Abstract |
A survey of benthic habitats throughout Tampa Bay was conducted by the Tampa Bay National Estuary Program (TBNEP), the Environmental Protection Commission of Hillsborough County (EPCHC), and the Manatee County Environmental Action Commission (MCEAC) in September and October of 1993. The survey was designed as the first year of a multi-year monitoring program to address long-term temporal trends in benthic community conditions and to provide a synoptic survey of benthic habitats (Coastal 1994). The sampling design and collection methods were based on those used by the U.S EPA's Environmenral Monitoring and Assessment Program-Estuaries (EMAP-E) in sampling the Louisianian Province (Summers et al. 1991). Coastal has been contracted by TBNEP to conduct statistical analyses and provide interpretation of results from the first year of data collection conducted in the autumn of 1993. This report describes the program design, statistical methods, and results of analyses based on these data. The report is organized into sections covering the program design and corresponding statistical methods, results of statistical analyses, interpretation of the results. In addition, computer software and a User's Guide for conducting analyses of benthic program data will be provided to TBNEP for distribution to participating local governments and other interested parties. |