Tables 



1.1. Physiographic features of the Buzzards Bay system 1 



1.2. Comparison of representative North American bays 10 



1.3. Dimensions of the major embayments of Buzzards Bay 10 



3.1. Estimated freshwater flows to Buzzards Bay 29 



4. 1 . Dominant soft-bottom, hard-bottom, and rocky intertidal communities in 



Buzzards Bay 42 



4.2. Dominant commercially valuable fish species in Buzzards Bay in order of 



post- 1960 abundance and their food preferences 49 



4.3. Dates of "First Catch" for various species of finfish in Buzzards Bay, 



recorded by a weir fishery for 1880 50 



4.4. Birds of Buzzards Bay 54 



4.5. Annual primary production of the aquatic resources of Buzzards Bay 55 



4.6. Eelgrass {Zostera marina) potential habitat versus present area colonized 



in Buzzards Bay 58 



4.7. Occurrence and abundance of resident and nonresident salt marsh fishes 63 



4.8. Mean total length and average percent increase in length/month of 



resident and nonresident salt marsh fishes 63 



4.9. Average gut fullness, percent fish with empty guts, and percent carnivory, 



herbivory, and detritivory in diets of resident and nonresident fishes 64 



4. 1 0. Average biomass and release of ammonia into marsh waters during summer 



by major marsh organisms 65 



4.11. Anadromous fish runs within the Buzzards Bay watershed 69 



4.12. Rare plants and wildlife identified for the Cape Cod region including the 



Buzzards Bay watershed 71 



5.1. Recreational versus commercial shellfish landings for Buzzards Bay by year 91 



5.2. Commercial lobster landings for Buzzards Bay from 1981 to 1991 93 



6.1. Nitrogen inputs to Buzzards Bay from sewage treatment plants 106 



6.2. Annual inputs of nitrogen to Buzzards Bay waters 108 



6.3. Projected losses of upland acreage in Buzzards Bay coastal towns 113 



7.1. Land use within the Buzzards Bay watershed 128 



Figures 



1.1. Satellite photograph of Buzzards Bay and Cape Cod 7 



1 .2. Aerial photograph of research institutions in the village of Woods Hole, 



Falmouth, Massachusetts 8 



1.3. Towns of the Buzzards Bay watershed region 8 



1.4. Rivers and harbors of the Buzzards Bay system 9 



1.5. Urban and nonurban population growth in the Buzzards Bay watershed 15 



2. 1 . Map of southeastern New England showing the direction of flow of ice of 



the Wisconsin Stage 19 



2.2. Glacial geologic maps showing end moraines and sandurs of the Plymouth- 

 Buzzards Bay area of southeastern Massachusetts 21 



iv 



