COLOR PHOTOS OF THE ESTUARY AND SELECTED INHABITANTS 7 7 



CH. 4 ECOSYSTEM FUNCTIONING 7 9 



4 . 1 Primary Productivity of Channel Algae 7 9 



4 . 2 Productivity of Epibenthic Algal Mats 8 2 



4.3 Vascular Plant Productivity and Biomass 8 5 



4.4 Nutrient Interactions 8 8 



4.4.1 Nitrogen Fluxes in 1977-1978 8 9 



4.4.2 Nitrogen Additions to Salt Marsh Vegetation 9 



4 . 5 Energy Flow 9 2 



4.5.1 Detrital Production 9 2 



4.5.2 Feeding and Growth Rates 9 3 



4.5.3 Carbon Fluxes 9 4 



4.5.4 Temporal Variability in Filtering Functions 9 5 



CH.5 THE ROLE OF DISTURBANCES IN MODIFYING 



SALT MARSH STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION 9 9 



5 . 1 Monitoring Program 9 9 



5.2 Physical Changes Following Ecosystem-wide Disturbances 100 



5.2.1 Soil Salinity Changes 100 



5.2.2 Sedimentation in the Salt Marsh 101 



5.3 Effects of Major Disturbances on Salt Marsh Composition 102 



5.3.1 Dynamics of the Cordgrass Marsh 102 



5.3.2 Responses of the Mid-Elevation Marsh to Nontidal Drought 104 



5.3.3 Mid-Elevation Dynamics After 1984 107 



5.3.4 A Conceptual Model of Compositional Change 108 



5.4 Effects of Major Disturbances on Cordgrass Growth 109 



5.4.1 Freshwater Addition in a Field Experiment 111 



5.4.2 Manipulation of Inundation in Outdoor Mesocosms 112 



5.4.3 Manipulation of a Competitor in Field Experiment 113 



5.4.4 Nutrient Addition Experiments 114 



5.4.5 Conclusions from Experiments 114 



5.5 The Revised Monitoring Program 114 



5.6 Results of the New Adaptive Monitoring Program, 1989-1991 117 



5.6.1 Soil Salinities 117 



5.6.2 Salt Marsh Vegetation 117 



5.7 Tijuana Estuary as a Reference Site for "Naturally Functioning" Salt Marsh. 1 1 8 



5.8 Responses of Fishes and Benthos to Hydrologic Disturbances 119 



5.8.1 Sampling to Document Changes in the Channel Community 120 



5.8.2 Responses of the Fish Community 120 



5.8.3 Benthic Invertebrate Responses 121 



5.8.4 Cause-Effect Relationships 121 



5.8.5 Summary 122 



