4.3. Benthos 49 



4.4. Oysters 60 



4.5. Nekton 60 



5. NICHE DIVERSITY, TROPHIC INTERACTIONS, AND COMMUNITY STRUCTURE 76 



5.1 Habitat-Specific Associations 76 



5.1.1. Marshes 76 



5.1.2. Seagrass Beds 76 



5.1.3. Litter Associations 77 



5.1.4. Oyster Bars 79 



5.1.5. Subtidal (Soft-Sediment) Communities 79 



5.2 Physical Control of Biological Processes 80 



5.3. Trophic Relationships and Food-Web Structure 83 



5.4. Predator-Prey Interactions and Community Response 88 



6. LONG-TERM ECOLOGICAL RELATIONSHIPS 90 



7. THE ESTUARY AS A RESOURCE 99 



7.1. Fisheries 99 



7.2. Socioeconomic Factors 101 



7.3. Existing and Projected Impact by Man 103 



7.3.1. Physical Alterations 103 



7.3.2. Toxic Substances 104 



7.3.3. Municipal Development 105 



7.4. Land Planning and Resource Management 107 



7.4.1. Public Land Investment 108 



7.4.2. The Apalachicola Estuarine Sanctuary 109 



7.4.3. Local Planning Efforts and Integrated Management 110 



7.4.4. Integration of Management Efforts 110 



8. COMPARISON WITH OTHER ESTUARIES 112 



LITERATURE CITED 118 



APPENDICES 131 



A. Overview of Sampling Program in North Florida Coastal Areas 131 



1. Apalachicola Bay System 131 



2. Apalachee Bay System 132 



B. Computer Programs for Analyzing Field and Laboratory Data 134 



1. Special Program for Ecological Science (SPECS): 



System Overview 134 



2. "MATRIX" Program System: Summary of Capabilities 137 



C. Review of Ongoing Research Programs of the Center for Aquatic 



Research and Resource Management (Florida State University) 144 



1. Overall Scope of the Program 144 



2. Center for Aquatic Research and Resource Management: 



Personnel (1984) 146 



VI 



