Effect of Hurricane Eloise on the benthic fauna of Panama City Beach,Florida, USA

The effect of Hurricane Eloise in September, 1975 on the benthic fauna inhabiting the swash zone on Panama City Beach, Florida, USA is described. Damage by the storm to the beach and property was considerable. The effect of the storm on the benthic invertebrates was not adverse, as the number of individuals occurring in the swash zone was about the same after the storm as before. The number of species increased after the storm, but later decreased to approximate numbers before the storm. The increase in the number of species was mainly due to the influx of species that norusually accompanies a hurricane was probably a factor enabling benthic organisms that normally live in high salinities to survive.