections and the relative abundances of species comon to both. Morisita's index is sensitive to changes in dominance such that samples having a large number of numerically abundant species in comon will have a higher similarity value than samples sharing a large number of rare species. C-40 84LUCIE2 MACRO-22
I As in past years, faunal affinities in 1984 were much stronger among stations within a habitat than between stations in the two major habitats (i.e., beach terrace and trough; Figures C-17 and C-18). Fauna on the beach terrace exhibited very low similarity with the fauna of trough sta-tions except on two occasions. During the second quarter, qualitative similarity between collections from trough Station B5 and those from all beach terrace sites was moderately low (Figure C-17). During this quarter, sediment composition at Station B5 was very similar to that on the terrace (Figure C-4; Table C-4). Consequently, many of the taxa com-monly found at terrace sites were collected at Station B5, even though the relative abundance of those taxa were quite different between areas. Quantitative similarity between Station B5 and beach terrace stations was very low during June (Figure C-18). In December, the faunal assemblage at beach terrace Control Station BC exhibited moderately high quan-titative similarity with several trough stations (Figure C-18). In this quarter, sediments at Station BC had an unusually high percentage of larger particles characteristic of trough stations (Figure C-6). As a result, several numerically abundant taxa from the trough (e.g. , the I polychaete Filogranula sp.A) also occurred as dominants at the beach terrace site, resulting in moderately high quantitative similarity. However, because many of the rare beach terrace species were not present in trough collections, qualitative similarity remained low between the two habitats (Figure C-17). Qualitative and quantitative similarities were higher among trough stations than among those at the beach terrace, regardless of whether ! C-41 84LUCIE2 MACRO-22 L
quarters were analyzed separately or combined. On the beach terrace, faunal assemblages at Stations B1 and B2 were most similar qualitatively when data from all quarters were combined (Figure C-17). Quantitatively, stations BC and B1 were most similar (Figure C-18). However, in both cases, when quarters were analyzed separately, similarities among sta-tions varied considerably. Although both qualitative and quantitative similarity indices suggested moderate faunal similarities between all beach terrace stations during the first two quarters, affinities were low during the last half of the year. I Qualitatively, trough stations had moderately high faunal affinities for one another when data from all quarters were combined (Figure C-17). Quantitatively, very high similarities were observed between Stations B3, B5 and C1 when all dates were combined (Figure C-18). Station B4 had l moderately high faunal affinity with Stations B5 and C1 and moderately low affinity with Station B3. Although the index values between trough sites changed somewhat between quarters, the same general pattern was present (i.e., Station B4 was the most dissimilar of the trough stations) on all sampling dates. The amount of temporal variability in faunal co@osition differed appreciably among stations during 1984 both qualitatively and quan-titatively (Figures C-19 and C-20). Stations in the trough were con-siderably more stable seasonally with respect to species comosition than beach terrace sites. On the beach terrace, qualitative similarity be-tween quarters was either very low or moderately low at every station, I C-42 84LUCIE2 MACRO-22 I
suggesting considerable shifts in species composition. Quantitative similarity on the beach terrace was also very low to moderately low except at Station B2, where relatively high similarity occurred over the last three quarters. Low quantitative similarity on the beach terrace g reflected considerable shifts in dominant taxa between quarters. This transience of dominant taxa was noted earlier (see Dominance Section), as 21 of the 28 taxa ranked as dominants at beach terrace stations occurred as dominants in a single quarter (Table C-9). Only four taxa were classified as dominants in two successive quarters at any station. Despite the ephemeral nature of the faunal community adjacent to the Y-port diffuser, these temporal changes also occur at the control station on the beach terrace. For this reason, the transience of dominant taxa l appears to be naturally occurring and unrelated to plant operation. l Quantitative species composition varied only slightly over the year 1 at trough Stations B3, B5 and C1, while the faunal assemblage at Station B4 was the least stable seasonally (Figure C-20). This instability at i Station 84 relative to the other trough stations was also observed in 1983 and reflects the high turnover of dominant taxa at this site. I Assessment of Plant Operations Ongoing benthic monitoring is designed to assess the combined impact of Units 1 and 2 operation on macroinvertebrate communities in the nearshore marine environment adjacent to the St. Lucie Plant. Of concern is the high velocity discharge of once-through cooling water through ports located on two diffuser lines, a Y-port diffuser on the beach I C-43 I 84LUCIE2 MACRO-22 I
- I terrace and a much larger multiport diffuser extending farther offshore.
When either line is in use, turbulence in the vicinity of the ports increases and water temperatures are elevated. Both lines are used during dual-unit operation; only the multiport diffuser is utilized when a single unit is operating. Between January 1982, when the present monitoring program began, and May 1984, only one unit of the St. Lucie Plant operated at any time. During this period, benthic communities adjacent to the multiport dif-fuser had the greatest potential for being affected by plant discharges. Since May 1984, both units of the plant have been operating simulta-neously with only brief outages. This relatively short period of data collection precludes a comprehensira assessment of impact from dual-unit operation. A summary of plant effects detected to date is provided below. Thermal effect: and turbulence associated with cooling water discharges were not apparent on the beach terrace during monitoring con-ducted since 1982. Observed faunal differences between control and discharge stations resulted either from past plant operations (1976-1981), when only the Y-port diffuser was present (see Introduction, Section A), or from natural spatial heterogeneity within the environment. Throughout 1982 and 1983, faunal densities, species richness and diver-sity at discharge stations on the beach terrace never differed signifi-cantly from those at the control (Table C-10). Several differences were detected between discharge and control sites in 1984, however. Only at I C-44 84LUCIE2 MACRO-22 I
I Station B2, the farthest of the discharge sites from the Y-port diffuser, were community characteristics significantly different than at the control (diversity was lower in March and expected number of species was lower in both March and December). The values of community charac-teristics at Station B1, immediately adjacent to the Y-port diffuser, were higher than respective values at the control on several occasions. Considering the great degree of natural spatial and temporal variability observed within the beach terrace habitat, it is reasonable to assume I that differences observed at Station B2 during 1984 relative to the control were unrelated to plant operations. Differences in community characteristics between control and discharge stations in the trough have been more pronounced than those on the beach terrace. Discharge Station B3, the farthest treatment site from the multiport diffuser line, should be the least affected by plant operations. During 1982 and 1983, community characteristics at Station B3 were very similar to those at Control Station C1 (Table C-10). Only on two occasions (in September of both years, when species richness within the study area is generally highest) did species richness differ significantly between the two stations; once it was higher at Station B3 and once it was higher at Station C1. During these first two years of the present monitoring program, other community characteristics never differed significantly. However, in 1984 each of the community charac-teristics measured at Station B3 were significantly lower than comparable values at the control during at least one quarter. Density and species richness were lower in June and March, respectively, and diversities (bothH'andENS) were lower during three quarters. C-45 I 84LUCIE2 MACRO-22 I
I The dispersion of effluent through an expanded discharge system (both diffuser lines) subsequent to May 1984 must be considered as a possible cause of observed recent declines in density and diversity at Station B3 relative to the control. However, temperature gradients are l so minimal between this station and the control site that thermal stress from dual-unit operation would not appear to have any impact on benthos at Station B3. Additionally, turbulence resulting from cooling water discharges can be eliminated as a structuring mechanism at this distant location. More probably, differences in community characteristics bet-l ween Stations B3 and C1 reflect natural spatial and temporal variability inherent in the physically dynamic system adjacent to the St. Lucie Plant. Long-term data for both stations demonstrate the capacity for local communities to undergo dramatic shifts in structure over time (FigureC-13). I In contrast to the uncertainty of plant effect at Station 83, data collected over the past three years suggest a real, yet localized, effect on faunal assemblages in areas immediately adjacent to the multiport dif-fuser. Faunal densities at Discharge Station B4 were significantly lower than those at the control station during all of 1982 (Table C-10). In at least two quarters of each of the following years, Stations 84 and B5 had significantly lower densities than the control. Since the first year of NPDES monitoring, densities at Station B5 have diverged from those at Stations 83 and C1 and become more similar to those at Station B4, par-ticularly during the first half of each year. l l C-46 ! 84LUCIE2 MACRO-22 I
I Although species richness was significantly lower at one or both discharge sites relative to the control on most sampling dates during 1982 and 1983, the number of taxa collected at either station was similar I to that of the control in all but one quarter of 1984 (Table C-10). This might be accounted for by the overall decline in species richness observed within the study area during 1984. I Contrary to species richness, diversity values at Discharge Stations I B4 and B5 differed little from the control during the first two years of the present monitoring program. However, during 1984 values at both discharge stations frequently differed from those at the control. Diversity was consistently greater at Station B4 than at Station C1. Values at Station B5 were greater than those at the control during two I quarters and lower during one. Although diversity values showed greater numbers of differences between control and discharge sites during 1984 than in the two previous years, the complexity of the index (H') makes interpretation of observed patterns difficult. I Differences in community characteristics between control and discharge stations can be explained in several ways: 1) direct and indirect thermal effects caused by the relatively high temperatures of l cooling water broadcast into the study area; 2) alteration of current structure in the vicinity of the diffuser lines causing differential movement or settling of organisms; 3) turbulence associated with the high velocity discharge of cooling water causing either direct physical damage to organisms, variable immigration of individuals, or sediment I C-47 I 84LUCIE2 MACRO-22 I
I instability; and/or 4) naturally patchy environment with much temporal and spatial variability. I Although thermal effluents from power plants can adversely affect aquatic organisms in a variety of ways (Warinner and Brehmer, 1966; Coutant,1970; Virnstein,1972; Jordan and Sutton,1984; see also sym-posium volumes, Gibbons and Sharitz,1974; Esch and McFarlane,1976), most observed effects on benthic organisms occur in relatively shallow, I enclosed or semi-enclosed areas where higher temperatures persist longer, impact a broader area and exert greater stress on bottom communities. Thermal effects appear to be negligible in the vicinity of the St. Lucie Plant primarily because of the dynamic nature of the nearshore physical environment. Enhanced mixing from wave action and tidal and longshore currents rapidly dissipate effluent heat in the vicinity of the plant. Observed bottom water temperatures at the two discharge sites adjacent to the multiport diffuser were only slightly warmer than at the control during the present monitoring program, including an eight month period of dual-unit operation (Table C-1; ABI,1983,1984). Absolute temperatures at discharge sites never exceeded 30*C, a temperature well within the upper tolerance level of most temperate and tropical organisms inhabiting the study area (Warinner and Brehmer, 1966; Bader and Roessler, 1972; Virnstein,1972). Consequently, thermal stress is thought to be incon-sequential in accounting for the observed structure of benthic macroin-vertebrate communities in the trough habitat. I I C-48 I 84LUCIE2 MACRO-22 I
I More likely, faunal assemblages adjacent to the multiport diffuser have been directly or indirectly affected by turbulence associated with the high velocity jets of cooling water. Although the actual physical mechanisms associated with turbulence have not been examined, evidence suggests that sediment instability is greater in the vicinity of the dif-fuser line than at more distant trough locations. Many organisms, espe-cially filter-feedinq species attached to shell fragments, would be adversely affected by substrate instability. Because discharge flow I rates, and ultimately turbulence, vary under different plant operating conditions, tne extent of sediment disturbance near the multiport dif-fuser might vary both temporally (i .e. , frequency and duration of disturbance) and spatially (i.e., amount of bottom disturbed). I Over the last few years, a large body of ecological literature focusing on disturbance as a structuring force in connunity organization has developed. A major hypothesis within this framework is the inter-mediate disturbance hypothesis (Connell,1978; Fox,1979; Huston,1979; Miller,1982), whereby species richness is maximized in environments sub-jected to some intermediate level of perturbation. In general, macro-faunal community characteristics at discharge sites adjacent to the multiport diffuser adhere to the predictions of this hypothesis. These communities have decreased faunal densities, increased diversity (H' and ENS) and decreased dominance and connunity similarity relative to com-parable unaffected stations. I I C-49 I 84LUCIE2 MACRO-22 l I
I Even though both Discharge Stations 84 and B5 have community characteristics dissimilar to those at stations farther away, it is uncertain whether these differences result from the same causes. Data presented earlier suggests that, historically, Station B4 had community characteristics intermediate to beach terrace and other trough stations, whereas Station B5 has more clearly diverged from Stations B3 and C1 since the multiport diffuser was put into operation. Another explanation is that the placement of the multiport diffuser may have initially altered the environment at Station B4, whereas only subsequent discharges through the diffuser have affected Station B5. Both sites are equidistant from shore and have comparable water depths and sediment types. It seems reasonable to assume that prior to discharge construc-tion, both sites had comparable faunas as well.
SUMMARY
Ongoing benthic monitoring conducted since 1982 is designed to assess the combined impact of Units 1 and 2 operation on macroinver-tebrate communities in the nearshore environment adjacent to the St. Lucie Plant. As in previous years, seven stations were sampled quarterly g during 1984, and community characteristics of faunal assemblages adjacent to the Y-port and multiport diffusers were compared to those of com-munities outside the zone of potential power plant impact. I Two major habitats were identified from sediment analyses. Beach terrace substrates were composed of fine to very fine, moderately sorted, non-biogenic sands, and sediments of the adjacent trough consisted of I C-50 I 84LUCIE2 MACRO-22 I
I v:ry coarse, poorly sorted, biogenic materials. General patterns of sediment composition and distribution observed within the study area during 1984 remained unchanged from those reported previously. Greatest temporal variability occurred at stations closest to the two diffusers where the physical presence of the structures and/or turbulence asso-ciated with high velocity discharges of cooling water may affect l substrate characteristics. Natural spatial variability within the study area was probably responsible for some of the within-habitat sediment differences detected between stations. I Power plant operations appear to have very little effect on measured water quality parameters within the study area. Temperatures at l discharge stations were only slightly higher than those at conparable control stations, and dual-unit operation during 1984 did not appear to accentuate differences relative to periods when only one unit was operating. Turbidities were sometimes quite high in the study area, par-l ticularly on the beach terrace, because of natural turbulence from waves and currents. Cooling water discharges did not seem to appreciably ele-vate turbidities near the diffusers above levels measured at stations distant from these structures. Salinities and dissolved oxygen levels were relatively uniform within the study area and appeared uninfluenced by plant operations. l Each major habitat supported a unique assemblage of organisms. Trough communities exhibited higher densities, species richness and bionuss than beach terrace comnunities. Trough communities also I C-51 , 84LUCIE2 MACRO-22 lI L
displayed more seasonal stability than beach terrace assemblages, as reflected by greater community similarity over time. More species were classified as dominant taxa and evenness values were higher on the beach I terrace than in the trough, indicating that the terrace does not favor the establishment of high numerical superiority by relatively few taxa. Heated once-through cooling water from the St. Lucie Plant is discharged through two diffuser lines within the study area. The Y-port diffuser located on the beach terrace is only used during periods when both units of the plant are operating. Prior to May 1984, only one unit was operating at any time and all effluents were discharged through the much larger multiport diffuser located in the trough. During 1982 and 1983, no significant differences in community g characteristics were detected between the two beach terrace stations adjacent to the Y-port diffuser (Stations B1 and B2) and a cogarable control station (Station BC). During 1984, several differences were detected, but the discharge stations generally exhibited higher values than the control for the community variable being compared. Many of the dif ferences in community structure observed among stations on the beach terrace were attributed to natural spatial and temporal variability. l Temperature differences among stations appeared minor during periods when Turbulence from the high velocity jets the Y-port dif fuser was in use. of cooling water may have affected temporal substrate characteristics at the station closest to the Y-port dif fuser, but to date, no negative impact on f aunal density or species richness has been detected. Occause I C-52 I 84LUCIE2 MACRO-22 I
I of the high degree of natural turbulence occurring in this habitat, com-munities adjacent to the Y-port diffuser may be less affected by high velocity discharges than communities in the trough. In the coarse sediments of the trough, communities immediately adja-cent to the multiport diffuser (Stations B4 and B5) differed signifi-cantly from those at a comparable control station (Station C1) during monitoring conducted since 1982. These differences, which included lower densities and species richness at the discharge stations relative to the control, were confined to Station 84 in 1982 but have since occurred at Station B5 as well. Communities at Station B4, south of the diffuser, continued to exhibit the most seasonal instability, as evidenced by rela-tively low similarity values between quarters. This reflects high tur-nover of species, particularly dominant taxa, and, as noted for the beach terrace, may be indicative of an environment unfavorable to the per-sistence of high numerical dominance by just a few taxa. Even though densities and species richness of communities at Station 85 sometimes differed significantly from those at the control during 1984, seasonal stability at this station remained high. Station 85 shared the same dominant taxa with Stations 83 and C1 and these taxa persisted throughout the year. I Sediment instability in the vicinity of the diffuser is thought to be responsible for the lower values of measured community variables at Stations B4 and B5 relative to the control. In addition to the observed seasonal changes in substrate characteristics occurring at one or the I C-53 I 841.UCIE2 MACRO-22 I
1 I l other station in June of each year, the disturbance of sediment particles by the high velocity discharge of cooling water may affect benthic com-munity structure at these stations. However, it is uncertain how the physical configuration of the discharge structure and turbulence asso-ciated with cooling water discharges interact to produce the observed l effects on community characteristics. Because Station 84 historically had characteristics intermediate to those on the beach terrace and at other trough stations, it is unclear whether the environment immediately south of the multiport diffuser has been altered by the initial placement of the pipe. Community structure at Station B5 has unquestionably diverged from that observed at trough stations more distant from the dif-fuser. This divergence probably resulted from plant operation. I Because of its greater distance from the two diffuser lines, Station B3 should be the least affected by plant operations of any discharge station in the trough. During both 1982 and 1983, a period of single-unit operation, community characteristics were very similar between this station and the control. However, in 1984 when both units began operating simultaneously, measured community variables, particularly diversity, were sometimes significantly lower at Station B3 than at the control. Because of the general uniformity of water temperatures between these two stations and the absence of discharge turbulence at this distant location, observed dif ferences in community structure probably reflected natural temporal and spatial variability within the study area l rather than negative impact from power plant operations. Long-term data for both Stations B3 and C1 showed much temporal and spatial variability I C-54 I 04LUCIE2 MACRO-22 I
I in both dGnsity and diversity during the nine years that these sites have been monitored. During 1984, communities at both sites exhibited a high degree of similarity between quarters, and most importantly, remained very similar to each other in terms of species composition. I In conclusion, monitoring conducted to date showed no negative impact of dual-unit operation on beach terrace communities adjacent to the Y-port diffuser. Communities at discharge stations in the trough often had reduced densities and species richness and increased species turnover relative to a comparable control station. However, these effects appeared to be confined to the nearshore area immediately adja-cent to the multiport diffuser and seemed most pronounced at the southern station. Sediment instability associated with turbulence from the high velocity discharge of cooling water and/or the physical presence of the diffuser is thought to be responsible for observed differences in com-munity structure between stations adjacent to the discharge structure and those farther away. I I I I I I C-55 I 84LUCIE2 MACRO-22 I
I LITERATURE CITED ABI (Applied Biology, Inc.). 1978. Ecological monitoring at the Florida Power & Light Co. St. Lucie Plant, annual report 1977. Vol. I. Prepared by Applied Biology, Inc. for Florida Power & I AB-101. Light Conpany, Miami.
. 1981. Proposed St. Lucie Plant preopera-tional and operational biological monitoring program. AB-358.
Prepared by Applied Biology, Inc. for Florida Power & Light Com-
. 1982. Florida Power & Light Co., St. Lucie Plant, annual non-radiological envi ronmental monitoring report 1981. Vol. II. Biotic monitoring. AB-379. Prepared by Applied Biology, Inc. for Florida Power & Light Company, Miami.
. 1993. Florida Power & Light Company, St.
Lucie Plant, annual non
- adiological aquatic monitoring report 1982. Vol. I. AB-442. Prepared by Applied Biology, Inc. for Florida Power & Light Company, Miami.
. 1984. Florida Power & Light Company, St.
Lucie Plant, annual non-radiological aquatic monitoring report 1983. Vol. I. AB-530. Prepared by Applied Biology, Inc. for Florida Power & Light Co., Miami. APHA (American Public Health Association). 1981. Standard methods for I examination of water and wastewater. Fifteenth Edition. American Public Health Association, Washington, D.C. 1134 pp. I Albaster, J.S. 1965. Effects of heated effluents upon marine and estuarine organisms. Advances in Marine Biology 3:63-103. Allen, R.C., and R.E. Dodge. 1974. Animal-sediment relations in a I tropical lagoon, Discovery Bay, Jamaica. Research 32:209-232. Journal of Marine Bader, R.G. , and M. A. Roessler (eds. ). 1972. An ecological study of South Biscayne Bay and Card Sound, Florida. Progress report to the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission [AT(40-1)-38013], and Florida Power and Light Company. Bechtel, T.J. , and B .J. Copeland. 1970. Fish species diversity indices as indicators of pollution in Galveston Bay, Texas. Publications of the Texas University Institute of Marine Science 15:103-132. Bloom, S. A., J.L. Simon and V 9. Hunter. 1972. Animal-sediment rela-I tions and community analysis of a Florida estuary. Marine Biology 13:43-56. I 84LUCIE3 LCMACRO-4 I
I LITERATURE CITED (continued Boesch, D.F., M.L. Wass and R.W. Virnstein. 1972. The dynamics of estuarine benthic communities. Pages 177-196 in M. Wiley, ed. Estuarine Processes. Vol. I. Uses, stresses, and adaptations to the estuary. Academic Press. 541 pp. Buchanan, J.B., P.F. Kingston and M. Sheader. 1974. Long-term popula-I tion trends of the benthic macrofauna in the offshore mud of the Northumberland coast. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 54:785-795. Cai rns, J. Jr. , G.R. Larza and B.C. Parker. 1972. Pollution-related structural and functional changes in aquatic communities with emphasis on freshwater algae and protozoans. Proceedings of the Acadeiny of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 124:79-127. Carr, W.E.S., and J.T. Geisel. 1975. Impact of thermal effluent from I a steam-electric station on a marshland nursery area during the hot season. Fisheries Bulletin 73(1):67-80. Connell, J.H. 1978. Diversity in tropical rain forests and coral reefs. I Science 199:1302-1310. Coutant, C.C. 1970. Thermal pollution-biological effects. In: A review of the literature of 1969 on wastewater and water pollution cont rol . Journal of Water Pollution Control Federation 42:1025-1058. Dugan, P.J. , and R.J. Livingston. 1982. Long-term varieties of macro-invertebrate assemblages in Apalachee Bay, Florida. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 14:391-403. I EPA (Envi ronmental Protection Agency). 1973. Biological field and laboratory methods for measuring the quality of surface waters I and effluents. EPA 670/4-73-01. C.I . Weber, ed. Envi ronmental Protection Cincinnati. Agency, National Envi ronmental Research Center, Eidman, M. 1978. Species conosition, abundance, and distribution of macrocrustaceans and fishes in the intake area, discharge canal, and cooling lake of the Cedar Bayou electric generating station, near Baytown, Texas. Ph.D. Dissertation. Texas A&M University, 349 pp. I Esch, G.W. , and R.W. McFarlane, eds. 19 76. Thermal ecology II. NTIS No. CONF-750425. Technical Information Center, Energy Research and Development Administration, Springfield. I C-57 84LUCIE3 LCMACRO-4 I
I . LITERATURE CITED (continued Flint, R.W., and J. A. Younk. 1983. Estuarine benthos: Long-term com-munity structure variations, Corpus Christi Bay, Texas. Estuaries 6(2):126-141. Folk, R.L. 1974. Petrology of sedimentary rocks. Hemphill Publishing Co. , Austi n. 63 pp. Fox, J.T. 1979. Intermediate disturbance hypothesis. Science 204:1344-1345. Frankenberg, D. 1971. The c(ynamics of benthic communities of Georgia, U.S.A. Thalassia Jugoslavica 7:49-55. Gallagher, R.M. 1977. Nearshore marine ecology at Hutchinson Island, Florida: 1971-74. II. Sediments. Florida Department of Natural Resources Marine Laboratory. Marine Research Publication No. 23:6-25. Gallaway, B.J., and K. Strawn. 1974. Seasonal abundar,:t and distribu-I tion of marine fishes at a hot-water discharge in Galveston Bay, Texas. Contributions to Marine Sciences 18:71-137. Thermal ecology. NTIS No. I 1974. Gibbons, J.W. , and R.R. Sharitz. CONF-730505. Technical Information Center, Energy Research and Development Administration, Springfield. Goodman, D. 1975. The theory of diversity-stability relationships in ecology. Quarterly Review of Biology 50(3):237-266. I G ray , J.S. 1974. Animal-sediment relationships. Marine Biology Annual Review 12:223-261. Oceanography and Green, R.H. 1979. Sampling design and statistical methods for environ-I mental biologists. John Wiley and Sons, New York. 257 pp. Grimes, C.B. 1971. Thermal addition studies of the Crystal River steam I electric station. Florida Department of Natural Resources Marine Research Laboratory. Professional Papers Series No.11: 53 pp. Heck, K.L. dr. , G. van Belle and D. Simberloff. 1975. Explicit calcula-tion of the rarefaction diversity measurement and the determination of sufficient sample size. Ecology 56:1459-1461. Holme, N. A. , and A.D. McIntyre. 1971. Methods for the study of marine benthos. IBP Handbook No. 16. Burgess and Son Ltd. , Oxford. 334 pp. I 84LUCIE3 LCMACRO-4
I LITERATURE CITED (continued Hurlburt, S.H. 1971. The nonconcept of species diversity: a critique and alternative parameters. Ecology 52:577-586. Huston, M. 1979. A general hypothesis of species diversity. American Naturalist 113:81-101. Jordan, R. A., and C.E. Sutton. 1984. Oligohaline benthic invertebrate communities at two Chesapeake Bay power plants. Estuaries 7(3):192-212. Krebs, C.J. 1978. Ecology: The experimental analysis of distribution and abundance. Harper and Row, New York. 678 pp. Krenkel, P.A., and F.L. Parker. 1969. Biological aspects of thermal pollution. Vanderbilt University Press, Nashville. 407 pp. Livingston, R.J. 1976. Diurnal and seasonal fluctuations of organisms in a north Florida estuary. Estuarine and Coastal Marine Science 4:373-400. Livingston, R.J., G.J. Kobylinski, F.G. Lewis, III and P.F. Sheridan. 1976. Long-term fluctuations of epibenthic fish and invertebrate populations in Apalachicola Bay, Florida. Fisheries Bulletin 74:311-321. Logan, D.T., and D. Maurer. 1975. Diversity of marine invertebrates in a thermal effluent. Journal of the Water Pollution Control Federation 47:515-523. Lloyd, M.J., J.H. Zar and J.R. Karr. 1968. On the calculation of I information-theoretical measures of diversity. American Midland Naturalist 79:257-272. Mahoney, B.M.S., and R.J. Livingston. 1982. Seasonal fluctuations of benthic macrofauna in the Apalachicola Estuary, Florida, U.S.A.: The role of predation. Marine Biology 69:207-213. Maurer, D., W. Leathem and L. Watling. 1976. Benthic faunal assemblages off the Delmarva Peninsula. Estuarine and Coastal Marine Science 4:163-177. McCloskey, L.R. 1970. The dynamics of the comnunity associated with a marine scleractinian coral. Int. Revue Ges Hydrobiol. 55:1381. . I Meeter, D.A., R .J . Livingston and G.C. Woodsum. 1979. climatological cycles and population changes in a river-dominated Long-term l Ecological Processes I estuarine system. In.: Livi ngston, R.J. , ed. in Coastal and Marine Systems. Plenum Press. C-59 84LUCIE3 LCMACRO-4 I
I LITERATURE CITED (continued Miller, D.H. 1982. Community diversity and interactions between the size and frequency of disturbance. American Naturalist. 120:533-536. Morisita, M. 1959. Measuring of interspecific association and simi-larity between communities. Memoirs of the Faculty of Science of Kyushu University, Series E (Biology) 3:65-80. Naylor, E. 1965. Effects of heated effluents upon marine and estuarine organisms. Advances in Marine Biology 3:63-103. Peet, R.K. 1974. The measurement of species diversity. Annual Review of Ecological Systems 5:285-307. Pielou, E.C. 1966. The measurement of diversity in different types of biological collections. Journal of Theoretical Biology 13:131-144. Poole, R.W. 1974. An introduction to quantitative ecology. McGraw-Hill, Inc. , New York. 532 pp. Poore, G.B.C, and S. Rainer. 1979. A three-year study of benthos of mudcty environments in Port Phillip Bay, Victoria. Estuarine and Coastal Marine Science 9:477-497. Rhoads, D.C. 1974. Organism-sediment relations on the muddy sea floor. Oceanography and Marine Biology Annual Review 12:263-300. Rohlf, F.J., and R.R. Sokal. 1981. Statistical tables. W.H. Freeman and Co. San Francisco. 217 pp. Sanders, H.L. 1958. Benthic studies in Buzzards Bay. I. Animal-sediment relationships. Limnology and Oceanography 3:245-258. Simberloff, D. 1978. Use of rarefaction and related methods in ecology. In: Dickson, K.L., J. Cairns, Jr. and R.J. Livi ngs ton, eds. BTological Data in Water Pollution Assessment; Quantitative and Statistical Analyses. ASTM STP 652. American Society for Testing I and Materials. Sokal, R .R . , and F .J . Rohlf. 1981. Biometery. W.H. Freeman and I Conpany, San Francisco. 859 pp. A method of establishing groups of equal anplitude Sorensen, T. 1948. I in plant sociology based on similarity of species content. Danske Vidensk. Selsk. 5:1-34. K. Sylvester, J.R. 1972. Possible effects of thermal effluents on fish: I A review. Environmental Pollution 3(3):205-215. 1 I C-60 84LUCIE3 LCMACRO-4
LITERATURE CITED (continued) Virnstein, R.W. 1972. Effects of heated effluent on density and diver-sity of benthic infauna at Big Bend, Tampa Bay, Florida. M.A. Thesis, University of South Florida, Tampa. 60 pages. Wari nner, J.E., and M.L. Brehmer. 1966. The effects of thermal effluents on marine organisms. Air and Water Pollution I International Journal 10:277-289. Washington, H.G. 1984. Diversity, biotic, and similarity indices. A review with special relevance to aquatic ecosystems. Water Research 18:653-694. I Wilbu r, C.G. 1969. Springfield, Illinois. The Biol ogical Aspects of Water Pollution. Wilcox, J.R., and H. Gamble. 1974. The ecological significance of marine animal populations of the Indian River Region. Harbor Branch Consortium, Indian River Study, Unpublished Annual Report (1973-74) 2:294-325. Wilhm, J.L. , and T.C. Dorris. 1966. Species diversity of benthic macro-invertebrates in a stream receiving domestic and oil refinery effluents. American Midland Naturalist 76:427-449. Wolda, H. 1981. Similarity indices, sample size and diversity. 0ecologica 50:296-302. Young, D.K. , and D.C. Rhoads. 1971. Animal-sediment relations in Cape Cod Bay, Massachusetts. I. A transect study. Marine Biology 11:242-254. Zar, J.H. 1974. Biostatistical analysis. Prentice-Hall, Inc. Engle-wood Cliffs, NJ. 620 pp. Zirmierma n, M.S., and R.J. Livi ngston. 1976. Effects of kraft-mill effluents on benthic macrophyte assemblages in a shallow-bay system (Apalachee Bay, North Florida, U.S.A.). Marine Biology 34:297-312. I I I C-61 I
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stations and quarters, St. Lucie Plant,1984, using a Kolmogorov-Smirnov goodness of fit test. I NS = No significant difference
* = significant difference at Ps0.005 C-68
lI 1982 STATION BC B1 B2 83 B4 B5 C1 l QTR I 2 3 4 1l2l3l4 1l2l3l4 1l2l3l4 1l2l3l4 1l2l3l4 1 l2 l3l4 , 1 \= NS NS 5 BC E 3 SW T K I gj 1 2 N8 N8 N* h NB NS NS NS I 3 NS K NS 4 NS k I m g _ Nu m m I B2 2 3 g _ m g _ n s Na g n X T E l B3 i
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I I 1983 STATION BC B1 B2 83 B4 BS C1 QTR 1 2 3 4 1l2l3l4 1l2l3l4 1l2l3l4 1l2l3l4 1l2l3l4 1 l2 l3 l4 1 \ me s BC T
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l I o O 20-9 STATION BC 6 STATION 81 I X O STATION B2 E o E 15-I _.I 3 9 I 2 0 10-
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, y Q' !' I \j 'so , ly w a I C w > 2- l b d 0 : STATION BC I b- - A STATION B1 0----O STATION B2 I$$II$$55$$$I$SEI$$EIS$$$$$$$$$15$$1 1976 1977 197a 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 Figure C-12. Density and diversity of benthic macroinvertebrates collected at beach terrace stations (BC,B1 and B2), St. Lucie Plant, I 1976-1984.
C-73
I 40-I o o o 4 C a STATION C1 o_.-O ST ATION B3 g " X A---A STATION 34 E 30- 0 . osTATI N as B I "
< l t
a i ? a I ;,\ 5 l\ 5 20- [ E \ I f>s'y l u. \ I. ' Jt, q A X. l- j %f \. wi .j - l z10-d E
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! Ad NM Ek I iliJililliallialliallialtillilAlliAl 1978 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 I
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. I' .o. 1: a-
; u 5 4- \.j \ j l \ .' o I C a
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- L5 Q" c 0 STATION C1 g. s. .
I >2- o- . --o S T A TIO N B3 5 A----A ST ATION 04 0
- 0 STATION B5 I$$5Ih54I$$AI$$EI$5EI$5E1655I$$AI$$A 1978 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 Figure C-13 Density and diversity of benthic macroinvertebrates I collected at trough stations (B3,84,B5 and Cl), St.
Lucie Plant, 1976-1984. C-74
MARCH JUNE B1 30- BC B2 30-B1 B2 20- 20-
@ BC 6 10- 10-E w
$ 5'O 1A0 150 2d0 2'S 5'O 7'5 1d0 m
o $ bi 3Z OCTOBER DECEMBER o B1 N O 30- 30-w 20- B2 20-m BC 10- 10- 82 2'S 5'O 7'5 1d0 2'S 5'O 7'S 10 NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS Figure C-14. Expected numbers of species estimated for varying sample sizes for quarterly macro-invertebrate collections from beach terrace stations (BC, B1 and B2), St. i.ucie Plant,1984. u ._
M 1 C 0 0 M 0
'0 0
'0 4 8
2 2 9 1 M ot rn ca al 0 0 mP 0 0 ye M '5 '5 li 3 1 1 rc B eu tL r a . ut M 5 qS 0 B 0 r , o) 0 1 0 fl
'0 '0 C C 1 s M 1 3
ed zn 4 B i a s B 5 eB M 0 R 0 l p , m4 0 aB 05 E 5 S s B L g3 M 5 M E 4 A U y i( nB E B rs 8 C D an N I vo MUJ E D 0 0 0 V I D oa N ft rt i s 0 0 0 0 0 0 I d 0 8 6 4 2 8 6 4 2 F ehtg 1 M 0 0 O au mo 0 0 R ir
'0 3
'0 E tt s
2 2 B em B M M sr o 1 U efi C 5 N cs en po 3 0 B 0 M B 0
'5 0
'5 fc si t
1 1 oe 1 l sl C ro ec M b me ut na 0 0 r 0 0 db M '0 1
'0 1
tt ee cr 4 ee pv B xn - Ei M 4 . B 0 0 5 1 b 05 R S C M E e H 5 B r u C B O g - MRA T C i F _ M - O - - - - 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 M 0 1 8 6 4 2 8 6 4 2 m m @ c.m u o e m @ o z O $ m Q m
?
-M
I ANNELIDA ARTHROPODA CEPHALOCHORDATA OTHER SIPUNCULA h MOLLUSCA l ECHINODERM ATA 80-I > 60- : b
=
m _ z - - - m40-o _ _ _ _ _ _ I _ . .: _ 4 20 :_.:: _ 5 !! :_J: : " l BC 3' : B1 n B2
.E '
n. B3 E
! 1 B4 E
m ,.. B5 m m .. m C1
' l STATION z l O 80- 7 i w i \
o / l
$m 60-I F m z<
f 5 I 0 2 40- - 0 0 j E I : f l BC 4 B1 [B2 B3%
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B4 ihm: B5 C1 I @ m o. STATION I < 80-X I 4 g 60-u. I O - - - 40- - - - - cr : -
- : " ~
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-= -* - :e?
- s: :8 3 -*::
l
.b!k BC k ba B1
!kb% 82 B3
%" B5bk" C1 84 STATION Figure C-16. Percentage contribution by major macroinvertebrate groups I to total annual density, biomass and species richness at each benthic station, St. Lucie Plant,1984. (An asterisk denotes less than 1% contribution).
C-77
I STATION BC B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 C1 STATION BC B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 C1 BC BC B1 .48 B1 .36 82 56 .42 B2 .55 .37 B3 .09 .12 .14 f 83 .04 10 02 B4 .08 .13 .16 52 84 .05 .12 .06 39 B5 .19 .1 a .17 .53 .55
\ ; B5 .27 .32 28 .30 .22 C1 .07 .07 .13 .56 .52 .53 C1 .02 .14 .02 .52 .44 .26 QUARTER 1 (MARCH) QUARTER 2 (JUNE)
I STATION BC B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 C1 STATION BC B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 C1 BC
\ BC \ ,
B1 .21 81 22 B2 .24 .30
\ B2 23 27 B3 .04 .0 a .o 4
\ B3 .o8 .to .o3
\
B4 .02 .08 .04 .47 84 12 17 02 .41
\
85 .06 .10 .06 .53 .58 j B5 15 18 .02 57 .49 C1 .04 .08 .04 .60 44 .52 C1 12 .17 02 56 .39 .54 QUARTER 3 (OCT) QUARTER 4 (DEC) STATION BC B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 C1 BC 8' 80 82 47 .52 B3 .14 .20 .15 84 .11 .22 .13 .59 [L B5 .29 36 .22 .58 .59 , C1 .to .22 12 .60 .56 .53 I - ALL QUARTERS COMBINED
~
1984
- iiiiiiiii I
.00 .25 .26 .50 .51 .75 76-1.00 very low oderat very high I Figure C-17. Czechanowski's qualitative index of faunal similarity between stations based on grab data for each quarter and for all quarters combined, St. Lucie Plant,1984.
C-78
I STATION CC 01 B2 B3 84 B5 C1 S T A TIO N BC 01 82 B3 84 05 C1 BC BC B1 45 B1 37 j.g B2 .37 .29 B2 42 .64 83 .07 .01 .01 [f!fl-l B3 IO1 .03 .01 lllll lj'j; B4 08 .08 .03 .24 B4 .02 .20 12 18 85 12 .03 .01 .87 .26
\ hll[j B5 09 .11 .13 .88 .25 \ g C1 10 .01 .01 .83 .21 .97 C1 70 1 .02 .01 .77 .22 .78
\
QUARTER 1 (MARCH) QUARTER 2 (JUNE) I STATION BC B1 B2 B3 P4 B5 C1 STATION BC B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 C1 BC
\ BC \ ff:f f B1 .48 81 .15 B2 .12 .26 B2 16 14 B3 .01 .10 .01 [ h B3 .30 .11 .02 B4 .05 .08 .01 .59 ,!; B4 61 .11 .04 .63 B5 02 11 IO1 .96 .73 \h 85 63 12 .01 ,86 .65 C1 01 11 IO1 97 .74 99 C1 59 12 01 90 .6 6 .99 QUARTER 3 (OCT) QUARTER 4 (DEC)
STATION BC B1 B2 83 B4 85 C1 I = \i! II B1 .72 82 39 .30 f i B3 14 .09 .01 {I B4 .19 .20 .04 .48 f 85 .15 .10 .01 .96 .60 \--- C1 .12 .08 .01 90 .60 .97 1
,0 4 v a lu e <0.01 ALL QUARTERS COMBINED 1984 W .,.;.:.:.;
= !!!!!!!!!!
I
.00 .25 26 .50 .51 .75 y
.76-1.00 very h19h very low goderat Morisita's quantitative index of faunal similarity between I Figure C-18.
stations based on grab data for each quarter and for all quarters combined, St. Lucie Plant,1984. C-79
I OTR 1 2 3 4 2 .63 QTR 1 2 3 4 4 .48 .49 .50 STATION B3 2 .37 h 3 .32 .2e h QTR 1 2 3 4 4 .29 .28 .27 j I STATION BC 2 .s0
))
l QTR 1 2 3 4 4 .42 .43 .43
\
I 2 .31 \ STATION 84 3 18 .2e \ QTR 1 2 3 4 4 .27 .18 .33 \ j STATION 81 2 33
\
'#' i QTR 1 2 3 4 4 61 30 52 \
STATION BS 2 .34 \ 3 .24 31 h QTR 1 2 3 4 4 .27 38 27 \ j STATION 82 2 .s0 [ g 3 .s s .se \!! 4 62 .49 66 l .fi Is .2'e-Ta'o 2$Ns .7e-t.oo STATION C1 very low moderately very high low high I Figure C-19 Czechanowski's qualitative index of faunal similarity indicating changes in macroinvertebrate composition I between quarters at each station, St. Lucie Plant,1984. I C-80
I QTR 1 2 3 4 g 'X 2 3 3 .e 2 .s e QTR 1 2 3 4 l 4 .7e 1
\ .sel.se N l 2 .se h STATION 83 3 .so .24 \ QTR 1 2 3 4 l 4 .i s .i e .i r STATION BC
\ '
g 2 .se \ QTR 1 2 3 4 3 .ns .s 2
\ ll l 1
\ 4 42 .so .e s \
STATION B4 2 .se N 3 2s .s7
\ OTR 1 2 3 4 4 .oe .oe .os \
I STATION B1 2 77 3 .so QTR 1 2 3 4 j 4 .es .s7 .se l l I 2 .i s N::.: STATION B5 QTR 1 2 3 4 4 17 .72 .e s STATION 82 2gg 3 .re .so l l "" ~"
.oTas .2e-Yo .sMs .7el .oo
- {::-
i 4 .es .es .e4 STATION C1 I very low moderately very high low high I Figure C-20 Morisita's quantitative index of faunal similarity indicating changes in macroinvertebrate composition between quarters at each station, St. Lucie Plant,1984. I C-81
M M M M M M M M M TABLE C-1 WATER TEWERATURES EASURED CONCURRENTLY WITH BIOLOGICAL COLLECTIONS ST. LUCIE PLANT 1984 Beach terrace Offshore trough Bottom water Degrees (*C) water column Ebttom water Degrees (*C) b Water column temperature (*C) above amblent gradient (*C) temperature (*C) above anblent gradient (*C) discharge station control station Dis mn discharge stations control station D1s &n Date B1-F3a BC-F1 B1-F3 BC-Fi B4-F6 B5-F7 C1 B4-F6 or B5-F7 Cl Jan 18 16.1 0.0 0.7 0.0 16.1 16.2 0.0 c 1.0 0.6 Jan 26 23.0 0.1 1.1 0.3d 23.8 23.8 -0.2 0.2 0.1 Feb 16 23.8 1.4 e 0.3 -0.2 23.3 22.3 0.9 1.0 0.7 Feb 24 22.8 -0.1 0.3 0.0 22.4 22.3 -0.3 0.5 0.4 Mar 19 22.9 -0.1 0.3 0.1 22.8 23.2 0.5 0.4 0.3 Mar 26 23.0 0.2 0.8 0.0 23.0 24.0 1.1 0.2 0.6d Apr 10 23.0 0.2 0.1 0.0 23.0 22.9 -0.1 0.8 -0.1 Apr 18 22.0 0.6 0.4 0.3 21.9 22.4 0.4 0.2 0.5 May 25 25.0 0.8 1.6 0.2 24.8 24.4 0.4 1.2 1.2 Jun 14 27.5 0.5 0.4 0.1 26.9 27.5 0.6 0.3 0.3 c7 Jun 21 23.5 0.1 1.5 1.1 24.7 24.1 1.7 0.8 1.0 k JuI I2 28.3 0.9 0.7 0.5 27.7 28.0 0.7 0.6 0.6 ro Aug 17 22.3 0.8 6.7 7.4 21.7 22.0 -0.5 7.7 7.1 Sep 14 29.3 0.6 1.0 0.1 29.1 29.3 0.3 0.4 0.3 Oct 15 25.0 0.1 0.5 0.1 25.0 25.1 0.3 0.9 0.4 Oct 16 25.1 0.0 1.9 0.9 25.0 25.4 0.5 0.2 0.0 Oct 30 26.2 0.2 1.5 0.3 26.2 27.0 0.8 1.0 0.0 Nov 05 26.1 -0.3 2.2 0.5 26.5 26.7 0.2 0.2 0.0 Nov 20 24.0 0.6 0.0 0.4 23.6 24.2 0.2 0.6 0.6 Dec 06 25.0 0.1 0.5 0.2 25.6 25.0 0.6 0.3 0.2 Dec 11 21.8 0.5 1.2 0.0 21.7 22.6 0.5 0.2 0.0 Dec 20 22.0 0.4 0.1 0.5 22.7 22.1 0.5 -0.5 0.1 Mean 0.35 0.78 0.21 0.41 0.49' O.33 Stations designated by an F are nekton stations (Figure B-2). b Control temperatures were subtracted from the hlghest of the two discharge values. Negative values Indicate that discharge temperatures were cooler than control temperatures, d Negative values Indicate that surface water temperatures were cooler than bottom water temperatures. Excluding Jun 21 and Aug 17, periods of anomalous water column conditions. 84LUCIE2 TABLE C-1 u _
M M M M M M M M M TABLE C-2 DISSOLVED OXYGEN LEVELS MEASURED CONCURRENTLY WITH BIOLOGICAL CDLLECTIONS ST. LUCIE PLANT 1984 Beach terrace Offshore trough Water column b Water column Bottcn DO (ppm) ppm below emblent gradient (ppm) Bottom DO (ppm) ppm below ambient gradient (ppm) discharge station control station dis Oon discharge stations control station dis Con Date B1-F3a BC-F1 B1-F3 BC-F1 B4-F6 B5-F7 C1 B4-F6 or B5-F7 C1 Jan 18 8.4 -0.1
- 0.4 0.0 8.3 8.5 0.1 -0.2 0.0 Jan 26 7.5 -0.2 0.1 0.1 7.3 7.4 0.0 c -0.1 -0.2 Feb 16 7.5 -0.2 0.1d 0.0 7.7 7.6 -0.2
- 0.0 0.0 Feb 24 7.5 -0.6 -0.1 0.1 7.2 7.3 0.3 0.0 -0.2 Mar 19 7.3 -0.7 0.7 0.3 7.0 7.0 0.2 0.5 0.2 Mar 26 7.3 -0.5 -0.3 0.0 7.3 7.4 0.0 -0.3 -0.3 Apr 10 7.4 -0.2 0.0 0.0 6.9 7.0 0.3 -0.1 0.0 Apr 18 6.2 -0.4 0.1 0.1 5.9 6.1 0.5 0.1 0.0 May 25 7.2 -0.2 -0.3 0.0 7.1 7.1 0.1 -0.2 -0.2 Jun 14 6.1 0.6 0.7 0.1 6.9 7.1 0.4 0.1 0.2 o Jun 21 8.0 -0.3 0.2 0.2 8.1 8.2 -0.4 -0.2 0.5 k Jui 12 7.9 -0.4 -0.1 -0.2 7.8 7.7 0.0 -0.3 -0.2 w Aug 17 8.9 -2.1 -1.4 -0.4 8.9 8.0 1.6 -2.1 -2.8 Sep 14 7.2 -0.9 -0.4 0.1 6.7 6.9 0.2 0.3 -0.2 Oct 15 7.0 -0.4 1.4 0.5 6.6 6.7 0.1 0.8 0.8 Oct 16 6.9 -0.1 0.1 0.7 7.0 7.1 -0.1 -0.3 -0.1 Oct 30 7.1 0.4 0.5 0.2 7.2 7.4 0.0 0.3 -0.1 Nov 05 6.6 0.5 0.3 -0.1 7.1 6.8 0.3 -0.3 -0.2 Nov 20 7.0 0.0 -0.2 0.0 7.1 6.9 0.2 -0.2 -0.2 Dec 06 6.7 0.0 0.1 0.2 6.8 6.6 0.1 0.5 0.4 Dec 11 7.7 -0.2 0.0 0.0 7.3 7.6 0.0 0.3 0.2 Dec 20 7.0 -0.3 0.5 0.3 6.8 6.9 0.2 0.5 0.6 Mean -0.20 0.18 0.12 0.11 0.06 -0.05 Stations designated by an F are nekton stations (Figure B-2).
The lowest of the two discharge values were subtracted from the control D0 Negative values Indicate that discharge DO levels were higher than control levels. Negative values Indicate that bottom DO levels were higher than surface levels. Fxcluding Aug 17, a period of anomalous water column conditions. 84LUCIE2 TABLEC-2
E E E E E E E E E E TAisLE O-3 TURBIDITY LEVELS MEASURED CONCURRENTLY WITH BIOLOGICAL CX)LLECTIONS ST. LUCIE PLANT 1984 Beach terrace Offshore trough Bottom turbidity Water column Bottom turbidity Water column (JTU) JTU above emblent gradient (JTU) (JTU) JTU above amblent gradient (JTU) discharge station control station D1s (bn discharge stations control station Dis Con Date B1-F3a BC-F1 B1-F3 BC-F1 B4-F6 B5-F7 C1 B4-F6 or B5-F7 C1 _ Jan 18 4.3 -21.7 -0.3 17.7 3.1 3.3 -0.4 -4.0 -1.2 Jan 26 5.4 -3.9 1.9 2.7 4.6 3.3 3.1 3.9 0.6 Feb 16 5.9 3.1 -1.8 -1.8 4.0 7.7 2.6 4.2 -0.3 Feb 24 6.2 2.5 4.1 2.6 7.1 3.3 4.7 5.0 0.2 Mar 19 11.3 1.0 3.6 6.8 4.9 2.8 3.2 -2.8 -0.9 Mar 26 2.1 0.6 -0.5 -0.6 2.4 2.4 0.0 1.1 0.3 Apr 10 2.1 0.6 -1.0 -1.6 1.9 1.7 0.2 -0.7 -0.9 Apr 18 1.7 -2.0 -2.0 1.6 1.3 2.1 1.4 0.6 0.4 May 25 1.7 0.4 0.6 -1.3 1.7 2.8 -0.7 -1.8 2.6 Jun 14 M) K) 60 K) K) K) M) m 60 o Jun 21 0.1 -0.8 -2.3 -0.6 1.9 1.1 0.6 1.0 0.0 g Jul 12 0.7 0.2 -0.4 -1.4 1.1 0.9 1.1 -0.8 -1.3 a Aug 17 2.1 -1.2 -0.3 2.2 1.7 1.3 0.6 -0.2 -0.8 Sep 14 12.0 5.5 8.0 2.2 2.8 4.0 0.9 0.7 1.6 Oct 15 41.0 18.0 23.3 - 3.8 21.5 10.5 6.1 -11.0 5.6 Oct 16 100.0 66.0 81.5 26.3 12.5 9.1 -4.4 2.7 0.7 Oct 30 6.2 2.7 3.1 1.1 2.4 4.0 -1.6 2.1 3.9 Nov 05 4.0 -1.6 0.9 2.1 3.1 3.7 1.6 2.6 0.8 Nov 20 3.3 -0.7 -0.2 -1.9 3.1 2.4 1.8 1.2 -1.3 Dec 06 5.9 -3.2 1.9 5.1 3.1 2.4 1.0 0.0 -0.3 Dec 11 11.8 -0.7 7.8 9.0 2.1 2.6 1.1 -0.5 -1.1 Dec 20 13.5 -6.5 3.6 14.1 19.2 18.5 14.9 13.0 3.4 M) = Missing data. Stations designated by an F are nekton stations (Figure B-2). b Control turbid 1tles were subtracted from the highest of the two discharge values. Negative values Indicate that discharge turb1ditles were lower than control turbid 1tles. d Negative values Indicate that bottom turbid 1tles were lower than surf ace turb1ditlos. 84LUCI E2 TABLEC-3
M M M M M M - M M TABLE C-4 RESULTS OF SEDIMENT GRAIN SIZE ANALYSES (PERCENTAGE BY WE!GHT) AT BENTHIC STATIONS ST. LUCIE PLANT 1984
-~~-
Silt Very Coarse Medium Very fine and Mean Sorting Size Pebble Granule coarse sand sand ___ sand Fine sand sand clay diameter coefficient Station Month (mm) >32 32-16 16-8 8-4 4-2 2-1 1.0-0.5 0.50-0.25 0.250-0.125 0.125-0.063 <0.063 0 0 BC Ma r 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.19 0.07 0.22 5.64 91.95 1.93 3.48 0.47 Jun 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.83 0.33 0.79 9.23 87.30 1.53 3.39 0.61 Oct 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.01 0.39 0.28 0.54 11.36 B6.22 1.21 3.38 0.53 Dec 0.00 0.00 0.03 0.13 0.93 5.85 14.95 9.38 19.16 48.86 0.70 2.40 1.41 B1 Ma r 0.00 0.00 0.06 0.31 0.67 1.24 2.63 15.49 38.36 39.98 1.25 2.65 1.05 Jun 0.00 0.00 0.15 0.33 0.45 1.86 5.77 25.75 48.00 17.06 0 63 2.22 1.02 Oct 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.01 0.14 0.92 1.85 7.89 29.64 57.77 1.77 2.99 0.90 Dec 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.15 0.11 0.06 0.32 2.20 12.17 76.28 8.72 3.53 0.93 B2 Mar 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.51 1.25 10.07 32.47 53.53 1.18 2.91 0.90 Jun 0.00 0.00 0.56 0.26 0.54 1.80 2.29 5.47 14.80 71.93 2.36 3.08 1.15 c3 Oct 0.00 0.00 0.08 0.11 0.14 0.83 1.30 1.84 10.94 83.51 1.24 3.29 0.76 pg Dec 0.00 0.00 0.14 0.01 0.01 0.1E 1.19 2.21 21.43 74.12 0.72 3.21 0.68 B3 Mar 0.00 0.98 3.96 3.67 6.44 15.56 36.57 30.56 0.42 1.36 0.47 0.28 1.47 Jun 0.00 2.61 1.33 3.04 5.72 16.89 36.48 32.01 0.64 0.96 0.32 0.32 1.43 Oct 0.00 2.58 5.20 6.44 9.48 20.14 33.44 22.22 0.29 0.15 0.06 -0.19 1.56 Dec 0.00 2.16 2.13 5.00 8.98 19.98 38.95 20.76 1.13 0.79 0.13 0.04 1.43 B4 Mar 0.00 1.86 3.72 10.05 18.04 20.59 28.24 13.06 1.65 2.55 0.25 -0.36 1.63 Jun 0.00 2.50 7.57 10.86 17.10 20.28 23.99 11.55 3.00 2.81 0.35 -0.52 1.80 Oct 0.00 8.08 7.55 10.00 11.80 21.53 27.34 11.60 1.44 0.61 0.05 -0.79 1.84 Dec 0.00 2.81 10.88 20.70 22.30 19.79 15.39 5.04 1.09 1.31 0.70 -1.19 1.72 B5 Ma r 0.00 0.87 2.16 4.77 11.81 23.08 25.24 21.34 9.72 0.92 0.10 0.20 1.52 Jun 0.00 0.15 0.32 1.14 1.55 2.40 5.25 21.16 49.66 17.55 0.83 2.17 1.23 Oct 0.00 0.00 1.31 2.25 5.99 15.34 20.92 26.39 20.01 7.63 0.15 1.01 1.53 Dec 0.00 3.15 3.77 3.48 8.31 18.83 23.37 24.95 10.94 3.02 0.18 0.30 1.79 C1 Mar 0.00 0.34 3.38 5.31 9.89 24.37 36.33 18.50 0.87 0.80 0.20 -0.02 1.35 Jun 0.00 0.14 2.90 3.81 6.67 21.05 42.89 20.41 0.70 1.06 0.37 0.19 1.29 Oct 0.00 4.15 2.21 4.06 8.53 16.95 35.22 27.34 0.76 0.68 0.10 0.06 1.57 Dec 0.00 0.78 2.16 2.84 5.18 17.03 41.82 28.50 0.77 0.77 0.16 0.35 1.26 84LUCIE2 TABLEC-4
M M M M ; W W W M M M M J J TABLE C-5 BENTHIC MACROINVERTEBRATE COMMUNITY CHARACTERISTICS MEASURED AT OFFSHORE STATIONS ST. LUCIE PLANT 1984 Sta tion Community Cumulative
, characteristic Qua rter BC B1 82 B3 B4 B5 C1 Mean total Number of taxa 1 28 34 33 85 90 85 107 66.0 220 2 15 24 14 76 95 44 105 53.3 212 3 16 22 18 75 83 77 82 53.3 198 4 14 32 12 66 71 67 83 50.0 188 Cumulative total '51 80 53 164 186 157 191 - 384 Mean 18.2 28.0 19.2 75.5 84. 8 68.2 95.5 - -
Density (number of 1 608 558 1,583 12,125 7,950 7,217 13,742 6,255 individuals /m2) 2 425 617 300 11,025 5,642 1,675 19,300 5,569 3 350 592 258 17,042 7,008 13,008 11,583 7,120 4 192 833 217 6.125 2,242 8,625 7,175 3,630 Mean 394 650 590 11,579 5,710 7,631 12,950 - Biomass (g ash-free 1 0.202 0.182 0.557 2.009 1.629 0.86 7 1.546 0.999
dry wt./m2) 0.176 0.339 0.115
. 2 28.386(5.109)* 1.779 0.504 9.556(2.007)* 5.836(1.433)*
8? 3 0.7B8 0.352 0.121 1.840 2.497 1.818 2.460 1.411 4 0.187 0.533 0.059 0.782 2.4 84 2.264 1.012 1.046 Mean 0.338 0.351 0.213 8.254(2.435)* 2.097 1.363 3.643(1.756)*
> ^ ersity (H') 1 4.217 4.616 3.637 3.218 5.136 4.066 3.823 4.102 2 3.240 3.889 3.528 2.880 5.363 4.013 3.155 3.724 3 3.525 3.788 3.886 2.211 4.115 3.061 2.876 3.352 4 3.376 3.968 3.244 3.912 4.808 3.246 3.507 3.723 Mean 3.590 4.065 3.574 3.055 4.856 3.596 3.340 -
Evenness (J') ~ 1 0.877 0.907 0.721 0.502 0.789 0.634 0.567 0.714 2 0.829 0.848 0.927 0.461 0.816 0.735 0.470 0.727 3 0.881 0.849 0.932 0.355 0.645 0.488 0.457 0.657 4 0.887 0.794 0.905 0.647 0.782 0.533 0.543 0.727 i Mean 0.868 0.850 0.871 0.491 0.758 0.598 0. 5,8 -
- Biomass determinations excluding occurrence of large, rare specimens.
STLUCIE2 TABLEC-5
M M M M M M M M M TABLE C-6
SUMMARY
OF SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN TOTAL MACR 0 INVERTEBRATE FAUNAL DENSITIES AND SPECIES RICHNESS BETWEEN CONTROL AND TREATMENT STATIONS USING ANOVA AND MULTIPLE RANGE TESTS ST. LUCIE PLANT 1982 - 1984 Station Quarter 1 Quarter 2 Ouarter 3 Quarter 4 Treat-Control ment 1984 1983 1982 1984 1983 1982 1984 1983 1982 1984 1983 1982 NS NS NS ** NS NS B1 Density NS NS NS NS NS NS BC Species richness NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS B2 Density ** NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS c, - ES Species richness NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS
~B3 Density NS NS NS
- NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS Species richness
- NS NS NS NS NS NS * ** NS NS NS C1 B4 Density NS NS NS Species richness NS NS NS NS NS NS NS B5 Density *
- NS *
- NS NS NS NS NS NS NS Species richness NS NS NS * *
- NS
- NS NS NS NS NS = No significant difference (P<0.05).
- Indicates value significantly lower than the control.
** Indicates value significantly higher than the control.
84LUCIE2 TABLE C-6
e
- 5 3 3
* *$ 5 5 lar e 6 0
2 4 0 9 4 4 2 5 9 0 2 1 0 r ets 0- - 0 4 0- -0 0 0 t 0 9 5 7 9 9 r 7 0 5 0 2 2 e T 1 m4 5 0 2 4 4 4 0- 0 - 0 0 s s e m 0 0 9 2 9 3 5 0 3 9 ia 0 0 4 4 6 9 3 2 9 4 5 3 4 S 0 0 0 0 0 0 9
. 0 5 7 1 4 2 0 7 te 4 6 5 6 S 0 0 m40 2 2 0 0 0 - 0- 0-
. 0 9 2 0 6 9 0 e 1 2 8 9 0 6 5 m 2 3 2 6 3 1 4 e
T 0 0 0 0 0 0 e la e 0 4 5 2 0 9 3 5 0 0 6 0 0 6fr c s 3 3 4 4 1 1 3 5 0 0 0 0 - 4 0 t 7 0 5 3 6 r 4 9 0 2 1
. o 1 e 1 2 3 2 0 1 5
s e f 0 n 5 0 0 0
- 0-K )
T *M S f t a 2 9 3 5 8 0 8 81 8 3 2 7 0 t 0 4 T C ter 1 2 2 6 1 3 1 A s 0 0 -0 0 0 r 0 0 A A e t fv OSN O LO
. 0 5 2 4 4 9 AI 0 9 7 2 3 1a 0 CT tA nT S 0 e e2 0 60 0 3, 3 0
3 0 ES - H CC OI
- fTCN
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4 8 0 7 6 8 6 9 7 SUA LL wfs 9 9 8 9 0 4
- 5AP 0- 0 0 0 0 0 0 C TW 4 - - - - - -
E s E8 fRI9 L IEC1 , 8 CTU t 5
- A IEL r 6 3 3 3 5 6 8 2 7 I FM e 7 4 FA .
FRT s
. T 1
0 m40 R. 2 3 1 0AS CP e - 0- 0- 0
- )
9
. ). 1 nL s 1 7 F s = =
oA e f f f tR e 5 0 8 8 5 4 o d d fU h 0 6 4 4 9 ( ( ( AA 0 4 6 5 1 LE tc 2 6 5 5 2 3 3 3 6 6 f e 0 0 0 0 0 3 6 6 tD - 0 0 4 6 6 nE s oT cA e 0 0 8 n ic * * = Tt N1 p e . 0 4 4 4 6 3 E5 la 0 2 0 r e r
>1 S
S 0 c 4 7 31 0 4 5 4 l l t nD 0 < 0- 0 0 9 0 la a a
- N - - c ic tc TA C it it it U
D . 5 0 5 7
- ir r r c c c O
R e 0 9 5 2 41 4 8 4 5 P m e 3 6 2 3 1 5 3 e r e e m Y 0 0 0 0 0 0 h e ehr er h 0 - - - 5 w w w 3 a tty ty ty A e *
- E P far P e
3 3 1t 5 14 9 0 e ta i rt 7 8 3 2 2 id Gs n. 0 0 0-6 7 0 0 tte f t r t r 0- 0 e ot e
- t t d d d
- n n n t
6 5 4 9 7 a a a e 4 01 7 2 4 7 w 1
@ 4 7 0 2 4 tty ty ty s
. T 0 0 0 0 0 lev t t v - - - a e et le lt ts l te 5 a a a 3 F 0 s s s 0 4 8 5 ts 0 9 8 4 6 0 9I 5 r r r a
e 0 0 6 4 2 2 2 1 0 1 f o of o f D p 0 0 0 0- 0 0 0 t t e p p ts ht e ec e c n n c m l. 0 0 5 3 4 4 3 t e e e e a 6 2 5 9 ) ) ) 0 41 5 1 3 n S 0
@ 0 0 1
e
)
5 2 6 0 1 11 0 0 0 = = =
- - - tta f f f f
=
( e a( a o ( (
. le r
e 2 8 4 4 2 9 r 4 4 7 6 3 m 4 3 41 5 7 5 e 2 6 1 5 3 0 0 3 9 8 o 7 3 5 5 T 1 c 0 0 - 0 - 0 0 0 0- t 0 0 0 0
- - * -s a * * = =
d a a e n e tc e r r e
) f
. ro ror o r o s
g itn r lt a Cl s a ta f f f f o *s . g a tp o c
- h e
b r e b m e e3 "r s ts)2 e5 e3 ts dg e v elu e v e v us s or e sc rr e o n t e c t r c a .sr .s a at la a la la re gt to ea tM J u Oc De agu rte tta4 er s s v v v v r rSt t8t e r e.ar l t l ne e a s r t es a a la la t .a a n ? F. tev e ts u Q l 0u n3 u sc tc ic c f t l A h8g g3 q ic
- it IC CI ad tn ll ac1l e
ev(l r l d n o tt r it r r it t e UL LB Sa A B Al T I n C C C C 4A A * " " " " 8T
TABLE C-8 I RESULTS OF T-TESTS USED TO DETECT SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN DIVERSITY (H') BETWEEN CONTROL AND DISCHARGE STATIONS ST. LUCIE PLANT 1984 I Date Control station (H' value) B1 B2 Treatment station (H' value) B3 B4 B5 March BC(4.217) NS *(3.637) - - - Cl(3.823) - -
*(3.218) *(5.136) *(4.066)
I June BC(3.240) Cl(3.155)
*(3.889)
NS
*(2.880) *(5.363) *(4.013)
I October BC(3.525) NS NS - - - C1(2.876) - -
*(2.211) *(4.115) NS December BC(3.376) NS NS - - -
I C1(3.507) - -
*(3.912) *(4.808) *(3.246)
NS = No significant difference.
* = Significant difference (p10.05).
84LUCIE2 TABLEC-8 I I I I I I C-89 I
m M M TABLE C-9 RANKINGS OF DOMINANT BENTHIC MACROINVERTEBRATE TAXA
- COLLECTED EACH QUARTER AT OFFSHORE STATIONS ST. LUCIE PLANT 1984 Station BC B1 B2 B3 B4 85 C1 Tana Quarter 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 NEMERTINEA 2 1 3 1 2 2 ANNELIDA Armandia agilis 1 3 Anfothella mucosa 5 Filogranula sp. A 1 1 1 1 2 5 9 2 1 2 1 1 2 2 2 1 2 Gontada littorea 4 3 Gontadides carolinae 3 3 7 MacrocIymene zonalls 4 JMa nlcna sp. C 1 1 1 Mediomastus californiensis 2 hepthys simoni 3 Notomastus latericeus 4 Owenia fusiTormis 2 Prionospio cristata 1 3 Prionospio gda i 3 2 3 Pseudoeurythoe $pp. 2 Sabe11 aria vulgaris 8 Scolelepis tenana 1 5pirobiidae spp. 3 MOLLUSCA 7 Fartulum strigosum 7 8 Montacuta sp. B 1 011 vella adelae 3 UTGeTTa spp. I Parv' lucina multilineata 5 1 3 1 Tel'l' na tris 4 2 TeTW sy5aritica? 4 TeTW spp. 2 Turbonilla sp. H 5 ARTHROPODA Acanthohaustorius spp. 2 Bowmaniella spp. 3 3 Eudevenopus honduranus 2 2 2 Oqvrides M 2 Oqyrides spp. 6 0xyurostylis smithi 2 Paqurus annulipes 1 Paqurus maclaughlinae 2 Paqurus spp. 3 Protohaustorius bousfieldi 3 Rildardanus laminosa 4 Xenanthura brevitelson 4 ?
ECHINODERMATA Amphioda pulchella 2 3 Amphiuridae spp. 6 SIPUNCULA 2 1 7 6 1 3 1 2 2 1 1 1 2 1 NUMBER Of DOMINANT TAKA 5 3 4 3 6 4 4 3 2 4 5 3 2 1 1 3 8 9 3 4 2 3 2 2 2 2 2 2
*Those tasa when ranked from most to least abundant, which cumulatively accounted for at least 50 percent of all individuals collected at a station.
84LUCIE2 TABLEC-9
g g m M M M M M M E TABLE C-10
SUMMARY
OF THE EFFECTS OF PLANT OPERATION ON MACROFAUNAL ASSEMBLAGES ST. LUCIE PLANT 1982 - 1984 Control Station =BC Variable Treatment Stations =Bl. B2 Control Station =C1 Treatment Stations =B3. B4. B5 1984 1983 1982 1984 19R3 1987 Density 1. B2)BC in Mar 1. No effects 1. No effects 1. Cl>B4, B5 in Mar 1. Cl>B4, 05 in Mar
- 2. No effects in 2. Cl>B3, B4 and BS in 1. Cl>B4 all dates Jun and Oct and Jan Jun 2. No effects in Sept
- 3. B1>BC in Dec
- 3. No effects in Oct and Dec
- 4. Cl>B4 in Dec Species Richness 1. No ef fects in Mar. 1. No effects 1. No effects 1. Cl>B3 in Mar 1. Cl>B4 in Mar Jun and Oct 1. Cl>B4 in Mar and
- 2. B1>BC in Dec 2. Cl>BS in Jun 2. Cl>B4, 85 in Jun Dec
- 3. No effects in Oct 3. Cl>B3, B5 in Sept 2. Cl>34, BS in Jun n and Dec 4. No effects in Dec 3. Cl<B3 in Sept b
Diversity 1. BC)B2 in Mar 1. No effects 1. No effects 1. Cl>B3 in Mar, Jun, 1. Cl<B4 in Mar
- 2. B1>BC in Jun Oct
- 1. No effects in
- 3. No effects in 2. No effects in Jun, Mar, Sept, Dec Oct and Dec CI(B3 in Dec Sept and Dec 2. Cl>RS in Jun
- 2. CI(84 all dates
- 3. Cl<BS in Mar, Jun Cl>BS in Dec Expected Number 1. B1>BC in Mar and of Species
- Jun 1. Cl>B3 in Mar, Oct, Dec
- 2. BC>B2 in Mar and 2. Cl<B4, B5 in Jun Dec
- 3. B2)BC in Oct 3. Cl<B4 in Oct and Dec
- 4. Cl>BS in Oct and Dec
*1984 was the first year that this index was used.
M W M M M M M M s APPENDIX TABLE C-1 NUMBERS OF RENTHIC MACROINVERTFPRATES COLLECTED RY SHIPEK GRAR ST. LUCIE PLANT 1984 Quarter 1 Quarter 2 Quarter 3 Ouarter 4 Species Station: BC B1 B2 83 B4 B5 C1 BC B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 C1 BC B1 R2 R3 R4 BS C1 BC R1 B2 R3 R4 R5 C1 CNIDARIA RentIta spp. I 1 2 1 1 Anthozoa spp. 2 2 1 1 1 1 4 5 2 1 PLATYHELMINTHES 7 14 3 20 4 13 11 2 3 4 7 15 8 7 1 NEMERTINA 6 5 10 36 38 21 37 2 18 5 28 29 5 29 7 8 27 29 29 23 1 2 1 46 22 27 31 ANNELIDA Polychaeta Polynoidae Lepidasthenia varia Malmgrenia lunulata 1 1 Sigalionidae Psammolyce arenosa 2 Sigalion arenicola 1 2 es 5thenelais limicola 1 1 4 1 1 6
- Pisionidae 1 Pistone remota 3 5 4 5 1 Chrysopetalidae 1 1 2 11 1 1 5 Bhwania goodet 1
Paleonotus heteroseta 1 Paleonotus sp. A 1 Amphinomidae 1 Paramphinome pulchella 1 Pseudeurythoe spp. 83 18 2 Phyllodocidae 1 1 Eula11a bilineata 2 Eumida sanguinea 1 1 2 1 2 3 2 1 Hesionura laubieri7 1 3 3 1 1 1 1 Nereiphylla fragilis 1 2 2 Protomystides sp. A 3 1 Pterocirrus macroceros 1 Phyllodocidae spp. 1 Hesionidae Heteropodarke formalis 4 1 3 16 3 1 4 4 Microphthalmus hartmanae 1 3 1 1 1 2 1 1 Podarke obscura 1 4 9 1 4 7 5 7 1 Podarkeopsis levifuscina 1 7 7 1 4 2 4 Pilargidae Ancistrosy111s carolinensis 1 3 1 Ancistrosyllis hartmanae 4 8 2 18 18 1 16 Ancistrosyllis jonesi 2 8 1 11
m 3 m M M M M M M M M M M APPENDIX TABLE C-1 (continued) NUMBERS OF BENTHIC MACR 0!NVERTERRATES COLLECTED BY SHIPEK GRAB ST. LUCIE PLANT 1984 Quarter 1 Quarter 2 Quarter 3 Quarter 4 Species Station: BC B1 B2 B3 B4 BS Cl BC B1 B2 B3 B4 BS C1 BC B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 Cl BC B1 B2 R3 B4 B5 C1 Pilargidae (cont'd) Sigambra bassi 1 Sigambra tentaculata 1 Synelmis albini 1 1 4 Syllidae Autolytus spp. I 1 1 Brania gallagheri 1 Brania swedmarki 1 4 1 2 2 1 4 Brania sp. A 2 1 Dentatisyllis carolinae 6 7 10 13 4 15 Dioplosyllis octodentata 1 11 16 16 18 5 6 6 1 1 Exogone arenosa Exogone atlantica 12 23 10 42 5 10 16 13 19 11 9 14 12 24 16 2 2 1 1 Langerhansia cornuta 2 1 Odontosyllis spp. 1 Parapionosyllis longicirrata 3 20 10 7 2 19 Pionosyllis gesae 7 3 23 15 7 9 4 16 4 1 n 1 Pionosyllis uraga 11 6 5 6 1 1 Em Plakosyllis quadrioculata
" 1 8 4 1 1 2 4 3 3 Sphaerosyllis aciculata 1 1 1 1 Sphaerosyllis labyrinthophila 1 2 2 2 1 1 3 11 1 1 Sphaerosyllis piriferopsis 2 3 8 2 Sphaerosyllis riseri 5 2 2 4 4 1 1 7 2 1 4 1 1 2 Sphaerosyllis taylori 2 1 1 2 2 Sphaerosyllis spp. 1 1
Syllides bansei 7 3 1 3 2 2 6 1 1 Syllides floridanus 2 1 Syllis amica 6 2 6 1 1 1 4 4 2 1 1 2 2 Syllis gracilis 1 1 1 Trypanosyllis coeliaca 1 Trypanosyllis inglei 1 Typosyllis hyalina 1 1 1 1 Syllidae spp. I 1 1 2 1 1 Nereidae Ceratonereis longicirrata 1 1 1 Neanthes acuminata 1 Nereis falsa 1 3 Nereidae spp. 1 I Nephtyidae Nephtys simoni 1 2 2 1 1 1 5 3 1 3 2 6 1 1 3 3 Nephtys squamosa 2 1
W W m W W W W W W W W W_ m .M' W APPENDIX TABLE C-1 (continued) NUMBERS OF BENTHIC MACR 0 INVERTEBRATES COLLECTED RY SHIPEK GRAR ST. LUCIE PLANT 1984 Quarter 1 Quarter 2 Quarter 3 Ouarter 4 Species Station: BC B1 B2 B3 B4 BS C1 BC B1 B2 B3 B4 RS C1 BC 81 R2 B3 R4 R5 Cl BC B1 R2 R3 R4 BS C1 Glyceridae Glycera americana 2 Glycera capitata 1 1 4 4 2 Glycera dibranchiata 1 1 Glycera papillosa 1 1 Glycera spp. 1 3 Hemipodus roseus 26 24 17 43 8 1 15 10 20 Gontadidae 14 41 19 5 15 3 Goniada acicula 1 Goniada littorea 2 1 1 1 4 5 5 3 1 1 Goniadides carolinae 1 33 82 47 27 27 50 8 15 66 3 14 27 Lacydoniidae Lacydonia cf. miranda 1 Eunicidae Eunice vittata 2 1 1 Lysidice ninetta 1 Nematonereis hebes 1 1 1 4 n Onuphidae a Diopatra cuprea 1 1 1 Onuphis eremita oculata 2 10 3 2 2 5 Onuphis sp. A 1 11 8 Onuphidae spp. Lumbrineridae I 1 2 4 Lumbrinerides jonesi 3 1 1 Lunbrineris cf. latreilli 1 1 1 Arabellidae Arabella spp. I 1 Dorvilleidae Dorvillea sociabilis 1 Dorvilleidae sp. A 1 Protodorvillea spp. 4 3 5 1 1 1 6 1 1 3 1 Schistomeringos pectinata 14 2 2 9 5 Schistomeringos rudolphi 2 8 1 1 1 3 3 1 Dorvilleidae spp. I 1 Orbintidae Haploscoloplos spp. I 1 Scoloplos rubra 1 1 1 7 2 1 Paraonidae Cirrophorus sp. A 1 Paraonis fulgens 1 Spionidae Aonides sp. A 1 Dispio uncinata 1 3 4 1 Laonice cirrata 2
W M W W W W W M M M M M W M M M M APPENDIX TABLE C-1 (continued) NUMBERS OF BENTHIC MACR 0!NVERTEBRATES COLLECTED BY SHIPEK GRAB ST. LUCIE PLANT 1984 Quarter 1 Quarter 2 Quarter 3 Ouarter a Species Station: RC R1 B2 B3 B4 R5 C1 BC R1 B2 R3 B4 BS C1 BC B1 R2 R3 R4 RS C1 BC R1 R2 R3 B4 BS C1 Spionidae (cont'd) Nerinides cantabra 1 Paraprionospio pinnata 1 1 1 1 Polydora anoculata 2 1 3 2 5 20 3 1 3 4 Polydora socialis 11 1 1 18 12 2 Prionospio cristata 99 4 4 2 42 4 7 12 4 1 Prionospio gda i 2 4 4 1 8 1 2 Prionospio (Minuspio) sp. A 1 1 1 2 4 Rhyncospio glutaeus 1 Scolelepis texana 3 64 2 1 Spio pettiboneae 1 1 Spiophanes bombyx 1 2 13 15 2 4 2 6 6 1 Megelonidae Magelona cf. obockensis 2 1 Magelona sp. A 1 3 2 1 n Magelona sp. C 2 11 10 2 2 5 6 a Magelona spp. I 1 Poecilocha sidae Poecilochaetus Johnsoni 2 2 Acrocirridae Macrochaeta spp. 2 2 5 2 1 2 1 2 1 1 Cirratulidae Caulleriella alata 1 ? 1 Caulleriella cf. killariensis 2 Cirriformia grandis 1 Cirratulidae sp. A 1 Tharyx marioni 2 1 2 5 1 1 5 2 1 Cirratulidae spp. I 1 Opheltidae Armandia agilis 16 1 7 1 3 13 3 1 Armandia maculata 1 1 1 4 1 Ophelia denticulata 2 1 1 5 2 Capitellidae Mastobranchus variabilis 1 15 4 3 Mediomastus californiensis 2 21 17 19 18 2 1 14 10 31 3 3 Notomastus latericeus 1 38 1 1 Maldanidae Axioteh11a mucosa 13 15 8 32 2 2 9 1 3 7 Euclymene sp. A 1 Macrocylmene zonalis 2 74 1 Maldanidae sp. A 1 11 39 12 1 11 1 7 2 18 17 Maldanidae spp. 2 15 1 Petaloproctus socialis 3 7 14 1 4 7 4 8 8 4 5 3
W W W. W W M M M M M M M M M M M M APPENDIX TABLE C-1 (continued) NUMBERS OF BENTHIC MACR 0 INVERTEBRATES COLLECTED BY SHIPEK GRAB ST. Lt!CIE PLANT 1984 Quarter 1 Quarter 2 Quarter 3 Quarter 4 Species Station: BC B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 C1 BC B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 C1 BC B1 B2 R3 B4 B5 C1 BC B1 B2 B3 B4 BS Cl Owen11dae Galathowenia sp. A 1 Owenia fusifomis 9 1 1 1 4 1 I Bogueidde Boguea enigmatica 1 1 5 1 3 1 7 6 40 2 3 2 21 1 Sabellariidae Sabe11 aria floridensis 1 Sabe11 aria vulgaris 4 8 3 18 26 8 4 2 7 Ampharetidae Ampharete americana 1 3 1 8 4 Isolda pulchella 1 1 1 Terebellidae Amaeana trilobata 1 2 Pista cristata 1 Polycirrus eximius 1 1 2 1 6 Polycirrus sp. A 1 1 Polycirrus spp. I P Streblosoma hartmanae 1 $ Sabellidae 1 Amphigiena mediterranea 1 Chone sp. A 2 4 1 1 Nataulax nudicollis 1 Serpul idae 1 4 Filogranula sp. A 551 48 148 222 703 25 63 607 Hydroides bispinosa 3 1205 108 685 622 7 3 84 40 330 251 1 3 2 4 3 Hydroides floridana 6 1 5 6 18 1 Hydroides microtus Hydroides protulicola 1 1 2 2 2 Hydroides spp. 6 1 2 Pomatoceros americarus 1 Pseudovemilia sp. A 9 14 1 6 Serpula spp. 5 2 3 2 vermiliopsis sp. A 38 1 23 63 30 2 6 119 Serpulidae spp. 60 5 57 60 1 17 1 23 20 Spircrbidae 1 Spirorbidae spp. 11 1 4 65 Polygordiidae 7 37 35 2 2 39 17 Polygordius spp. 1 3 1 1 1 1 Saccocirridae 1 4 2 1 2 2 1 3 2 Saccocirrus spp. 3 1 1 5 2 Protodrilidae 1 1 2 Protodrilus spp. 2 1 6
W W W W W W M M M m M M M M M M M M e APPEND!I TABLE C-1 (continued) NUMBERS OF BENTHIC MACR 0 INVERTEBRATES COLLECTED BY SHIPEK GRAB ST. LUCIE PLANT 1984 Quarter 1 Quarter 2 Ouarter 3 Quarter 4 Species Station: BC B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 C1 BC B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 C1 BC B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 C1 BC B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 C1 Oligochaeta Adelodrilus acochlearis 1 Grania macrochaeta 10 1 7 5 10 3 1 2 3 4 Heterodrilus arenicolus 7 1 9 25 19 13 5 5 16 1 11 15 9 Heterodrilus sp. A 2 2 3 2 7 7 1 2 Peosidrilus biprostatus 24 1 42 21 15 3 11 2 Phallodrilus leukodermatus 1 1 1 7 5 1 Phallodriius sabulosus 4 5 4 4 12 1 1 4 2 3 Phallodri Es sp. B 1 Tubificoides wasseill 6 2 26 6 1 5 34 2 8 1 Tubificoides sp. A 1 1 Oligochaeta spp. 1 MOLLUSCA Gastropoda Acteocina canaliculata 1 Acteocina candei 1 ? Aesopus stearnsi_i_ 1 Arene tricarinata 1 1 2 1 2 4 2 Armina sp. A 1 1 Astyris lunata 3 1 Balcis conoidea 1 1 Brochina heladum 1 Caecum pulchellum 1 Calyptraea centralis 1 4 1 11 3 1 1 1 2 Crepidula plana 1 1 Crepidula spp. 7 2 5 Cyclichnella bidentata 1 Cyclostremiscus beauit 1 Elephantulum cooperi 4 2 8 1 11 13 6 2 3 Elephantulum floridanum 1 1 Elephantulum insularum 1 Eulimidae spp. Eulimostraca sp. A I 1 1 Fartulum strigosum 3 38 Ithycythara lanceolata 3 3 11 2 17 11 1 2 1 6 1 Kurtziella atrostyla 1 Kurtziella limonitella 1 Macromphalina palmilitoris 1 9 Nassarius albus 2 1 Natica pusilla 1 2 1 Nudibranchia sp. A 1
m m M M M m m M M m m M M M M M M M e APPENDIX TARLE C-1 (continued) NUMBERS OF BENTHIC MACROINVERTERRATES COLLECTED BY SHIPEK GRAR ST. LUCIE PLANT 1984 Quarter 1 Quarter 2 Quarter 3 Quarter 4 Species Station: BC B1 R2 83 84 B5 Cl BC B1 R2 83 B4 B5 Cl RC B1 R2 B3 B4 B5 Cl BC B1 B2 R3 B4 R5 C1 Gastropoda (cont'd) Oceanida inglet 1 Oliva sayana 1 UTivella adelae 2 2 1 1 1 3 6 4 1 1 011ve11a spp. 2 1 1 7 Opisthobranchia sp. B 1 Parvanachis obesa 2 2 Polygyreulima sp. A 1 Pyrgulina sp. A 1 2 3 1 Rissoina sp. A Suturoglypta iontha 1 1 1 1 Turbonilla dalli 1 1 Turbonilla pilsbryi 1 1 2 1 Turbonilla virga? 1 Turbonilla (Stricturbonilla) sp. H 2 1 Turritella acropora 1 Uromitra wandoense
? Gastropoda spp. 1 1 1 @ Scaphapoda 1 1 Graptacme calamus 1
Polyptocophora Chaetopleura apiculata 1 2 Ischnochiton hartmeyeri 2 1 2 1 1 4 2 9 10 2 3 2 6 Ischnochiton striolatus 1 1 23 20 23 1 1 Ischnochiton sp. A 9 4 1 3 Ischnochiton spp. 1 1 2 Polyplocophora spp. 1 Bivalvia Arcopsis adamsi Bivalvia sp. B 1 Chama congregata 2 1 Chama macerophylla 1 1 i Chama sinuosa 2 ' 1 Chama spp. 1 Chione trus 1 2 Chione cf. grus 1 3 1 Chione intapurpurea 1 3 4 1 3 1 6 6 1 3 10 3 2 9 Corbula contracta 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 4 2 2 7 2 l Corbula spp. 1 Crassinella dupliniana 2 3 3 i 1 32 3 1 4 14 7 31 2 3
- Crassinella lunulata 4 10 6 4 8 1 1 1 Crenella divaricata 1 1 2 18 2 1 1 1 1 3 2 1
I Diplodonta spp. I
W M M M W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W APPENDIX TABLE C-1 (continued) NUMBERS OF BENTHIC MACROINVERTEBRATES COLLECTED BY SHIPEK GRAB ST. LUCIE PLANT 1984 Quarter 1 Quarter 2 Quarter 3 Quarter 4 Species Station: BC B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 Cl BC Bl B2 B3 B4 B5 Cl BC B1 B2 R3 B4 B5 Cl BC B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 Cl Bivalvia (cont'd) Divaricella quadrisulcata 2 Donax parvula 1 Ervilia concentrica 1 1 1 1 Gastrochaena hians 1 Glycymeris spectralis 2 5 2 1 1 1 1 3 6 1 Lioberus castaneus 1 1 Lithophaga bisulcata 1 1 1 Lithophaga spp. 1 3 1 Macoma brevifrons 1 4 1 1 1 1 Macoma spp. I 1 1 Montacuta sp. A 2 3 Montacuta sp. B 30 Mytilidae spp. 1 Nucula proxima 2 1 1 Nuculana spp. I n Ostreidae spp. I a Ostreola equestris 1 Parvilucina multilineata 4 2 1 16 6 2 5 2 18 1 1 1 1 Pholadidae spp. I 1 Pteromeris perplana 1 1 Semele bellastriata 1 Semele nuculoides 1 1 Semele spp. 1 Sphenia anti 11ensis 1 1 1 Tellina tris 3 4 33 1 1 Tellina sybaritica 1 1 Tellina sybaritica? 4 Tellina versicolor 1 Tellina spp. 2 6 3 4 1 Bivalvia spp. 1 2 2 ARTHROPODA Ostracoda Cycloberis sp. A 1 1 1 Ostracoda sp. C 2 Ostracoda sp. U 2 Ostracoda sp. X 1 Ostracoda sp. EE 1 Pseudophilomedes ferulana 3 Sarsiella sp. A 1 1 Cirripedia Balanus spp. 30 1 19 2 5 2 Kochlorine floridana 2 1 1
W W W W W W W W W m M W W W W M M M APPENDIX TABLE C-1 (continued) NUMBERS OF BENTHIC MACROINVERTEBRATES COLLFCTED BY SHIPEK GRAR ST. LUCIE PLANT 1984 Quarter 1 Quarter 2 Ouarter 3 Ouarter 4 Species Station: BC B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 C1 BC B1 B2 B3 B4 RS C1 RC B1 B2 B3 B4 BS C1 BC B1 R2 B3 B4 R5 C1 Mysidacea Bowmaniella brasiliensis 1 Bownaniella floridana 3 1 Bownaniella portoricensis 1 Bownaniella spp. 2 Mysidopsis bigelowi 9 3 Promysis atlantica 1 2 1 1 Cisnacea Cyclaspis pustulata? 1 2 2 2 1 3 1 1 Cyclaspis varians 1 3 10 5 1 1 1 Diastylis sp. A 2 1 2 1 1 0xyurostylis smithi 6 2 7 2 2 14 3 2 1 1 1 1 Tanaidacea Apseudes propinquus 1 1 2 2 Leptochelia sp. A 3 2 2 19 2 1 3 Isopoda 1 n Ancinus depressus .' 1 Apanthura magnifica 8 Eurydice littoralis 3 6 7 2 l I 1 1 4 1 1 Horoloanthura irpex 1 Idoteidae sp. A 1 Panathura fonnosa 3 3 2 2 1 1 1 2 4 Xenanthura brevitelson 1 6 5 Amphipoda 1 2 Acanthohaustorius bousfieldi 2 Acanthohaustorius intennedius 1 Acanthohaustorius millst 2 Acanthohaustorius spp. 7 Atylus urocarinatus 1 Batea catharinensis Bathyporeta sp. A 1 5 1 Cerapus spp. 1 Corophium baconi Eudevenopus honduranus 1 6 4 1 5 4 '3 2 4 Ingolfiella sp. A 1 5 1 Lembos smithi 5 M E orgia sp. A 4 6 4 2 2 3 Lil;eborgia spp. 1 Listriella barnardi 1 Maera sp. A 14 9 1 1 15 17 1 Maera sp. B 2
"Megaluropus" myerst 1 1 7 15 8 3 Metharpinia floridana 1 1 4 7
g E E E E E E O E APPENDIX TABLE C-1 (continued) NUMBERS OF BENTHIC MACR 0 INVERTEBRATES COLLECTED BY SHIPEK GRAB ST. LUCIE PL ANT 1984 Quarter 1 Quarter ? Quarter 3 Ouarter 4 Species Station: BC B1 82 B3 R4 B5 Cl BC B1 B2 R3 B4 BS C1 BC B1 R2 B3 B4 M C1 BC Bl B2 B3 R4 BS Cl Amphipoda(cont'd) Podocerus brasiliensis 2 Protohadzia schoenerae 1 1 3 2 1 2 1 2 Protohaustorius bousfieldi 3 2 Ehepoxynius epistomus 2 1 Rildardanus laminosa 16 1 24 10 Synchelidium a:nericanum 1 19 2 1 3 2 3 1 Tiron tropakis 2 2 3 Tiron spp. I 1 1 Decapoda 1 crab megalopa 1 1 1 1 1 Penaidea Trachypenaeus constrictus Trachypenaeus spp. 1 1 Caridea Latreutes parvulus Leptochela papulata 1 1 1
? Leptochela serratorbita 2 2 1 5 Ogyrides hayi Ogyrides spp. 13 2
Processa bermudensis 1 Processa hemphilli 2 2 Thalassinidea Callianassa spp. I Uposebia affinis 1 3 Anocura Albunea paretti Paguristes humi 1 1 1 Pagurus annulipes 17 60 Pagurus maclaughlinae 2 6 3 3 Pagurus spp. 4 1 6 10 1 Brachyura Brachyuran spp. Euryplax nitida 1 1 2 2 heterocrypta granulata 2 Hexapancoeus angustifrons 2 Libinia dubia 1 Majidae spp. Nanoplax manthifonnis 1 2 2 Panopeus spp. 3 2 Pinnina floridana 1 2
m W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W 1 APPENDIX TABLE C-1 (continued) NLH3ERS OF BENTHIC MACR 0!NVERTEBRATES COLLECTED BY SHIPEK CRAR ST. LUCIE PLANT 1984 Quarter I Quarter 2 Quarter 3 Ouarter 4 Species Station: BC B1 B2 B3 B4 BS Cl BC B1 B2 B3 B4 BS Cl BC R1 B2 B3 B4 B5 Cl BC B1 B2 B3 B4 BS Cl Brachyura (cont'd) Pinnina sp. A Pinnina sp. C 2 1 Pinniza sp. 0 1 1 2 3 1 2 3 Pinnina sp. E 1 Pinniza sp. F 1 2 1 1 2 2 4 Pinniza sp. G Pinnotheres spp. 1 Portunus spp. 1 I 1 1
$!PUNCULA 2 447 30 310 718 256 32 32 1003 506 308 415 402 3 259 33 364 309 ECHIURA 1 2 1 1 2 1 PHORONIDA 1
1 2 BRACHIPODA 1 ? ECHINODERMATA 5 Ste11eroidea Ophuroidea Amphiodia pulchella 6 10 Amphiurid.: spp. 1 1 52 3 45 2 1 2 54 42 2 4 1 6 6 2 Hemipholis elongata 1 1 1 Ophiolepis elegans 1 2 1 1 2 Ophiolepis spp. I Ophiophragmus wurdemani 2 1 1 Ophiophraqrmus spp. 1 Ophiuroidea spp. I Echinoidea 1 1 4 1 1 1 Encope michelint 2 Encope spp. 1 I tytechinus variegatus 1 1 2 Mellita quinquiesoerforata 1 3 2 Hellitidae spp. 1 1 Holothuroidea Epitomapta roseola 1 2 Phyllophorus occidentalis 1 Synaptidae spp. 3 1 Holothuroidea spp. 1 1 2 1 CHORDATA Ccphalochordata Branchiostoma caribaeum 15 4 10 10 2 8 Urochordata 1 1 1 8 3 4 15 17 7 4 Urochordata spp. 2 1 1 64LOCIE1 APPTAB-Il
I APPENDIX TABLE C-2 EXPLANATION OF NUMERICAL METHODS USED IN THE I ANALYSIS OF BENTHIC COMMUNITY DATA ST. LUCIE PLANT 1984 I Both parametric and non-parametric statistics, as well as various biological indices, were used during the analysis of 1984 NPDES community data. Descriptions of these tests are provided below. KOLM0COROV-SMIRNOV TEST (Sokal and Rohlf, 1981) This non-parametric technique tests for differences between two cumulative frequency distributions using pair-wise comparisons. Elements of the two distributions to be compared are ranked from most to least abundant, and the cumulative frequencies of elements within each distri-bution are calculated. For each pair of cumulative frequencies the quantity di = F 1 F 2 is calculated where F and F2 represent the cumulative frequencies of element i in 1 samples 1 and 2, respectively. The maximum di value is divided by the number of elements (n) to give the quantity D:
= di n
)/
D The calculated D value is then compared with a critical tabulated value to determine significance (a 0.05 with n degrees of freedom). I I C-103 84LUCIE3 APTBC-1,A,B,C,0,E I
I I APPENDIX TABLE C-2 (continued) INDEX 0F FAUNAL DOMINANCE The technique used for determining dominance during 1984 relies on the absolute abundances of species rather than ranking values which are often used (e.g., McCloskey, 1970). Relative abundance curves generated from benthic macroinvertebrate data (including those for the St. Lucie benthos) generally conform to a logrithmic series model as shown in Figure A. The region of the curve where the slope of the function is changing most rapidly (the inflection point) reflects the boundary bet-ween species that are increasingly abundant and those that are increasingly rare. The increasingly abundant species may be taken as those that numerically dominate the faunal assemblage. This, of course, says nothing about their function in the community and indeed a very rare species may be dominant in that it controls the abundance of many other species. However, the type of ecological data required to accurately describe the interrelationships of constituent species within a community is generally not available. Thus, numerical dominance is used as a first good approximation. For the " typical" data set stylized above, the breakpoint between rare and abundant species (indicated by the line y=x) bisects the logrithmic series curve. Those species in the upper half of the curve (represented by the shaded portion of the curve in Figure A) may be thought of mathematically as dominants. Thus, during NPDES monitoring, an "a priori" criterion of dominance was established as those species accounting for 50 percent of the total faunal abundance at each station. C-104 84LUCIE3 APT 8C-1,A,8,C,D,E I
I I I I s I & I / I a y 8 i/ I 5 5
Dominant " Species (ranked from most to least obundant)
I I \I Figure A. Logarithmic series model. lI 'I lI C-105 'I
I I I APPENDIX TABLE C-2 (continued) RAREFACTION DIVERSITY (Hurlbert,1971; Heck et al.,1975; Simberloff, 1978) The rarefaction method of estimating species diversity was for-mulated to directly compare samples of different sizes. In this method the number of species is calculated for the samples to be compared after all samples are scaled down to an equal number of individuals (presumably that in the smallest sample). This scaling is required because large collections have more species than small ones even if they are drawn from the same conmunity. Expected nunter of species, E(S n ), and its variance, var (Sn), can be calculated explicitly for any subsample size (n) using the following fornulae: ( N ) -1 s (N-N;) I3n)
- S -
(n) 1
)
(N . N 1 [N\-1 s (N - Ni ( n I) var (S) n "(" h k " j((I - I f i k \ / - N - N j-NJ -( (N-N;) n / f-N\ N (n 3 J" I n\ i <j \ / I where: S = total number of species in sample N = total number of individuals in sample N j= number of individuals in species i in sample I I I C-106 84LUCIE3 AP TBC-1, A ,B ,C ,D ,E
I APPENDIX TABLE C-2 (continued) CZECHAN0WSKI'S QUALITATIVE INDEX OF FAUNAL SIMILARITY: QS Better known as Sorensen's (1948) index (see Green,1979; Wolda, 1981), this measure of coninunity similarity conpares the number of spe-cies shared between two samples relative to the total number in both samples combined. The index is calculated using the following formulae: 03 a b where: a = number of species in Sample 1 b = number of species in Sample 2 c = nunber of species in common between 1 and 2 MORISITA'S (1959) INDEX OF COMMUNITY SIMILARITY: CA This index compares two samples by takin9 into account the abundan-ces of shared species, total abundances in each sample, and their respec-tive diversities. I Morisita's index is based on Simpson's index of diversity ( A): Ini(ni-1) N( N-1) I I I 84LUCIE3 C-107 APTBC-1,A,B,C,0,E L
I I APPENDIX TABLE C-2 (continued) I where: N = total number of individuals, and I n1 = igortance value (abundance, biomass, etc.) of the ith species. Using subscripts 1 and 2, the A values of two sagles may be differentiated: 2 2 Inj l(n1 1-1) In1 (n1 1) I 1 = A2 = and N1 (N1 -1) N2(N-1) 2 Morisita's index of similarity between communities may then be calculated by the following formula: 2rn 1"12
" ( A1+A2)NIN2 This index is virtually independent of both sample size and diversity, yet is very sensitive to changes in abundance of the comon species (Wolda, 1981) . The value of CA will approach unity when samples demonstrate similarity in species abundance and diversity. Conversely, as CA approaches zero, the samples will have fewer species in common, which suggests that the samples have been drawn from dissimilar com-mu ni ties .
I I I I 84LUCIE3 C-108 APTBC-1,A,B,C,D,E I a
I APPENDIX TABLE C-2 I (continued) DIVERSITY AND EVENNESS Diversity indices have been used with varying success to measure the quality of the environment and the effect of induced stress on the struc-l ture of a biological comunity. Their use is based on the premise that undisturbed environments support comunities having large numbers of spe-cies with no individual species represented in overwhelming abundance (EPA,1973). While this notion has been upheld for some habitats and some geographic locations (Wilhm and Dorris,1966; Bechtel and Copeland, 1970; Cairns et al.,1972), the general appropriateness of species diver-sity indices as comparative measures of either species richness (Hurlbert,1971; Goodman,1975; Green,1979) or environmental quality (Livingston,1976; Zimerman and Livingston,1976) has been questioned. I The most widely used measure of species diversity is the information diversity index. This index considers two aspects of community species-numbers relationships: species richness (the number of species in rela-tion to the number of individuals) and species evenness (the distribution of individuals among species). A decrease in either corponent of infor-mation means a decline in diversity. I The Shannon-Weaver information function (H') calculates mean diver-I sity (i.e., the degree of uncertainty attached to the specific identity of any rarJomly selected individual; Pielou,1966): I 84LUCIE3 APTBC-1,A,B,C,0,E C-109 I
I APPENDIX TABLE C-2 (continued) s I H ' = - Ipg tog p, i=1 where: s = total number of species in the sample, and pj = proportion of the total sample represented by the ith species. I However, as Lloyd et al. (1968) argued, if pj 's are to be estimated (i.e., the actual comunity comosition is unknown) as pj a nj/N, then the formula for H' can be computed directly in terms of the observed n's, and the necessity for calculating proportions and their attendant rounding errors can be avoided. In an attempt to standardize the calcu-lation of diversity, the EPA (1973) recomended the machine formula pre-sented by Lloyd et al. (1968) using base 2 log: H' = j(Nlog10N - I nj log 10 R) i where: C = 3.321928 (converts base 10 log to base 2), N = total number of individuals, and nj = total number of individuals of the ith species. In order to test for significant differences between two diversity values (H'), diversity variance must first be determined (Poole,1974). The variance of the diversity function (before converting to base two) is: I i=s I n i (log n i
)
2 i =s I n i (l og n i
)
2 i=1 N 10 N i=1 N 10 N
~ - -
Var (H') = + I 84LUCIE3 APTBC-1,A,B,C,0,E C-110
APPENDIX TABLE C-2 E (continued) 3 S-1 + (Series of additional forms) 2 . 2N For most ecological samples, the first two terms of this equation are adequate to determine the variance. ! Then, given the diversity and variance values for two samples (symbolized l below by subscripts 1 and 2) a t-value may be calculated as follows: I t = H'y - H'2 yvar (h')1 + var (h')2 This t is compared with a tabulated critical t with the following degrees of freedom 2 df = (var (H't) + var (H'9) 1 var (H'1)2 + var (H'2)2 "1 N2 To evaluate the cogonent of diversity due to the distribution of individuals among the species (evenness), the calculated H' is cogared with the maximum diversity possible for the same number of species (Pielou,1966): J' = H'/H' where: H'ma x
" 1092 S (for H' computed with base 2 log).
Evenness values may range from zero to one. I 84LUCIE3 APTBC-1, A ,B ,C ,0, E C-111
I APPENDIX TABLE C-2 (continued) ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE ( ANOVA) (Sokal and Rohlf,1981) Environmental biologists must always be concerned with meeting the l assumptions of various statistical tests before relying upon those tests for drawing inferences. For parametric tests such as one- and two-way ANOVA, important assumptions include: 1) variances of all cells are equal and 2) the overall distributicns approach normality. Because most environmental data generally violate one or both assumptions, many environmental biologists have increasingly turned to the use of non-parametric statistics. While this eliminates distribution and variance problems, the power of the test to discern differences is diminished. Green (1979) suggests using parametric statistics (with the proper data transformation) if the ratio of the maximum cell's variance to the minimum cell's variance is less than 20. During 1984 NPDES moni-toring, this ratio was below 20 for both density and species richness when stations within the two major groups to be analyzed were compared (i.e., Station BC versus Stations B1 and B2; and Station C1 versus Stations B3, B4 and B5). One-way ANOVA can be employed to test whether or not two or more sample means come from the same parametric population mean. This tech-nique tests the variance between groups of samples and within groups of sanples (error term) against an expected value derived from the F-distribution. The model used is: I I 84LUCIE3 APTBC-1,A,B,C,0,E C-112 I
I APPENDIX TABLE C-2 (continued) Y jj = u + aj + Ejj Where: 1 = ranges from 1 to a groups (samples) j = ranges from 1 to n replicates u = is the grand mean of all samples at = is the variance of group i from the grand mean E jj = 1s a measure of the random deviation of individual replicate j from its expected value (u + aj ) A strong positive association was often found between the means and variances of the comuunity characteristics examined (i.e., as the mean increased, the variance increased). When this positive relationship was noted, a log 10 (X + 1) transformation of the data was used prior to ANOVA testing. I THE TUKEY-KRAMER MULTIPLE RANGE TEST (Sokal and Rohlf,1981) l After a significant difference has been found in ANOVA, a multiple range test may be used to ascertain which sample means are different. The Tukey-Kramer test employs the average sample sizes in the ANOVA standard error calculations and uses the studentized range (Q value) in hypothesis testing. The mean square error term is used as the pooled variance. Calculations use the following model. Minimum significant difference = (critical Q value) x (SE9) where: MS x(1 + b) error n n SE i d jj . j I 84LUCIE3 C-113 AP TBC- 2,A ,B ,C ,0,E I
APPENDIX TABLE C-2 (continued) SE is the standard error and critical Q valye is found by using Q.05(k,v) and Table 18 in Rohlf and Sokal (1981), where k = the number of treatments and v = the MS error degrees of freedom. A pair of means is significantly differert if the absolute value of their difference is greater than or equal to the minimum significant dif-ference. l PEARSON PRODUCT-MOMENT CORRELATION COEFFICIENT (Zar,1974) This parametric test measures the association between two sets of independent variables. It does not imply influence of one on the other but determines the degree to which one varies with the other. The corre-lation coefficient (r) ranges from 0, no association, to +1 or -1 for variables displaying a very high degree of association. A positive correlation implies that one variable increases in value as the other increases, while a negative correlation indicates that one variable increases as the other decreases. Correlation coefficients are calculated as follows: r = Ixy
, Ex 2ty2 I- where x and y are the differences between each variable value and its respective mean. The value of r is subsequently tested for significance by comparing it with a tabulated r having n degrees of freedom.
84LUCIE3 AP TB C-2, A ,B ,C ,D ,E C-114
I APPENDIX TABLE C-3 ONE-WAY ANOVA FOR TOTAL FAUNAL DENSITY AT STATIONS BC (CONTROL) I AND B1 AND B2 (TREATMENTS), QUARTER 1 ST. LUCIE PLANT 1984 (Tukey-Kramer Multiple Range Test Indicates Significant Differences Between Means) I Source Sum of squares Degrees of freedom Mean square Groups 0.36382 2 0.18191 Error 0.11849 6 0.019750 Total 0.48231 8 Calculated F Critical F 9.21 5.14 Significant difference TUKEY-KRAMER MULTIPLE RANGE TEST Conparison Mean difference Critical difference BC vs B1 0.0617 0.352 no significant difference I BC vs B2 0.392 0.352 significant difference B1 vs B2 0.4 54 0.352 significant difference Values were Log 10(x+1) Transformed to Correct for Heterogeneity of Variances 84LUCIE3 APTBC-3 I C-115
APPENDIX TABLE C-4 ONE-WAY ANOVA FOR TOTAL FAUNAL DENSITY AT STATIONS BC (CONTROL) AND B1 AND B2 (TREATMENTS), QUARTER 2 I ST. LUCIE PLANT 1984 Source Sum of squares Degrees of freedom Mean square Groups 244.2 2 122.1 Error 592.7 6 98.78 Total 836.9 8 Calculated F Critical F 1.24 5.14 No significant difference 84LUCIE3 APTBC-4 I I I I C-116
)
i I APPENDIX TABLE C-5 ONE-WAY ANOVA FOR TOTAL FAUNAL DENSITY AT STATIONS BC (CONTROL) AND B1 AND B2 (TREATMENTS), QUARTER 3 ST. LUCIE PLANT 1984 (Tukey-Kramer Multiple Range Test Indicates Significant I Differences Between Means) Source Sum of squares Degrees of freedom Mean square Groups 284.7 2 142.3 Error 163.3 6 27.22 Total 448.0 8 Calculated F Critical F 5.23 5.14 Significant difference I TUKEY-KRAMER MULTIPLE RANGE TEST Comparison Mean difference Critical difference BC vs B1 9.67 13.07 no significint difference BC vs B2 3.67 13.07 no significant difference B1 vs B2 13.33 13.07 significant difference 84LUCIE3 APTBC-5 I C-117
APPENDIX TABLE C-6 ONE-WAY ANOVA FOR TOTAL FAUNAL DENSITY AT STATIONS BC (CONTROL) I AND B1 AND B2 (TREATMENTS), QUARTER 4 ST. LUCIE PLANT 1984 (Tukey-Kramer Multiple Range Test Indicates Significant DifferencesBetweenMeans) Source Sum of squares Degrees of freedom Mean square Groups 0.63684 2 0.31842 Error 0.29365 6 0.048942 Total 0.93050 8 Calculated F Critical F 6.51 5.14 Significant difference TUKEY-KRAMER MULTIPLE RANGE TEST Cocparison Mean difference Critical difference BC vs B1 0.561 0.554 significant difference BC vs B2 0.00706 0.554 no significant difference B1 vs B2 0.568 0.554 significant difference Values were Log 10(x+1) Transformed to Correct Heterogeneity of Variances 84LUCIE3 APTBC-6 I I C-118
1 APPENDIX TABLE C-7 ONE-WAY ANOVA FOR TOTAL FAUNAL DENSITY AT STATIONS C1 (CONTROL) AND B3, B4 AND B5 (TREATMENTS), QUARTER 1 ST. LUCIE PLANT 1984 (Tukey-Kramer Multiple Range Test Indicates Significant l DifferencesBetweenMeans) I Source Sum of squares Degrees of freedom Mean square Groups 144951.1 3 48317.0 Error 40501.5 8 5062.6 Total 185452.6 11 Calculated F Critical F 9.54 4.07 Significant difference TUKEY-KRAMER MULTIPLE RANGE TEST Comparison Mean difference Critical difference C1 vs B3 64.67 186.05 no significant difference C1 vs B4 231.67 186.05 significant difference C1 vs B5 261.00 186.05 significant difference l B3 vs B4 B3 vs B5 167.00 196.33 186.05 186.05 no significant difference significant difference B4 vs B5 29.33 186.05 no significant difference 84LUCIE3 APTBC-7 C-119
APPENDIX TABLE C-8 ONE-WAY ANOVA FOR TOTAL FAUNAL DENSITY AT STATIONS C1 (CONTROL) AND B3, B4 AND B5 (TREATMENTS), QUARTER 2 ST. LUCIE PLANT 1984 (Tukey-Kramer Multiple Range Test Indicates Significant DifferencesBetweenMeans) Source Sum of squares Degrees of freedom Mean square Groups 837364.3 3 279121.4 Error 38342.8 8 4792.8 Total 875707.0 11 Calculated F Critical F 58.24 4.07 Significant difference TUKEY-KRAMER MULTIPLE RANGE TEST Conparison Mean difference Critical difference C1 vs B3 331.00 181.02 significant difference C1 vs B4 546.33 181.02 significant difference C1 vs 65 705.00 181.02 significant difference B3 vs B4 215.33 181.02 significant difference B3 vs B5 374.00 181.02 significant difference B4 vs B5 158.67 181.02 no significant difference 84LUCIE3 APTBC-8 C-120
APPENDIX TABLE C-9 ONE-WAY ANOVA FOR TOTAL FAUNAL DENSITY AT STATIONS C1 (CONTROL) AND B3, B4 AND B5 (TREATMENTS), QUARTER 3 ST. LUCIE PLANT ] 1984 l Source Sum of squares Degrees of freedom Mean square i Groups 246828.3 3 82276.1 Error 357004.8 8 44625.6 Total 603833.0 11 Calculated F Critical F 1.84 4.07 No significant difference I 84LUCIE3 APTBC-9 I I I I C-121 I
I APPENDIX TABLE C-10 ONE-WAY ANOVA FOR TOTAL FAUNAL DENSITY AT STATIONS C1 (CONTROL) AND B3, B4 AND B5 (TREATMENTS), QUARTER 4 I ST. LUCIE PLANT 1984 (Tukey-Kramer Multiple Range Test Indicates Significant Differences Between Means) Source Sum of squares Degrees of freedom Mean square Groups 107544.1 3 35848.0 Error 45152.6 8 5644.1 Total 152696.7 11 I Calculated F 6.35 Critical F 4.07 Significant difference TUKEY-KRAMER MULTIPLE RANGE TEST Comparison Mean difference Critical difference C1 vs B3 42.00 196.44 no significant difference C1 vs B4 197.33 196.44 significant difference C1 vs B5 58.00 196.44 no significant difference B3 vs B4 155.33 196.44 no significant difference B3 vs B5 100.00 196.44 no significant difference B4 vs B5 255.3 196.44 significant difference 84LUCIE3 APTBC-10 I I C-122
APPENDIX TABLE C-11 ONE-WAY ANOVA FOR SPECIES RICHNESS AT STATIONS BC (CONTROL) AND B1 AND B2 (TREATMENTS), QUARTER 1 ST. LUCIE PLANT 1984 Source Sum of squares Degrees of freedom Mean square Groups 50.67 2 25.33 Error 73.33 6 12.22 Total 124.00 8 Calculated F Critical F 2.07 5.14 No significant difference B 84LUCIE3 APTBC-11 I I i I i C-123 lI L
APPENDIX TABLE C-12 ONE-WAY ANOVA FOR SPECIES RICHNESS AT STATIONS BC (CONTROL) AND B1 AND B2 (TREATMENTS), QUARTER 2 ST. LUCIE PLANT 1984 Source Sum of squares Degrees of freedom Mean square Groups 22.22 2 11.11 Error 78.00 6 13.00 Total 100.22 8 Calculated F Critical F 0.86 5.14 No significant difference I 84LUCIE3 APTBC-12 g, I I ,I i l lI l I C-124 l
i I APPENDIX TABLE C-13 I ONE-WAY ANOVA FOR SPECIES RICHNESS AT STATIONS BC (CONTROL) AND B1 AND B2 (TREATMENTS), QUARTER 3 I ST. LUCIE PLANT 1984 Source Sum of squares Degrees of freedom Mean square Groups 22.89 2 11.44 Error 35.33 6 5.89 Total 58.22 8 I Calculated F 1.94 Critical F 5.14 No significant difference 84LUCIE3 APTBC-13 I I I I I I I C-125
APPENDIX TABLE C-14 ONE-WAY ANOVA FOR SPECIES RICHNESS AT STATIONS BC (CONTROL) AND B1 AND B2 (TREATMENTS), QUARTER 4 ST. LUCIE PLANT 1983 (Tukey-Kramer Multiple Range Test Indicates Significant DifferencesBetweenMeans) I Source Sum of squares Degrees of freedom Mean square Groups 117.6 2 58.8 Error 22.0 6 3.67 Total 139.6 8 Calculated F Critical F 16.03 5.14 Significant difference TUKEY-KRAMER MULTIPLE RANGE TEST Comparison Mean difference Critical difference BC vs B1 7.67 4.80 significant difference BC vs B2 0.00 4.80 no significant difference B1 vi, B2 7.67 4.80 significant difference 84LUCIE3 APTBC-14 I 1 I lI l ,I l C-126 I - - - -
APPENDIX TABLE C-15 ONE-WAY ANOVA FOR SPECIES RICHNESS AT STATIONS C1 (CONTROL) AND B3, B4 AND B5 (TREATMENTS), QUARTER 1 ST. LUCIE PLANT 1984 (Tukey-Kramer Multiple Range Test Indicates Significant I Differences Between Means) Source Sum of squares Degrees of freedom Mean square Groups 511.0 3 170.3 Error 302.7 8 37.8 Total 813.7 11 Calculated F Critical F 4.50 4.07 Significant difference I TUKEY-KRAMER MULTIPLE RANGE TEST Comparison Mean difference Critical difference C1 vs B3 16.67 16.08 significant difference C1 vs B4 9.00 16.08 no significant difference C1 vs B5 15.00 16.08 no significant difference B3 vs B4 7.67 16.08 no significant difference B3 vs B5 1.67 16.08 no significant difference B4 vs B5 6.00 16.08 no significant difference I 84LUCIE3 APTBC-15 I I I C-127 I
APPENDIX TABLE C-16 ONE-WAY ANOVA FOR SPECIES RICHNESS AT STATIONS C1 (CONTROL) AND B3, B4 AND B5 (TREATMENTS), QUARTER 2 ST. LUCIE PLANT 1984 (Tukey-Kramer Multiple Range Test Indicates Significant Differences Between Means) I Source Sum of squares Degrees of freedom Mean square Groups 2668.3 3 889.4 Error 1017.3 8 127.2 Total 3685.7 11 Calculated F Critical F 6.99 4.07 Significant difference TUKEY-KRAMER MULTIPLE RANGE TEST Comparison Mean difference Critical difference C1 vs B3 19.67 29.49 no significant difference C1 vs B4 11.00 29.49 no significant difference C1 vs B5 40.67 29.49 significant difference B3 vs B4 8.67 29.49 no significant difference B3 vs B5 21.00 29.49 no significant difference B4 vs B5 29.67 29.49 significant difference E 84LUCIE3 APTBC-16 I I C-128
APPENDIX TABLE C-17 ! ONE-WAY ANOVA FOR SPECIES RICHNESS AT STATIONS C1 (CONTROL)
- AND B3, B4 AND B5 (TREATMENTS), QUARTER 3 ST. LUCIE PLANT
- 1984 Source Sum of squares Degrees of freedom Mean square Groups 74.0 3 24.7 Error 606.7 8 75.8 Total 680.7 11 Calculated F Critical F 0.32 4.07 No significant difference
'I 4 84LUCIE3 APTBC-17 .I E-E I I . I I I I C-129
I APPENDIX TABLE C-18 I ONE-WAY ANOVA FOR SPECIES RICHNESS AT STATIONS C1 (CONTROL) AND B3, B4 AND B5 (TREATMENTS), QUARTER 4 ST. LUCIE PLANT 1984 I Source Sum of squares Degrees of freedom Mean square Groups 328.9 3 109.6 Error 463.3 8 57.9 Total 792.2 11 Calculated F Critical F 1.89 4.07 No significant difference I 84LUCIE3 APTBC-18 I E E I I I I I I C-130 I
I I D. TURTLES The NRC's St. Lucie Unit 2 Appendix B Environmental Protection Plan issued April 1983 contains the following technical specifications: I 4.2 Terrestrial / Aquatic Issues Issues on endangered or threatened sea turtles raised in the Unit 2 FES-0L [NRC, 1982] and in the Endangered Species Biological Assessment (March 1982) [Bellmund et al.,1982] will be addressed by 5 programs as follows: 4.2.1 Beach Nesting Surveys Beach nesting surveys for all species of sea turtles will be conducted on a yearly basis for the period I of 1982 through 1986. These surveys will be con-ducted during the nesting season from approximately mid-April through August. The Hutchinson Island beach will be divided into 36 one-km long survey areas. In addition, the nine 1.25-km long survey areas used in previous studies I (1971-1979) will be maintained for comparison pur-poses. Survey areas will be marked with numbered wooden plaques and/or existing landmarks. E The entire beach will be surveyed seven days a week. All new nests and false crawls will be counted and recorded in each area. After counting, all crawl I tracks will be obliterated to dvoid recounting. Predation on nests by raccoons or other predators will be recorded as it occurs. Records will be kept of any seasonal changes in beach topography that may affect the suitability of the beach for nesting. I 4.2.2 Studies to Evaluate and/or Mitigate Intake Entrapment A program that employs light and/or sound to deter I turtles from the intake structure will be conducted. The study will determine with laboratory and field experiments if sound and/or light will result in a I reduction of total turtle entrapment rate. The study shall be implemented no later than after the final removal from the ocean of equipment and D-1 84LUCIE2 TURTLE-11 I .
I structures associated with construction of the third I intake structure and the experiments shall terminate 18 months later. Four months after the conclusion of the experimental period, a report on the results of the study will be submitted to NRC, EPA, National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) for their evaluation. I If a statistically significant reduction in annual total turtle entrapment rate of 80 percent or greater can be demonstrated, using the developed technology and upon FPL receiving written con-I currence by NRC, EPA, NMFS, and USFWS then permanent installation of the deterrent system shall be completed and functioning no later than 18 months I after the agencies' concurrence. The design of this study needs to take into account the significant annual variation in turtle entrapment observed in the past. If an 80 percent reduction of turtle entrapment can-not be projected to all three intake structures, I then an interagency task force composed of NRC, EPA, NMFS, USFWS, and FPL shall convene 18 months after completion of the third intake and determine if I other turtlecourses of action entrapment to mitig(ate are warranted and/or such reduce as physical barrier, emergence of new technology or methods to deter turtles). 4.2.3 Studies to Evaluate and/or Mitigate Intake Canal Mortality I Alternative methods or procedures for the capture of sea turtles entrapped in the intake canal will be evaluated. If a method or procedure is considered I feasible and cost effective and may reduce capture mortality rates, it will be field tested in the intake canal. 4.2.4 Light Screen to Minimize Turtle Disorienta-tion [ NOTE: This is also Section 4.2 of the NRC St. I Lucie Unit 1 Appendix B Technical Specifications issued May 1982] Australian pine or other suitable plants (i.e., I native vegetation such as live oak, native figs, wild tamarine and others) shall be planted and main-tained as a light screen, along the beach dune line I bordering the plant property, to minimize turtle disorientation. I D-2 84LUCIE2 TURTLE-11
I 4.2.5 Capture and Release Program Sea turtle removal from the intake canal will be conducted on a continuing basis. The turtles will be captured with large mesh nets, or other suitable I nondestructive device (s), if deemed appropriate. A formalized daily inspection, from the shoreline, of the capture device (s) will be made by a qualified I individual when the device (s) are deployed. The turtles will be identified to species, measured, weighed (if appropriate), tagged and released back into the ocean. Records of wounds, fresh or old, I and a subjective judgement on the condition of the turtle (e.g., barnacle coverage, underweight) will be maintained. Methods of obtaining additional I biological / physiological data, such as blood analy-ses and parasite loads, from captured sea turtles will be pursued. Dead sea turtles will be subjected I to a gross necropsy, if found in fresh condition. INTRODUCTION I Hutchinson Island, Florida, is an important rookery for the Atlantic loggerhead turtle, Caretta caretta, and also supports some nesting of the Atlantic green turtle, Chelonia mydas, and the leatherback turtle, Dermochelys coriacea (Caldwell et al.,1959; Routa,1968; Gallagher et al., 1972; Worth and Smith, 1976; Williams-Walls et al.,1983). All three species are protected by state and federal statutes. The federal government classifies the loggerhead turtle as a threatened species. The i leatherback turtle and the Florida nesting population of the green turtle are listed by the federal government as endangered species. Because of l reductions in world populations of marine turtles resulting from coastal E development and fishing pressure (NMFS,1978), maintaining the vitality of the Hutchinson Island rookery is important. r I ! It has been a prime concern of FPL that the construction and sub-sequent operation of the St. Lucie Plant would not adversely affect the ,I l D-3 84LUCIE2 TURTLE-11
I Hutchinson Island rookery. Because of this concern, FPL has sponsored monitoring of marine turtle nesting activity on the island. I Daytime surveys to quantify nesting, as well as nighttime turtle tagging programs, were conducted in odd numbered years from 1971 through 1979. During daytime nesting surveys, nine 1.25-km long survey areas were monitored five days per week. The St. Lucie Plant began operaticn in 1976; therefore, the first three survey years (1971,1973 and 1975) were preoperational. Though the power plant was not operating during 1975, St. Lucie Plant Unit No.1 ocean intake and discharge systems were installed during that year. Installation of these systems included construction activities conducted offshore from and perpendicular to the beach. Construction activity had been completed and the plant was in full operation during the 1977 and 1979 surveys. A modified daytime nesting survey was conducted in 1980 during the preliminary construction of the ocean discharge system for St. Lucie Plant Unit 2. During this study, four of the previously established 1.25-km long survey areas were monitored. Additionally, eggs from turtle nests potentially endangered by construction activities were relocated. E Every year from 1981 through 1984, thirty-six 1-km long survey areas comprising the entire island were monitored seven days a week during the nesting season. The St. Lucie Plant Unit No. 2 discharge system was installed during the 1981 nesting season. Offshore and beach construc-tion of the Unit 2 intake system proceeded throughout the 1982 nesting 0-4 84LUCIE2 TURTLE-11
I season and was completed near the end of the 1983 season. Construction 'W activities associated with installation of both systems were similar to those conducted when Unit 1 intake and discharge systems were installed. Eggs from turtle nests potentially endangered by construction activities were relocated during all three years. In addition to monitoring sea turtle nesting activities and relo-cating nests away from plant construction areas, monitoring of turtles in ,I the intake canal and removal of trapped turtles have been integral parts of the St. Lucie Plant environmental monitoring program. Turtles that enter the ocean intake structures are carried with the intake cooling water through the intake pipe and into that portion of the intake canal between the intake headwall and the barrier net located at the Highway A1A bridge. Since the plant became operational in 1976, turtles that entered the intake canal have been captured, measured, tagged and released alive back into the ocean. I Previous reports have presented results of the nesting surveys and I nest relocation activities (Gallagher et al., 1972; Worth and Smith, 1976; AB1, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984; Williams-Walls et al., 1983) and documented studies on the potential effects of the discharge plume on turtle hatchlings (ABI, 1978; 0'Hara,1980). The purpose of this section is to 1) present 1984 sea turtle nesting survey data and summarize observed spatial and temporal trends in nesting activities, 2) document and summarize predation on turtle nests since 1971, and 3) present 1984 results of intake canai monitoring and summarize findings since 1976. 84LUCIE2 i TURTLE-11 I
I MATERIALS AND METHODS Nesting Survey and Nest Relocation j Methodologies used during previous turtle nesting surveys on l Hutchinson Island were described by Gallagher et al. (1972), Worth and Smith (1976) and ABI (1978, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984). Methods used during the 1984 survey were designed to allow comparisons with these pre-vious studies. I From 17 April through 1 May 1984, nest surveys were conducted every two to three days along Hutchinson Island from Ft. Pierce Inlet south to St. Lucie Inlet. After 1 May, surveys were conducted daily through 17 September 1984. Biologists used small off-road motorcycles to survey the island each morning. New nests, non-nesting emergences (false crawls), l and nests destroyed by predators were recorded for each of the thirty-six 1-km long survey areas comprising the entire island (Figure D-1). The nine 1.25-km long survey areas established by Gallagher et al. (1972) also were monitored so comparisons could be made with previous studies. During the daily turtle nest monitoring, the beach was continually monitored to detect any major changes in topography that may have affected the beach's suitability for nesting. In addition, on numerous occasions during the nesting season, each of the 36 1-km long survey areas was systematically analyzed and categorized based on beach slope (steep, moderate, etc.), width from high tide line to the dune, presence of benches (areas of abrupt vertical relief) and miscellaneous charac-a t2ristics (packed sand, scattered rock, vegetation on the beach, exposed ,g roots on the primary dune, etc.). I D-6 l 84LUCIE2 i TURTLE-11
I In a cooperative effort, the Florida Department of Natural Resources (DNR) was notified of all green turtle nests. Eggs from some of these nests were collected as part of the Florida DNR Headstart Program. Intake Canal Monitoring Turtles were removed from the intake canal with large-mesh nets fished between the intake headwall and the barrier net located at the Highway A1A bridge. Nets were usually set Monday mornings and removed Friday afternoons. The nets were checked for turtles several times per day by either Applied Biology or plant security personnel. Applied Biology was on call 24 hours per day to remove turtles from the intake. I Various sizes, numbers and locations of nets have been used to date as capture techniques continue to be refined. Nets in recent use were from 32 to 61 m in length, 2.7 to 3.7 m in depth and 30 to 40 cm in stretch mesh. Large floats kept the nets at the surface and, because nets were not weighted with lead lines, turtles which became entangled remained at the water's surface until removed. The utmost care was taken in handling the turtles to prevent injury or trauma. After removal from the nets, turtles were identified to spe-cies, measured, weighed, tagged, examined for overall condition (wounds, abnormalities, parasites, etc.) and released back into the ocean. Since 1982, blood samples have been collected and analyzed to investigate the potential occurrence and significance of anemia in these animals and to determine the sex of immature turtles. During 1984, blood samples were D-7 84LUCIE2 TURTLE-11
I provided to the National Marine Fisheries Service for the purpose of developing and refining methods which will be used to conduct turtle stock analysis. Sick or injured turtles were treated and occasionally held for observation prior to release. When treatment was warranted, injections of antibiotics and vitamins were administered by a local veterinarian. Resuscitation techniques were used if a turtle was found that appeared to have died recently. Beginning in 1982, necropsies were conducted on dead turtles found in fresh condition. Only two animals were found suitable for necropsy in 1984. Necropsy was conducted by S.N. Wampler, DVM, Jensen Beach, Florida. Florida Power & Light Company and Applied Biology, Inc. continued to assist other sea turtle researchers in 1984. In addition to the Florida DNR's Headstart Program, data, specimens and/or assistance have been given to the National Marine Fisheries Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Smithsonian Institution, South Carolina Wildlife and Marine Resources Division, Texas A & M University, University of Rhode Island, University of South Carolina and the Western Atlantic Turtle Symposium. Studies to Evaluate and/or Mitigate Intake Entrapment A program that employs light and/or sound to deter turtles from the intake structure was conducted in 1982 and 1983 and completed in January 1984. As required by the specification, the results were written up and a presentation was made to the NRC, National Marine Fisheries Service and
- I l D-8 l
84LUCIE2 TURTLE-11
I the Florida Department of Natural Resources on 11 April 1984. Findings from these studies are under review. Light Screen to Minimize Turtle Disorientation Periodic inspections in 1983 by FPL personnel have verified the integrity of the beach dune light screen created to minimize turtle disorientation. Replanting was conducted in December 1983 to restore the Australian pine light screen where it was disturbed for the Unit 2 discharge line, a modification to the Unit 1 discharge headwall, and the third intake line. The success of these plantings were periodically assessed in 1984. I RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Nesting Survey Distribution of Nests Within the Nine 1.25-km-long Survey Areas Nest density has varied considerably within each study area from year to year (Table D-1). However, distribution of nest densities with respect to the location of the nine survey areas has consistently shown a gradient of increasing nest density from north to south along the island Figure D-2). Nest densities were fairly uniform among the nine areas only in 1973. That year, Worth and Smith (1976) attributed this uniform nest distribution to beach accretion in Areas 1 through 3 (Figure D-1). The strongest gradient observed corresponds with the severe erosion of the northern portion of the island in 1979 (Williams-Walls et al.,1983). The changes in nest density gradients during periods of observed erosion and accretion indicate that these processes may influence the selection I D-9 l l I
I of nesting sites by loggerbead turtles. However, no consistent rela-tionship was apparent when field observations of beach widths during 1983 and 1984 were compared to the distribution of nests along the island during those years. Additional factors, such as offshore bottom con-tours, spatial distribution of nearshore reefs, type and extent of dune vegetation, and degree of human activity on the beach at night also may affect the spatial distribution of nests (Caldwell,1962; Hendrickson and Balasingam, 1966; Bustard and Greenham,1969; Hughes,1974a; Davis and Whiting,1977; Mortimer,1982). Furthermore, relationships between spa-tial distributions of nests and environmental factors may be complicated by nest site tenacity of nesting turtles. Schulz (1975) suggests that nest site tenacity forces turtles to maintain their nesting site as long as possible, even though those sites may be undergoing changes. Not all ventures onto the beach by a female turtle culminate in suc-cessful nests. These " false crawls" (non-nesting emergences) may occur for many reasons and are commonly encountered at other rookeries (Baldwin and Lofton,1959; Schulz,1975; Davis and Whiting,1977; Talbert et al., 1980). Davis and Whiting (1977) suggested that relatively high percen-tages of false crawls may reflect disturbances or unsatisfactory nesting beach characteristics. Therefore, certain factors may affect a turtle's preference to emerge on a beach, while other factors may affect a turtle's tendency to nest after it has emerged. An index which relates the number of nests deposited in an area to the number of false crawls in that area is useful in estimating the postemergence suitability of that l beach for nesting. In the present study this index is termed " nesting success" and is defined as the percentage of total emergences that result I in nests. I D-10 84LUCIE2 l TURTLE-11 I J i
I The observed gradients of increasing nest densities from north to I south along the island were consistent with gradients of increasing
)
emergences from north to south (Table D-2; Figure D-3). In contrast, variations in nesting success along the island were not consistent with observed gradients of nest densities (Table D-3; Figure D-4). Therefore, 1 1 greater nest densities along the southern portion of the island were the result of more turtles coming ashore there rather than to more preferable nesting conditions being encountered by turtles after they emerged. Hughes (1974a) and Bustard (1968) found that loggerheads preferred beaches adjacent to outcrops of rocks or subtidal reefs. Williams-Wall s et al. (1983) suggested that the nesting gradient on Hutchinson Island may be influenced by the offshore reefs if female turtles concentrate on the reefs closest to the beach to rest or feed. Williams-Walls et al. (1983) further stated that the proximity of offshore reefs would put the greatest concentration of turtles near the southern portion of the island. Therefore, the apparent gradient in loggerhead emergences and i nest densities may be influenced by nearshore reef distribution, as well as beach accretion and erosion. I Relatively low nest densities in Area 4 (adjacent to the power plant) appeared to be restricted to years of intake and discharge construction. In order to determine whether construction of power plant intake and discharge systems has had a significant effect on nesting adjacent to the St. Lucie Plant, nest densities in Areas 4 and 5 were compared between construction years (1975, 1981, 1982 and 1983) and non- 'I l l D-11 1 84LUCIE2 TURTLE-11
I ! I construction years (1971, 1973, 1977, 1979, 1980 and 1984). Because construction activities did not proceed seaward of the dune until late in the nesting season,1980 was considered a non-construction year. Area 5 was chosen.as a control because it was similar to Area 4 with respect to beach topography and was outside of the area expected to be influenced by either power plant operation or intake / discharge construction. l Results of a G-test of independence (Sokal and Rohlf,1981) indi-cated that nest densities in Areas 4 and 5 were not significantly (P10.05) different during the two baseline years (1971 and 1973). . 1 However, nest densities in Area 4 were significantly (P10.05) lower I t 1 during years of intake / discharge construction. I Turtles are very sensitive to alarming stimuli just prior to emerging onto beaches (Schulz,1975) and as they ascend beaches (Hirth, 1971). Among these alarming stimuli, moving lights will frighten nesting sea turtles of all species (Mortimer, 1982). Moving lights and other nocturnal activities associated with intake / discharge construction may have contributed to reduced emergences and, consequently, reduced nest densities relative to adjacent areas (Figure D-3). However, nesting suc-cess , values in Area 4 during construction years were not markedly dif-ferent from those in Area 5. Similar nesting success values between these two areas suggest that part of Area 4 was outside the influence of construction activities and that the turtles that emerged in Area 4 pri-marily emerged beyond the area influenced by construction activities. l Though nest densities were reduced in Area 4 during 1981,1982 and 1983, l . 84LUCIE2 TURTLE-11
they returned to normal levels in 1984 after construction activities were completed, as was observed during years following construction in 1975. I A G-test of independence also was used to determine if nest den-sities differed significantly before and after power plant operation (exclusive of intake / discharge construction). After excluding years during which intake / discharge construction occurred (1975,1981,1982 and 1983), nest densities in Areas 4 and 5 were compared between preopera-tional years (1971 and 1973) and operational years (1977,1979,1980 and 1984). No significant (P(0.05) effect of power plant operation on nest densities was indicated. No long-term overall reductions in nesting, total emergences or nesting success in the nine 1.25-km long survey areas have been indicated by data collected through 1984. Distribution of Nests Along the Entire Island (1981-1984) From 1981 through 1984, distributions of nest densities among the thirty-six 1-km long survey areas comprising the entire island also showed a gradient of increasing densities from north to south (Figure D-5). However, this gradient was primarily restricted to the northern half of the island. No gradient was apparent south of Area S, and nest densities generally remained relatively high along the southern half of the island. The distribution of loggerhead turtle emergences among the thirty-six survey areas followed the same general pattern as nest den-sities (Figure D-6). Although differences in nesting success contributed D-13 84LUCIE2 TURTLE-11
I to differences in nest densities in a number of instances, general pat-terns of nesting success were not consistent with general patterns of nest densities (Figure D-7). Thus, as was found for the nine survey areas, greater nest densities along the southern portion of the island were primarily due to more turtles coming ashore there rather than to more preferable nesting conditions being encountered by turtles after they emerged. I During all four survey years (1981-1984), nest densities were lowest in Area A and increased substantially from north to south through Area E (Figure D-5). Numbers of emergences in Areas A through E parallel this pattern of substantial increase from north to south (Figure D-6). The presence of deep water close to shore has been suggested as a factor which might influence sea turtles to emerge on particular beaches (Hendrickson and Balasingam, 1966; Mortimer, 1982). The distance from 1 shore to the thirty-foot water depth contour continuously decreases from Area A through Area E. This may partially account for the observed pat-tern of increased emergences from north to south along this particular stretch of beach. Furthermore, large public beach accesses in Areas /. through C, combined with considerable artificial lighting in those areas, provide the potential for extensive and highly visible human activity on I the beach at night. As previously stated, turtles just prior to emerging onto beaches are very sensitive to alarming stimuli, therefore, human l activity in these areas at night may deter turtles from emerging. Human activity also may discourage turtles from nesting after they have emerged onto the beach, and may contribute to the somewhat lower nesting success l D-14 84LUCIE2 TURTLE-11
I in Areas A through C (Figure D-7). Low nesting success in Areas A and B also may be related to beach characteristics such as persistent and extensive areas of vertical relief (benches), accumulations of rocks and shells, and compact sand in these areas. Apparently, a combination of factors that affected both emergence and nesting success resulted in the extremely low nest densities along the northern four kilometers of the i sl and. I Nest densities, numbers of emergences and, to a lesser extent, nesting success have remained relatively low in Area Z from 1981 through 1984. Since this area includes a large public beach access, a motel and I considerable artificial lighting, nocturnal human activity in this area may account for these relatively low values. Another area that had rela-tively low nest densities compared to adjacent areas was Area HH. Relatively low numbers of nests in Area HH correspond with relatively low numbers of emergences in that area. Emergence in this area may be hin-dered by the presence of an intertidal reef system extending obliquely from shore along a portion of the area. Relatively low nest densities, numbers of emergences and nesting success in Area 0 (Power Plant Site) during 1981,1982 and 1983 were apparently associated with construction activities during the installa-tion of the St. Lucie Plant Unit No. 2 intake and discharge systems. Reasons for reductions in nest densities and emergences during construc-tion activities have been discussed. During construction years, reduc-tions in nesting success were apparent in Area 0 though they were not 84LUClf.? TURTLE-11
evident for Area 4. This may simply reflect the fact that Area 0 is smaller than Area 4; therefore, a greater percentage of Area 0 was within the influence of construction activities. During 1984, nest densities, numbers of emergences and nesting success were comparable between Area 0 and adjacent areas and apparently were not affected by power plant opera-tion. No long-term trend towards decreased nest densities, numbers of emergences or nesting success were indicated by data for the thirty-six 1-km long survey areas. I Number of Nests and Population Estimates Various methods were used during surveys prior to 1981 to estimate the total number of nests on Hutchinson Island, based on the number of nests found in the nine 1.25-km survey areas (Gallagher et al.,1972; Worth and Smith, 1976; ABI, 1980). The most reliable methods appeared to be either extrapolation of the nine area total to the whole island or an estimate resulting from linear regression analysis. The latter method was based on the apparent linear relationship between nest densities in the nine study areas and their distance from Ft. Pierce Inlet. Since all nests on the entire island were counted from 1981 through 1984, the accuracy of the estimation techniques can be determined for these four years. The regression method overestimated the total number of nests on the island by 23 to 32 percent during the last four survey years (Table D-4). 84LUCIE2 TURTLE-11
The inaccuracy of this method is probably related to differences between the distribution of nests among the nine study areas and the actual distribution of nests along the entire island (ABI,1984). The extrapo-lation method produced more accurate estimates of total nesting on the i sl and. This method overestimated the actual total number of nests by only 6 to 11 percent during the last four years (Table D-4). Additional data on the relationship between nest densities in the nine areas and nest densities along the entire island may reveal a more accurate predic-tive method. Based on present data, however, extrapolation appears to be the most accurate method. Regardless of the method used to estimate total nesting, it is clear that nesting activity on Hutchinson Island fluctuates considerably from year to year (Table D-4). Year-to-year variations in nest densities also are common at other rookeries (Hughes,1976; Davis and Whiting, 1977; l Ehrhart,1979) and may result from the overlapping of non-annual breeding l populations. No relationships between total nesting activity on the island and power plant operation or intake / discharge construction were l indicated. In order to determine the total number of female loggerhead turtles nesting on Hutchinson Island during a given season, an estimate of the number of nests produced by each female must be determined. A comparison of the number of nests produced by tagged turtles during the 1975, 1977 and 1979 surveys indicated that an average of two nests per female were produced during a nesting season (ABI, 1980). Thus, estimates of the D-17 84LUCIE2 ! TURTLE-11
1 total numbers of females nesting during previous survey years may be I obtained by dividing the calculated total number of nests by two. Based on extrapolation estimates of total nesting, the number of female loggerhead turtles nesting on Hutchinson Island varied from approximately 1,500 to 2,300 individuals during survey years 1971 through 1979. Based on whole-island nest counts, the estimated total number of nesting fema-les varied from 1,558 to 2,372 individuals during survey years 1981 through 1984. Temporal Nesting Patterns The loggerhead turtle nesting season usually begins in early May, when ocean temperatures reach 23 to 24*C, attains a maximum during Juna or July, and ends by late August or early September. Nesting activity during 1984 followed this pattern (Figure D-8). Shifts in the temporal nesting pattern on Hutchinson Island (Figure D-9) may be influenced by fluctuations in water temperature. This was observed during 1975 and 1982 when early nesting in April coincided with average ocean tem-peratures above 24*C ( ABI,1983; Williams-Walls et al . ,1983). Cool water intrusions frequently occur off southeastern Florida during the summer (Taylor and Stewart, 1958; Smith, 1982). Worth and Smith (1976) and Williams-Walls et al. (1983) suggested that cool water intrusions may have been responsible for reductions in loggerhead turtle nesting activity on Hutchinson Island. Considerable decreases in ocean temperatures during mid-July and early August 1984 may have been due to such cool water intrusions. Sharp declines in nesting coincided with, D-18 84LUCIE2 TURTLE-11
and were probably related to, the decreases in water temperature during those periods (Figure D-8). However, declines in nesting were of short duration and were followed by sharp increases. Cool water intrusions were not considered to have significantly affected total nesting activity in 1984. To determine if plant operation affected seasonal nesting patterns (nest density on a month-to-month basis), the nesting patterns for Area 4 (plant site) and Area 5 (control site) during each study year were com-pared statistically (Kolmogorov-Smirnov test; Sokal and Rohlf, 1981). There was no significant (P10.05) difference in temporal nesting patterns E between Areas 4 and 5 during any study year, either before or during power plant operation. The results of these analyses indicated that plant operation has not significantly affected temporal nesting patterns. Predation on Turtle Nests Since nest surveys began in 1971, raccoon predation probably has been the major cause of turtle nest destruction on Hutchinson Island. Researchers at other locations have reported raccoon predation levels as high as 70 to nearly 100 percent (Davis and Whiting,1977; Ehrhart,1979; Hopkins et al., 1979; Talbert et al., 1980). Raccoon predation of loggerhead turtle nests on Hutchinson Island has not approached this level during any study year, though levels for individual 1.25-km long areas have been as high as 80 percent (Table D-5). Overall predation rates for survey years 1971 through 1977 were between 21 and 44 percent, with the high of 44 percent recorded in 1973. A pronounced decrease in D-19 84LUCIE2 j TURTLE-11 I !
raccoon predation occurred after 1977, and overall predation rates for the nine areas have remained below 10 percent during the last four years. For the entire island, five percent (200) of the loggerhead nests (n=4277) in 1984 were depredated by raccoons. Decreased predation by raccoons probably reflects a decline in the raccoon population which may be due to habitat destruction associated with the development of the island (Williams-Walls et al., 1983). However, diseases also may be responsible for reductions in raccoon populations. Apparently, raccoon populations in Florida's coastal areas are occasionally decimated by canine distemper (Ehrhart,1979). As during 1981,1982 and 1983, predation was greatest in the pri-marily undeveloped areas north and south of the power plant during 1984 (Figure D-10). Reduced raccoon predation in the immediate vicinity of the plant (Area 0) may be attributed to limited raccoon habitat upland of Area 0. Ghost crabs have been reported by numerous researchers as important predators on sea turtle nests (Baldwin and Lofton,1959; Schulz,1975; Diamond, 1976; Fowler, 1979; Stancyk, 1982). Though turtle nests on Hutchinson Island may have been depredated by ghost crabs since nesting surveys began in 1971, this source of predation did not become apparent as a cause of nest destruction until 1983. During 1983, the first year I ghost crab predation was quantified, one percent (58) of the loggerhead nests (n=4743) on the island were depredated by ghost crabs. The overall predation rate by ghost crabs increased to two percent (89 nests) during l D-20 l
I ! Stancyk (1982), referring to ghost crab predation on l 1984 (n=4277). loggerhead turtle nests in Cape Romain, South Carolina, states that a reduction in the population of crab predators (raccoons) could have allowed increased crab predation. Such a hypothesis also may apply to Hutchinson Island where a reduction in raccoon predation on turtle nests probably reflects a decline in the raccoon population. I During 1983 and 1984, predation by ghost crabs occurred in the same general areas where predation by raccoons occured. During 1984, 25 nests were destroyed by a combination of raccoon- and ghost crab predation. These combination predations are included as raccoon predations in Table D-5 and in the total number of nests predated by raccoons for the entire island. Abiotic Destruction of Turtle Nests Physical destruction of turtle nests by erosion associated with wave action and mortality of developing sea turtle embryos due to inundation by sea water (e.g., high tides) have been recorded at other rookeries (Baldwin and Lofton, 1959; Schulz,1975; Fowler, 1979; Hopkins et al., 1979; Small,1982). Nest destruction due to these two f actors may have been considerable on Hutchinson Island during 1984. During early September and again in late September 1984, tropical storms caused abnor-mally high tides and extremely high waves in the Hutchinson Island area. During both stonns, waves washed up to the dune line along the entire island, and washed over the dune line in several areas. In each case, these conditions prevailed for several days. I D-21 84LUCIE2 TURTLE-11 B
l .I Though nest destruction due to erosion was evident by the presence of numerous unhatched turtle eggs scattered along the beach, destruction due to erosion and inundation could not be quantified. However, since all nests on Hutchinson Island were enumerated daily, the number of nests I containing incubating eggs during the passage of each stonn can be calcu-
)
)
i lated. A minimum of 750 loggerhead nests and 23 green turtle nests were i estimated to be incubating on the island during the passage of the first stonn, and 200 loggerhead nests and 16 green turtle nests had incubation periods which overlapped both stonns. Green and Leatherback Turtle Nesting Green and leatherback turtles also nest on Hutchinson Island, but in l fewer numbers than loggerhead turtles. Prior to 1984, the number of nests observed on the island ranged from 5 to 68 for green turtles and from 1 to 20 for leatherbacks (Figure 0-11). During the 1984 survey, 44 green turtle and 19 leatherback turtle nests were recorded on Hutchinson Island. Temporal nesting patterns for these species differ from the pat-tern for loggerhead turtles. During the 1984 survey, leatherback turtles nested from 24 April through 20 July, and green turtles nested from 10 June through 16 September. I Prior to 1981, thirty-one kilometers of beach from Area 1 south to l the St. Lucie Inlet (Figure D-1) were surveyed for green and leatherback turtle nests. During whole island surveys from 1981 through 1984, only one leatherback nest and three green turtle nests were recorded on the five kilometers of beach north of Area 1. Therefore, previous counts of I I D-22 I
I green and leatherback nests on the southern thirty-one kilometers of the island were probably not appreciably different from total densities for the entire island. Based on this assumption, green and leatherback nest densities may be compared between all survey years, except 1980, when less than fifteen kilometers of beach were surveyed. Considerable fluctuations in green turtle nesting on the island have occurred among survey years. This is not unusual since there are drastic I year-to-year fluctuations in the numbers of green turtles nesting at other breeding grounds (Carr et al.,1982). During 1984, green turtles nested most frequently along the stretch of beach from Area AA through Area GG (Figure D-12). This is consistent with results of surveys con-ducted during 1971, 1973, 1975, 1982 and 1983 (ABI, 1983, 1984; Williams-Walls et al . ,1983). Less than twenty green turtle nests were observed on Hutchinson Island during each of the other survey years (1977, 1979 and 1981). As in 1982, there was also considerable nesting in Areas R through U during 1984. I Leatherback turtle nest densities have remained low on Hutchinson Island; however, densities during the last five survey years have been higher than during the previous four survey years. This may reflect an overall increase in the number of nesting females or may be part of a long-term cycle of increasing and decreasing nesting activity in the Hutchinson Island area. During 1984, leatherback turtles nested from Area C through Area HH. I D-23 84LUCIE2 TURTLE-11
I Intake Canal Monitoring Species, Number and Temporal Dis:rj,bution In 1984, 148 loggerhead and 69 green turtles were removed from the St. Lucie Plant intake canal (Tables D-6 and D-7). Since intake canal monitoring began in May 1976, 969 loggerheads,159 greens, seven leather-backs, three Kemp's ridley and two hawksbill turtles have been removed. The yearly catch of loggerhead turtles increased from 33 individuals in 1976 (partial year of sampling) to 175 in 1979, decreased to 61 in 1981, and increased to 148 in 1984 (Figure D-13). The monthly catch of loggerheads ranged from two to 28 individuals (Table D-6). Over the past nine study years, the most loggerheads were collected during January (mean of 17.5 individuals) and the fewest were collected during May (mean of 5.1 individuals). Differences in the number of loggerhead turtles found among years or among months were not statistically significant (Pf,0.05; two-way ANOVA), primarily because of the large within-year and within-month variation in catch. I The yearly catch of green turtles ranged from 0 to 6 individuals between 1976 and 1979, increased to 13 in 1980 and 32 in 1981, decreased to 8 in 1982 and increased to 69 in 1984 (Figure D-13). One hundred ten of the 159 green turtles (69 percent) found during intake canal moni-toring were taken during the winter months of January through March. Three of the seven leatherback turtles were found in 1978 (Figure D-13); four of the seven leatherbacks (57 percent) were found during the I i 84LUCIE2 TURTLE-11 5 l
I month of March. The two hawksbill turtles were taken in March 1978 and September 1984, and the three Kemp's ridley turtles were found in January and February. I Variations in the number of sea turtles found during different years and months are attributed to natural variations in the occurrence of turtles in the vicinity of the St. Lucie Plant, rather than to any influence of the plant itself. Intake cooling water flow rate variations do not appear to have influenced the numbers of turtles found. The variation in yearly loggerhead and green turtle occurrence patterns (Figure D-13) indicates that the observed differences are inherent in the species, rather than plant related. I Size Distribution and Sex Ratio The majority of the loggerhead turtles captured in the canal ranged from 51 to 70 cm in straight line carapace length (SLCL) and the majority of the green turtles ranged from 21 to 40 cm SLCL (Figure D-14). Based
- l on minimum lengths of nesting females (Gallagher et al.,1972; Hirth,
! 1980) and morphometric analyses (F.H. Berry, National Marine Fisheries lE Service, personal communication), individuals of both species attain l5 jg adulthood somewhere between 70 and 85 cm SLCL. Most of the loggerhead l 3 I and green turtles found in the intake canal thus were considered to be l sub-adults or juveniles. The leatherback turtles ranged in size from 111 to 150 cm SLCL l (Figure D-14) and were adults. The two hawksbill turtles ranged from 37 ,I D-25
=
t
I to 46 cm SLCL and the three Kemp's ridley turtles ranged from 32 to 47 cm SLCL and were subadults. I Sea turtles cannot be externally sexed until they reach a size where male secondary sexual characteristics are developed. In loggerheads, l this is usually greater than 70 cm SLCL. In developed males, the tail is long and extends well beyond the carapace, and the cloacal opening is located near the tip of the tail beyond the posterior margin of the cara-pace. In mature females, the tail is much shorter and the cloacal opening is located under the posterior margin of the carapace (Pritchard etal.,1983). Eighty-six large loggerheads have been externally sexed since 1979 when these efforts began. Of these loggerheads, 74 were listed as fema-les and 12 as males. Sex has only been recorded for four green turtles; these were all males and all were 93 cm SLCL or larger. Since 1982, 59 immature loggerheads have been sexed by measuring testosterone levels in blood samples. These samples were analyzed by Dr. David W. Owens and his associates at Texas A & M University. The turtles ranged from 50 to 73 cm SLCL and had a sex ratio of 3.2 females to 1 male (45 females and 14 males; Wibbels,1984). The 3.2:1 female: male sex ratio compares to the 1.7:1 ratio found in the Cape Canaveral ship chan-nel (N=168 turtles) and 1.4:1 found in the Indian River (N=24). The sex ratios of the Hutchinson Island and Indian River samples were not signi-ficantly different from the sex ratio of the Cape Canaveral samples I D-26 I
I (Wibbels, 1984). It appears that the sex ratios of these immature I loggerhead populations are significantly biased toward females. For the Hutchinson Island collections, the discrepancy between the ratios of the large adults that were sexed externally (6.2:1) and the immature turtles sexed by blood analysis (3.2:1) may mean that some of the large turtles recorded as females were still too small for external differentiation and were, in fact, males. Alternatively, there may be actual differences in the sex ratios of immature and mature loggerheads off Hutchinson Island. l Mortalities Over the eight years of monitoring, 73 of the 969 loggerhead turtles (7.5 percent) and 16 of the 159 green turtles (10.1 percent) found in the intake canal were dead (Tables D-6 and D-7). All of the leatherbacks, the hawksbill and the Kemp's ridley were found alive. I Of the 73 dead loggerheads, 57 individuals (78 percent) were found floating in the canal, either along shore, against the barrier net or, in a few cases, against the bar screens (grizzlies) at the plant. Most of these turtles were in advanced stages of decomposition. Seven of the l loggerheads were found dead in the turtle nets, two in the gill nets used for fish sampling and one in the barrier net; it is presumed that these 10 individuals (14 percent of the mortalities) drowned. Of the seven other loggerheads found dead, two had been accidentally killed by the rake at the grizzlies and information on five is lacking. Of the 16 dead g green turtles,11 were found in either the turtle nets or the fish gill nets, three were found floating, information on one is lacking and one did not recover after treatment for injuries. D-27 I 84LUCIE2 TURTLE-11 I
I To reduce or eliminate mortalities caused by the nets, particularly .I among smaller green turtles, the turtle nets have been modified so that they are lighter, and the fish gill nets have not been used east of the Highway A1A bridge since 1981. Reducing mortalities of those turtles found floating in the canal is more of a problem because the causes of death are generally unknown. Drowning may occur during infrequent ) periods of reduced flow when the plant is off-line. When the plant is not in operation, a turtle entering the intake pipe might not find its way out and could drown because the flow would not be sufficient to carry , the turtle through the pipe (this will be less of a possibility now that Unit 2 is operational). Under nonnal operation, flow is high enough that the amount of time a turtle would be in the pipe is well within the time span that turtles can safely stay submerged (ABI,1983). Injury sustained during passage through the intake pipes is another possible cause of mortalities. However, only 75 (6.6 percent) of the I 1140 sea turtles removed from the intake canal had recent lacerations, abrasions or other injuries that may have resulted from passage through the pipes. Wounds were considered minor in 51 of these 75 animals and major (deep cuts, broken flippers, etc.) in 24. The intake pipes in pre-sont use are 3.7 and 4.9 m in inside diameter, and it appears that the I vast majority of the turtles are carried through the pipes without hitting the walls and sustaining injury. i Length of time spent in the intake canal was not considered a factor in mortality because turtles entrapped in the canal were caught and I D-28 I
I released within a relatively short time span (average of 10.3 days) and, during this time, body weights did not change appreciably (ABI, 1983). I The majority (61 percent) of the turtles found alive and released back into the ocean were considered to be in good physical condition,19 percent were in poor condition and 21 percent were in excellent con-dition. Criteria used to evaluate condition were weight, activity, para-site coverage and wounds or injury (Table D-8). Some of the turtles found floating in the canal in various stages of decomposition may already have been in poor condition in the ocean. These may have entered the ocean intakes seeking refuge and ended up in the canal where they died from causes unrelated to plant operations. I Bluod samples were analyzed to determine hemoglobin levels in order to see if there was a correlation between hemoglobin levels and condition of the turtles. Low hemoglobin (anemia) could reflect poor condition and potentially be a mortality factor. Mean hemoglobin levels were generally higher for animals in good to excellent condition (Table D-9), but there was considerable variation and overlap in values among the relative con-i dition categories. Additional measurements, particularly in the " poor" l and " poor-good" categories (Table D-9) have indicated that hemoglobin levels may not be a useful measure of condition. I Two green turtles were necropsied in 1984. One of the turtles l appeared normal upon examination and the other showed signs of parasite l infestation and was underweight. Both turtles apparently died suddenly 0-29 l 84LUCIE2 TURTLE-11
I as a result of severe blows. External examination showed injury to the carapace of one turtle indicative of damage from being struck by a boat. I
SUMMARY
A gradient of increasing nest densities from north to south along Hutchinson Island has been shown during all survey years. This gradient may result from variations in beach topography, substrate suitability, offshore depth contours, distribution of nearshore reefs, onshore artifi-cial lighting and human activity on the beach at night. Low nesting activity in the vicinity of the power plant during 1975 and from 1981 through 1983 was attributed to construction of power plant intake and discharge systems. Nesting returned to nomal levels following both periods of construction. Power pl ant operation, exclusive of intake / discharge construction, has had no significant effect on nest den-sities. I There have been considerable year-to-year fluctuations in nesting activity on Hutchinson Island from 1971 through 1984. Fluctuations are common at other rookeries and may result from overlapping of non-annual breeding populations. No relationship between total nesting on the island and power plant operation or intake / discharge construction was indicated. I Results of three years of tagging studies on Hutchinson Island indi-cated that an average of two nests per year were produced by each nesting loggerhead turtle. Based on this average, the nesting population of 84LUCIE2 TURTLE-11
I loggerhead turtles on the island has varied from approximately 1500 indi-viduals in 1977 to nearly 2400 in 1983. The temporal nesting pattern of this population may be influenced by fluctuations in water temperature. Though natural temperature fluctuations have apparently affected temporal nesting patterns on Hutchinson Island, no significant effect due to power plant operation was indicated. I Since nest surveys began in 1971, raccoon predation was considered the major cause of turtle nest destruction on Hutchinson Island. However, a pronounced decrease in raccoon predation occurred after 1977, and overall predation rates for the nine survey areas have remained below ten percent during the last four years. Decreased predation by raccoons probably reflects a decline in the raccoon population. An increase in nest destruction by ghost crabs during the last two years may be related to this decrease in the raccoon population. I Nest destruction due to erosion and inundation of nests may have been considerable during 1984. Two tropical storms caused abnormally high tides and extremely high waves on the island during September 1984. An estimated 750 loggerhead nests and 23 green turtle nests were incu-bating on the island during the passage of the first stonn and were pre-sumed lost. I Forty-four green turtle and nineteen leatherback turtle nests were recorded on Hutchinson Island during 1984. Green turtle nesting activity exhibited considerable annual fluctuations, as has been recorded at other D-31 84LUCIE2 TURTLE-11
I rookeries. Annual leatherback nest densities during the last five survey years were higher than during any of the previous four survey years. I Intake canal monitoring began in May 1976. Since that time, 969 l loggerhead turtles,159 green turtles, seven leatherback, three Kemp's ridley and two hawksbill turtles were removed from the intake canal. The yearly catch of loggerhead turtles ranged from 33 individuals in 1976 (partial year of sampling) to 175 in 1979. The yearly catch of greens has ranged from 0 in 1976 to 69 in 1984. Differences in the number of turtles found during different years and months were attributed to natural variations in the occurrence of turtles in the vicinity of the St. Lucie Plant, rather than to any influence of the plant itself. I The majority of the loggerhead turtles captured in the canal ranged from 51 to 70 cm in straight-line carapace length and most of the green turtles ranged from 21 to 40 cm. Turtles within these size ranges are considered to be sub-adults or juveniles. Sex ratios of immature loggerheads in the canal are biased toward females. Sixty-one percent of I the turtles found alive and released back into the ocean were categorized as being in good physical condition,19 percent were in poor condition and 21 percent were in excellent condition. I Of the turtles removed from the intake canal since 1976, 7.5 percent of the loggerheads and 10.1 percent of the greens were dead. All of the g leatherbacks, the hawksbill and the Kemp's ridley were ali'fe. The majority of the dead turtles were found floating in the canal, while a I D-32 84LUCIE2 TURTLE-11 I
I few others were found dead in the nets. The turtle nets have been modified and the fish gill nets removed from the area to eliminate or reduce drowning mortalities caused by nets. The causes of death for the turtles found floating are generally unknown. Drowning may occur if the plant is off-line, but this is an infrequent occurrence. Similarly, only 6.6 percent of all turtles were found with injuries that could have been sustained during passage through the intake pipe and, for the most part, these injuries were minor. It appeared that the vast majority of the turtles were carried through the pipes without hitting the walls and sustaining injury. Length of time spent in the canal was not considered a mortality factor because turtles were caught and released within a relatively short time span after entrapment. A possible reason for dead turtles in the canal is that turtles in already poor condition enter the I ocean intakes seeking refuge and die in the intake canal from causes unrelated to plant operations. The poor condition of many live turtles found in the canal supports this as a possible cause of mortalities. I I I I I I I 0-33 84LUCIE2 TURTLE-11 I
I LITERATURE CITED ABI ( Applied Biology, Inc.) . 1978. Ecological monitoring at the Florida I Power & Light Co. St. Lucie Plant, Annual report 1977, Vol . I. AB-101. Prepared by Applied Biology, Inc. for Florida Power & Light Co. , Miami .
. 1980. Florida Power & Light Company St.
Lucie Plant, annual non-radiological environmental monitoring report 1979. Vol. III, Biotic monitoring, AB-244. Prepared by I Applied Biology, Inc. for Florida Power & Light Co., Miami.
. 1981. Successful relocation of sea turtle I nests near the St. Lucie Plant, Hutchinson Island, Florida.
ABI-317. Prepared by Applied Biology, Inc. for Florida Power & Light Co., Miami.
. 1982. Florida Power & Light Company St.
Lucie Plant, annual non-radiological monitoring report 1981. Volume III, Biotic monitoring. AB-379. Prepared by Applied Biology, Inc. for Florida Power & Light Co., Miami.
. 1983. Florida Power & Light Company St.
Lucie Plant, annual non-radiological aquatic monitoring report 1982. Volume II. AB-442. Prepared by Applied Biology, Inc. for Florida Power & Light Co., Miami.
. 1984. P rida Power & Light Company St.
Lucie Unit 2. Annual environmer.tal operating report 1983. AB-533. Prepared by Applied Biology, Inc., for Florida Power & Light Co. , Miami . Baldwin, W.0. , Jr. and J.P. Lofton, Jr. 1959. The loggerhead turtles of I Cape Romain, South Carolina. Previously unpublished manuscript abridged and annotated by D.K. Caldwell, without the authors. In D.K. Caldwell and A. Carr, coordinators, The Atlantic loggerhead sea turtle, Caretta caretta caretta (L.), in America. Bulletin of I the Florida State Museum, Biological Sciences, 4(10):319-348. Bellmund, S. , M.T. Masnik and G. LaRoche. 1982. Assessment of the impacts of the St. Lucie 2 Nuclear Station on threatened or endangered species. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. Bustard, H.R. 1968. Protection for a rookery: Bundaberg sea turtles. Wildlife in Australia 5:43-44. Bustard, H.R. and P. Greenham. 1968. Physical and chemical factors affecting hatching in the green sea turtle, Chelonia mydas (L.). Ecology 49(2):269-276. I D-34 84LUCIE2 TURTLE-11
}
I LITERATURE CITED (continued) Caldwell, D.K., A. Carr and L.H. Ogren. 1959. Nesting and migration of the Atlantic loggerhead turtle. ~in D.K. Caldwell and A. Carr, coor-dinators, The Atlantic loggerhead sea turtle Caretta caretta caretta I (L.), in America. Bulletin of the Florida State Museum, Biological Sciences, 4(10):295-308. Caldwell , D.K. 1962. Comments on the nesting behavior of Atlantic loggerhead sea turtles, based primarily on tagging returns. Quarterly Journal of the Florida Academy of Sciences (25(4): I 287-302. Carr, A., A. Meylan, J. Mortimer, K. Bjorndal and T. Carr. 1982. Surveys of sea turtle populations and habitats in the Western Atlantic. NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-SEFC-91:1-82. I Davis, G.E. , and M.S. Whiting. 1977. Loggerhead sea turtle nesting in Everglades National Park, Florida, U.S.A. Herpetologica 33:18-28. Diamond, A.W. Breeding biology and conservation of Hawksbill I 1976. turtles, Eretmochelys imbricata L., on Cout,f n Island, Seychelles. Biological Conservation 9:199-215. Ehrhart, L.M. 1979. Threatened and endangered species of the Kennedy Space Center: Marine turtle studies in A continuation of baseline
~
studies for environmentally monitoring space transportation systems I (STS) at John F. Kennedy Space Center. Contract No. NAS 10-8986. Vol. IV NASA Report. 163122. September 1980. 1979. Reproductive characteristics and management poten-I tial of the sea turtle rookery at Canaveral National Seashore, Florida. Pages 397-399 in Linn, R.M., ed. Proceedings of the First Conference on Scientific Research in the National Parks, 9-12 November,1976, New Orleans, La. NPS Trans, and Proc. Ser. No. 5. Fowler, L.E. 1979. Hatching success and nest predation in the green sea Chelonia mydas at Tortuguero, Costa Rica. Ecology I turtle, 60(5):945-955. Gallagher, R.M., M.C. Hollinger, R.M. Ingle and C.R. Futch. 1972. I Marine turtle nesting on Hutchinson Island, Florida in 1971. Florida Department of Natural Resources, Special Scientific Report 37:1-11. Hendrickson, J.R. and E. Balasingam. 1966. Nesting beach preferences of Malayan sea turtles. Bulletin of the National Museum Singapore 33(10):69-76. I I 84LUCIE2 D-35 TURTLE-11
I LITERATURE CITED (continued) Hirth, H.F. 1971. Synopsis of biological data on the green turtle Chelonia mydas (Linnaeus) 1758. FAO Fisheries Synopsis 85, Food I and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy. Some aspects of the nesting behavior and reproductive I Hirth, H.H. 1980. biology of sea turtles. American Zoologist 20:507-523. Hopkins, S.R. , T.M. Murphy, Jr. , K.B. Stanse11 and P.M. Wilkinson. 1979. Biotic and abiotic factors affecting nest mortality in the Atlantic loggerhead turtle. Proceedings Annual Conference of Southeastern Fish and Wildlife Agencies 32:213-223. Hughes, G.R. 1974a. The sea turtles of southeast Africa,1. Status, morphology and distributions. South African Association for Marine Biological Research, Oceanographic Research Institute, Investigational Report No. 35:1-144.
. 1974b. The sea turtles of South East Africa, 2. The I biology of the Tongaland loggerhead turtle Carett_a_ caretta L. with comments on the leatherback turtle Dermochelys coriacea L. and the green turtle Chelonia mydas L. in the study region. South African Association for Marine Biological Research, Oceanographic Research I Institute, Investigational Report No. 36:1-96.
1976. Irregular reproductive cycles in the Tongaland I loggerhead sea turtle, Caretta caretta (L.) (Cryptodira:Chelonidae). Zoologica Africana 11(2):285-291. I Mortimer, J. A. turtles. 1982. Factors influencing beach selection by nesting sea Pages 45-51 in Bjorndal, K.A., ed. Biology and conserva-tion of sea turtles. ~Tmithsonian Institution Press. Washington, D.C. 1978. Final EIS listing and NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Service). protecting the green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas), loggerhead sea I turtle (Caretta caretta) and the Pacific Ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. National Marine Fisheries Service, Dept. of Commerce, Washington, D.C. NRC (U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission). 1982. Final environmental statement related to the operation of St. Lucie Plant Unit 2. I Docket No. 50-389. 0'Hara, J. 1980. Thermal influences on the swimming speed of loggerhead I turtle hatchlings. Copeia 1980(4):773-780. I D-36 84LUCIE2 TURTLE-11
I LITERATURE CITED (continued) Routa, R.A. 1968. Sea turtle nest survey of Hutchinson Island, Florida. Quarterly Journal Florida Academy of Sciences 30(4):287-294. I Schul z , J.P. 1975. Sea turtles nesting in Surinam. Zoologische Verhandelingen, uitgegeven door het Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie te Leiden, No. 143:1-144. Small , V. 1982. Sea turtle nesting at Virgin Islands National Park , and Buck Island Reef National Monument, 1980 and 1981. I Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Research/ Resources Management Report SER-61:1-54. U.S. I I Smith, N.P. 1982. Upwelling in Atlantic shelf waters of south Florida. Florida Scientist 45(2):125-138. I Sokal, R.R. and F.J. Rohlf. 1981. Biometry. The tice of statistics in biological research. Company, San Francisco. principles and prac-W.H. Freeman and Stancyk , S.E. 1982. Non-human predators of sea turtles and their cor.- trol. Pages 139-152 in Bjorndal, K. A. , ed. Biology and conserva-tion of sea turtles. Smithsonian Institution Press. Washington, D.C. Talbert, 0.R. , S.E. Stancyk, J.M. Dean and J.M. Will . 1980. Nesting I activity of the loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) Carolina. I: A rookery in transition. Copeia 1980:709-718. in South Taylor, C.B. , and H.B. Stewart. 1959. Summer upwelling along the east coast of Florida. Journal of Geophysical Research 64(1):33-40. Wibbels, T. , D. Owens, Y. Morris and M. Amoss. 1984. Sex ratios of immature loggerhead sea turtles captured along the Atlantic coast of the United States. Final Report to the National Marine Fisheries Service. Contract No. NA81-GA-C-0039. 47 pp. Williams-Walls, N. , J. O'Hara, R.M. Gallagher, D.F. Worth, B.D. Peery and J.R. Wilcox. 1983. Spatial and temporal trends of sea turtle nesting on Hutchinson Island, Florida, 1971-1979. Bulletin of Marine Science 33(1):55-66. Worth, D.F. , and J.B. Smith. 1976. Marine turtle nesting on Hutchinson Island, Florida, in 1973. Florida Department Natural Resources Marine Research Laboratory No. 18:1-17. I D-37 84LUCIE2 TURTLE-11
Ft. Pierce inlet I :: .,.
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- Figure D-1. Designation and location of nine 1.25-km segments and thirty-six l-km segments surveyed for sea turtle nesting, Hutchinson' Island, 1971-1984.
D-38
1 I i 300-1973 I 200-1971 100- _ 1 300- , 2 1975 _ 1977 200-100- _ _ I nl e I l-m w 300-z 1979 - - 1980
$200-g ~
E100_ _ m I 2 U o Z I 300-1981 1982 - - - 200-I
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100- _ I I 300- - 1983 1984 _ , 1 200- -
- _ 1 I
~ - - l 100- -
l e 7 a e i2 3 4 e e 7 a e i2 a 4 e NORTH PLANT SITE SOUTH NORTH PLANT SITE SOUTH I Figure D-2. Number of loggerhead turtle nests in each of the nine 1.25-km
-long survey areas, Hutchinson Island, 1971-1984. (Only Areas 3 through 6 were surveyed during 1980.)
! D-39 I
I 1971 1973 - I 200- Falso crawls -
~
not recorded 100-400-1975 _ 1977 _ _ 300- - 200- _ _ 100-I m m _ o - 5 400- 1979 1980 _ o _ e ' m 300- - I. 2
* ~
200-I O - c 100- - m m 2 _ 3 z 400- 1981 1982 - 300- - 200 - _ 100- t 400- 1983 _ 1984 - 300- - I 200- _ _ 100-1 I 12345 NORTH fPLANT SITE 67 8 SOUTH 9 12345 NORTH 67 f PLANT SITE 8 9 SOUTH Figure D-3. Number of emergences by loggerhead turtles in each of the nine 1.25-km-long survey areas, Hutchinson Island, 1973-1984. (Only Areas 3 through 6 were surveyed during 1980.) D-40 r - - w - v---- - - - - - - - - -
~
I . I 75- 1971 1973 - I 50- Falso crawls not recorded 25-75- 1975 1977 _
~
I
~ -
50- - - - 6 e e m I O 75-0 m 1979 1980 m 50- _ e _ Z 25 s e m z 75- 1981 1982 _ - 50- _ 25-I 1983 1984 75-50- - 25-12345 67 8 9 12345 6 7 8 9 NORTH PLANT SITE SOUTH NORTH PLANT SITE SOUTH Fisdre D-4. Loggerhead turtles nesting success (percentage of total crculs that result in nests) for each 1.25-km-long survey area, Hutchinson Island, 1973-1984. (Only areas 3-6 were I surveyed in 1980.) D-41
l l fl ! ) 4 g 150- 1981- ' l IMi I 200 1984 l 150< 100< 50< A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U VW X Y Z g G J NORTH PLANT SITE SOUTH Figure D-5. Number of loggerhead turtle nests in each of the thirty-six l-km-long survey areas, Hutchinson Island, 1981-1984. D-42
I
~
1981 300-00-400-2 00 I 400-00 NORTH PLANT SITE SOUTH Figure D-6. Number of emergences by loggerhead turtles in each of th t -six l-km-long survey areas, Hutchinson Island, 1 D-43
I ll 75-1981 l h 1982
- g l
75-l ;O O l @ e 75-
-1983 l:: m 1984 ll l
!!! M ABCDEFGHI JKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZABCDEFGHIJ NORTH Figure D-7.
g PLANT SITE ABCDEFGHIJ SOUTH Loggerhead turtle nesting success (percentage of emergences
, that result in nests) for each 1-km-long survey area, Hutchinson Island, 1981-1984.
~
i D-44 w _ -- ___ _ __ _ _
_a 4 - - -...----a _._- -.a .,_- a m .-s __ ma-- . _ ...maa,e- ea-- . _ ___._ ,m,, . _ ___ II 'I : i 13 l m l c S
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= 1 1
05 \ U5 l l b l B ; N- l ai l 3 m n l s e '5 u 1 O Lm z8 3 I 1 i 5 to a i I <&- I a-
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6 6 6 4 a 4 a 6 6 6 6 m n a a e e (o o) 38n1VB3dW31 S1SBN 30 838 WON D-45 I ._ - _ _ ...-
m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m 40- 1971 1973 1975 30-20-10-to I-CO z 40- 1977 1979 1981 y 30-e o F a m u. 20-O g 10-O F-Z
$ 40- 1982 1983 1984 E
E 30-20-10-APR MkY JbN JbL AbG SEEP APR MhY JbN JbL AbG SEP APR MkY JbN JbL AbG S'EP Figure D-9. Percentage of the total number of loggerhead turtle nests observed in the nine 1.25-km-long survey areas during each month, 1971-1984, Hutchinson Island. (Only four of the nine areas were surveyed in 1980.)
M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M
~
0 destroyed by ghost crabs l destroyed by raccoons O destroyed by raccoons and ghosts crabs' a
% 40-O 34%
LU 16% 24% f 24 4
'8' 20-1 12,%
D - 3 Z 1 4 9% 9L; 7,% 10-5% 4% 4% _ 2,,,%
- R . n i .
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPORSTUVWXYZABCDEFGHIJ d ABCDEFGHIJ NORTH PLANT SITE SOUTH Figure D-10. Number of loggerhead turtle nests destroyed by raccoons and ghost crabs and destroyed nests as a percentage of the total number of nests for each 1-km-long survey area, Hutchinson Island, 1984. A
I 70- O--G GREEN TURTLE NESTS l C GLEATHERBACK TURTLE NESTS L 1 l l 60- J l l1 t 50-l l [ xm I I -
$ 40-Z a / i- I
$ 30-i / \
I a /a \ l
/ I l 20- \ -
\ ,
I \ /\ k/ 10- - V b . . seri 1ers is7s is77 tore 19s1 iss2 toss iss4 i Figure D-11. Number of green turtle and leatherback turtle nests l observed, Hutchinson Island, 1971-1984. I I D-48 I
m M M M M M M M M M M M 15-m m 10-m z - Lt. O
? m - -
S E 5- -- 2 - 3 z n n n n D ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZABCDEFGHIJ I a ABCDEFGHIJ j' NORTH PLANT SITE SOUTH l Figure D-12. Number of green turtle nests found in each 1-km-long survey area, Hutchinson Island, 1984.
M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M O ~* e I
- /
180 $ LOGGERHEAD (Caretta caretts) -60 O GREEN (Chelonia mydas) O LEATHERBACK (Dermochelya coriacea) f a HAWKSBILL (Eretmecholys imbricata) f O KEMP3 RIDLEY (Lepidochelys kompl)
-50 g
/
= 8 9
5 120= f -40 z r / : oE f E f o l a,@ S 90- f -30 $,_ m o E l \ j % [ I /
/ \ d j
60-p \ / _,g
\ / E j \ /
30-P \ /
-10 k
/
i
/
/eA -%'V6 a $ 6 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 Figure D-13. Number of turtles removed from the intake canal, St. Lucie Plant, 1976-1984.
i _ __ U
l 300= 813 332 I 200" I siGREEN i iLOGGERHEAD ve//JLEATHERBACK I 100= 90= I 80= 70= , 60= 50=
$40=
I 9 30= -
- 20 I.=
11 CC LU 2 I CD s 10= z 9= I 8= = 7= 6= - l 5= 4'= I 3= .. ..
/ l I 7 h
/
1 l / / l 1= e - h 7 e 1 , a-.-a-...s..s...-.- s...-.G..s s- f. 20 21-30 31-40 41-50 51-60 61-70 71-80 81-90 91-100 101-110111-120121-130 131-140141-150 l STRAIGHT LINE CARAPACE LENGTH (cm) Figure D-14. Length distribution of sea turtles removed from the intake canal, St. Lucie Plant, 1976-1984. D-51
M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M TABLE D-1 NUMBER OF LOGGERHEAD TURTLE NESTS IN EACH OF THE 1.25-KM LONG SURVEY AREAS HUTCHINSON ISLAND 1971 - 1984 Preoperational Operational Area 1971 a 1973 1975 1977 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1 85 110 96 48 47 - 66 98 80 120 2 92 132 108 55 80 101 139 107 154 3 113 144 156 90 93 109 83 140 112 130 b 4 152 134 73 100 123 133 67 91 110 144 b 5 171 126 158 106 144 111 104 169 186 133 6 218 141 250 109 233 175 139 278 199 177 7 136 127 155 76 204 126 184 202 150 8 238 164 281 161 237 - 181 265 302 177 9 215 182 216 187 288 - 164 270 294 254 TOTAL 1420 1260 1493 932 1449 528 1031 1634 1592 1439 a 0nly Areas 3-6 were surveyed during 1980. b St. Lucie Plant Site. 84LUCIE1 TABLED-1
M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M TABLE D-2 NUMBER OF EMERGENCES BY LOGGERHEAD TURTLES IN EACH OF THE 1.25-KM LONG SURVEY AREAS HUTCHINSON ISLAND 1973-1984a Preoperational Operational b 1983 1984 Area 1973 1975 1977 1979 1980 1981 1982 1 164 161 77 102 - 126 165 143 176 2 173 182 79 149 - 182 220 180 253 3 210 301 138 176 220 177 203 218 222 c 292 159 161 227 271 4 172 139 187 242 b 5 168 288 212 350 271 229 292 346 259 6 227 433 224 438 401 309 410 399 337 7 200 283 164 377 - 239 283 349 258 8 230 420 333 459 - 324 375 494 289 9 259 354 333 476 - 314 434 471 403 TOTAL 1803 2561 1747 2769 1184 2059 2543 2827 2468 a Non-nesting emergences were not recorded during 1971. Only Areas 3-6 were surveyed during 1980. c St. Lucie Plant Site. 84LUCIE1 TABLE
M M M M M M M M M M M M M M m TABLE D-3 a LOGGERHEAD TURTLE NESTING SUCCESS IN EACH OF THE 1.25-KM LONG SURVEY AREAS HUTCHINSON ISLAND 1973 - 1984b Preoperational Operational Area 1973 1975 1977 1979 1980 c 1981 1982 1983 1984 1 67 60 62 46 - 52 59 56 68 2 76 59 70 54 - 56 63 59 61 3 69 52 65 53 50 47 69 51 59 d e 4 78 53 54 51 46 42 57 49 53 E 5 75 55 50 41 41 45 58 54 51 6 62 58 49 53 44 45 68 50 53 7 64 55 46 54 - 53 65 58 58 8 71 67 48 52 - 56 71 61 61 9 70 61 56 61 - 52 62 62 63 a Nesting success is the percentage of emergences that result in nests. b False crawls (non-nesting emergences) were not recorded during 1971. c 0nly Areas 3-6 were surveyed during 1980. d St. Lucie Plant Site. 84LUCIE1 TABLED-3
m M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M TABLE D-4 ESTIMATES OF THE NUMBERS OF LOGGERHEAD TURTLE NESTS BASED ON SURVEYS OF NINE 1.25-KM SURVEY AREAS IN 1971-1984 AND THE ACTUAL NUMBER OF NESTS FOUND 1981-1984 HUTCHINSON ISLAND Number of nests Estimates of the in the number of nests on Actual nunber Linear regression nine 1.25-km the entire island of nests on the equation (Y=a+bx)a 2 survey areas Regression Extrapolation Year 7 entire island 1971 Y= 65.87 + 4.71x 0.73 1420 5423 4544 - 1973 Y = 108.34 + 1.62x 0.60 1260 4950 4032 - 1975 Y= 61.31 + 5.36x 0.61 1493 5680 4778 - 1977 Y= 29.26 + 3.81x 0.74 932 3522 2982 - 1979 Y= 7.53 + 7.87x 0.96 1449 5371 4637 - 1981 Y= 44.24 + 3.61x 0.82 1031 3932 3299 3115 1982 Y= 62.35 + 6.11x 0.74 1634 6204 5229 4690 1983 Y= 27.35 + 7.67x 0.93 1592 5955 5094 4743 1984 Y= 63.21 + 4.60x 0.70 1439 5256 4605 4277 a Y = The nunber of nests; a = The Y intercept; b = The slope of the regression line; x = The distance (km) south of Ft. Pierce Inlet. 84LUCIE1 ' TABLED-2
I TABLE D-5 NUMBER AND PERCENTAGE OF LOGGERHEAD TURTLE NESTS DESTROYED BY RACCOONS IN EACH OF THE NINE 1.25-KM LONG SURVEY AREAS HUTCHINSON ISLAND 1971-1984 I Preoperational 1971 1973 1975 Area Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent 1 28 33 79 72 40 42 2 30 33 71 54 27 25 3 66 58 115 80 101 65 b 4 32 21 44 33 9 12 5 60 35 69 55 16 10 6 30 14 13 9 0 0 7 5 4 2 2 1 1 8 63 26 66 40 24 9 9 79 37 90 49 92 43 TOTAL 393 28 549 44 310 21 a 0nly Areas 3-6 were surveyed during 1980. TABLE CONTINUED b St. Lucie Plant Site. 84LUCIE1 TABLED-4 I I lI D-56 I
I TABLE D-5 (continued) NUMBER AND PERCENTAGE OF LOGGERHEAD TURTLE NESTS DESTROYED BY
.I RACCOONS IN EACH 0F THE NINE 1.25-KM LONG SURVEY AREAS HUTCHINSON ISLAND 1971-1984 Operational I 1977 1979 1980a Area Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent 1 36 75 2 4 - -
2 18 33 4 5 - - 3 63 70 5 5 10 9 4b 47 47 8 7 5 4 5 25 24 47 33 35 32 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 13 17 10 5 - - 8 3 2 1 <1 - - 9 146 78 49 17 - - l TOTAL 351 38 126 9 50 10 a 0nly Areas 3-6 were surveyed during 1980. TABLE CONTINUED b St. Lucie Plant Site. 84LUCIE1 TABLED-4,A I I I D-57
I TABLE D-5 ' (continued) I NUMBER AND PERCENTAGE OF LOGGERHEAD TURTLE NESTS DESTROYED BY RACCOONS IN EACH OF THE NINE 1.25-KM LONG SURVEY AREAS HUTCHINSON ISLAND 1971-1984 Operational I Area 1981 Number Percent 1982 Number Percent 1983 Number Percent 1984 Number Percent 1 9 14 0 0 1 1 17 14 ) i 2 14 14 3 2 12 11 20 13 ! 3 7 8 2 1 24 21 1 1 4b 2 3 1 1 6 5 2 1 5 9 9 47 28 47 25 14 11 6 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 7 0 0 0 0 1 <1 0 0 8 0 0 0 0 1 <1 0 0 9 10 6 1 <1 25 9 12 5 TOTAL 52 5 54 3 118 7 66 5 a 0nly Areas 3-6 were surveyed during 1980. b St. Lucie Plant Site. I 84LUCIE1 TABLED-4,A,B I I I D-58 I .
E E E E E ' E E E E E E E E TABLE D-6 TOTAL NUMBER AND (NtNBER OF DEAD) LOGGERHEAD TURTLES REMOVED EACH MONTH FROM THE INTAKE CANAL ST. LUCIE PLANT 1976 - 1984 Monthly Month 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 Total Mean January - 13 19 24(3) 16 10 6(2) 39 13 140(5) 17.5 February - 8(1) 11(2) 29(1) 21(2) 11(3) 11 13(1) 11 115(10) 14.4 Ma rch - 6 27(2) 11 14 6 14 1 6 85(2) 10.6 April - 6(2) 19(5) 17 0 10 14 0 2(1) 68(8) 8.5 May 2 0 3(1) 0 7 6 17(4) 4 7 46(5) 5.1 June 0 4 10 3(1) 8(3) 6 7 7(1) 28(1) 73(6) 8.1 July 7(1) 4 0 27(2) 0 1 7 7 12(1) 65(4) 7.2 August 2 3 12 17(2) 12 6 2(1) 6 26 86(3) 9.6 September 1 15(1) 1 8(1) 19 2(1) 9(1) 8(2) 16 79(6) 8.8 October 7 9(1) 17(2) 15(3) 7 0 9(5) 17 10 91(11) 10.1 November 5(3) 5 15(7) 13 4 0 4(2) 5 9 60(12) 6.7 December 9 5 4 11 8 3 1(1) 12 8 61(1) 6.8 Total 33(4) 78(5) 138(19) 175(13) 116(5) 61(4) 101(16) 119(4) 148(3) 969(73) - 84LUCIE1 TABLED-5
W W ~ W W W W TABLE D-7 TOTAL NUMBER AND (NUMBER OF DEAD) SEA TURTLES OTHER THAN LOGGERHEADS REMOVED FROM THE INTAKE CANAL ST. LUCIE PLANT 1976 - 1984 Annual Species 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 Total Meand[ green 5(2) 6(1) 3(1) 13(4) 32(2) 8 23(4) 69(2) 159(16) 19.9 leatherback 1 3 2 1 7(0) 1.0 c3 hawksbill 1 1 2(0) 0.2 Kemp's ridley 1 2 3(0) 0.4 l a Excludes 1976 (partial year of plant operation). 84LUCIE3 TABLED-7 l
M M M M M M M M TABLE D-8 RELATIVE CONDITION OF LIVE SEA TURTLES REMOVED FROM THE INTAKE CANAL ST. LUCIE PLANT 1976 - 1984 Poor a Good b Excellent e Total d Number of Number of Number of Number of Species individuals Percent individuals Percent individuals Percent individuals Percent hawksbill 1 (50) 1 (50) 2 (100) Kemp's ridley 1 (33) 1 (33) 1 (33) 3 (100) leatherback 6 (86) 1 (14) 7 (100) green 10 (7) 72 (54) 53 (39) 135 (100) c, loggerhead 177 (20) 533 (62) 155 (18) 865 (100) b a Poor - emaciated slow or inactive heavy barnacle and/or leach infestation debilitating wounds or missing appendages b Good - normal weight active light to medium coverage of barnacles and/or leaches wounds absent, healed or do not appear to debilitate the animal cExcellent - normal or above normal weight 4 active
- very few or no barnacles or leaches no wounds d
Thirty loggerheads and eight greens were not included because of insufficient information. 84LUCIE1 ! TABLED-7 1
TABLE D-9 HEMOGLOBIN VALUES RECORDED FOR LOGGERHEAD TURTLES I REMOVED FROM THE INTAKE CANAL ST. LUCIE PLANT JANUARY - DECEMBER 1984 I Relative condition Number of Range of hemoglobin Mean hemoglobin of turtlesa turtles values (g/100 ml) value (g/100 ml) Poor 3 - - Poor-Good 43 7.2-13.5 9.1 Good 43 7.0-12.5 10.1 Good-Excellent 38 8.0-11.5 10.3 Excel 1ent 18 8.0-12.~5 10.1 a l See Table D-7 for criteria used to evaluate condition. 84LUCIE1 l TABLED-8 l I I lI lI 1 'I I D-62}}