Nutrient limitation in the Chesapeake Bay : nutrient bioassays in the Virginia Bay system: final report

Nutrient enrichment bioassays were conducted on water samples collected from six stations in the Virginia portion of the Chesapeake Bay system on a monthly basis over a year. Two stations were located in the tidal freshwater portions of the Rappahannock and James Rivers, at the mouths of these rivers and in the mainstem of the Bay. The purpose of the experiments was to determine the spatial and temporal pattern of nutrient limitation of phytoplankton growth

Sediment processes monitoring data report for calendar year 1989

Pairs of particle interceptor traps were deployed at three depths - 3, 6, and 9 meters with deployment intervals typically lasting about two weeks. At times of deployment and retrieval, profiles of water temperature, salinity and dissolved oxygen content were made and water samples were collected at trap depths. Bottom sediments also were collected and a sub-sample of the surficial sediments taken. Water samples, bottom sediments, and the materials collected in the traps were returned to the Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences for analysis. The data collected during both 1988 and 1989 are presented in the appendices. Both 1988 and 1989 data sets have been archived in ASCII and IBM PC spreadsheet formats. Individuals desiring the data in ASCII or spreadsheet formats (Lotus or Quattro) should contact one of the authors

Light and Submerged Macrophyte Communities in Chesapeake Bay: A Scientific Summary

The initial focus of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) research in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) was evaluation of the structural and functional ecology of these communities. In the upper Bay, Myriophyllum spicatum and Potamogeton perfoliatus are the dominant species; the dominant species in the lower Bay are Zostera marina and Ruppia maritima. Studies centered on various aspects of productivity (both primary and secondary), trophic structure, and resource utilization by both ecologically and economically important species. Much of the initial research was descriptively oriented because of a general lack of information on Chesapeake Bay submerged plant communities. These investigations created the data base necessary for the development of ecologically realistic simulation models of the ecosystem. Following these initial studies, the research programs in both Maryland and Virginia evolved toward more· detailed analyses of specific factors ~hat potentially limit or control plant growth and productivity. Previous results indicated certain environmental parameters and biological processes that possibly limited and controlled SAV distribution and abundance. Specifically, these included light, nutrients, herbicides and fouling (epibiotic growth). Laboratory and field studies were devoted in the later phases of the CBP-SAV program toward investigating these interactions. This work is among the first studies in North America to investigate light quality as a major environmental factor affecting the survival of sea grasses.https://scholarworks.wm.edu/vimsbooks/1098/thumbnail.jp