Project Information

Title: Assessment of Bivalve Recovery on Treated Mixed-Soft Beaches in PWS 040574

Project Year and Number: 2004: 040574

Other Fiscal Years and Numbers for this Project: 2010: 10100574, 2003: 030574, 2002: 02574-BAA

Principal Investigator (PI): Dennis Lees (Littoral Ecological & Environmental Services)

Managing Agency: NOAA

Assisting Personnel: None

Research Location: Prince William Sound

Restoration Category: Research

Injured Resources Addressed: Clams, Mussels

Abstract: Due to favorable weather, we were able to collect 25 percent more infaunal samples during the August 2002 field effort for Project No. 02574 than we had initially proposed for this work. This should improve the program's statistical power by about 15 percent. Current trends observed in samples analyzed to date suggest that treated sites have fewer bivalves than reference sites. Unfortunately, sediment characteristics differed substantially between the new sampling sites and those sampled during previous work in the region. Consequently, sample volumes for these infaunal samples are four to five times larger than was anticipated. Therefore, the time required to sort the samples far exceeds the budget for sorting. This proposal is directed at obtaining additional funds for sample sorting. Accelerating the sorting process will allow us to complete sample analysis and publication of our results and will allow the Trustee Council to draw inferences regarding lingering effects to intertidal bivalve assemblages from the oil spill in a timely manner.


Proposal: View (196 KB)

Reports:
Final Report: View (6,595 KB)

Publications from this Project: None Available