The research program, The Functional Ecology of Submerged Aquatic Vegetation in the Lower Chesapeake Bay (EPA/CBP Grant No. R805974), is an integrative effort composed of seven principal investigators. The research team has worked since July 1978 at one study site, the Vaucluse Shores area, to develop and institute a coherent research program on SAV ecological relationships.
The principal studies have focused on plant productivity, metabolism and nutrient cycling, the role of resident consumers in SAV community dynamics, the role of migratory species and efforts to develop a realistic, ecosystem simulation model of SAV communities.
The preliminary results of the first years study in these research areas are contained in the following report. Many interpretations remain preliminary at this time. We welcome comments and criticisms and in particular ideas concerning data interpretation.
Questions concerning specific aspects of the various sections should be addressed to the following:
1. Productivity, Metabolism and Nutrient Cycling; R. L. Wetzel
2. Resident Consumers; R. J. Orth
3. Migratory Consumers; J. V. Merriner
4. Ecosystem Modelling; R. L. Wetze
