Gross production of phytoplankton was also determined by the light- 

 dark bottle method. Associated chlorophyll curves were found to correlate 

 closely with those reported in 1966 for Pamlico Sound, North Carolina. 

 Calculated gross annual production was 219.8 g C/m^. Net annual 

 production, estimated as 90 percent of gross, was 198 g C/m^. 



Annual production in Airplane Lake was estimated according to the 

 approximate area that each producer occupied and its annual production 

 rate. (G.S., expansion of author's abstract) 



Keywords: primary productivity, grasses, algae, phytoplankton, 

 Spartina alterni flora , Louisiana, Barataria Bay 



II-B-7 



Day, J.W., W.G. Smith, P.R. Wagner, and W.C. Stowe. 1973. Community 

 structure and carbon budget of a salt marsh and shallow bay estuarine 

 system in Louisiana. Louisiana State University Center for Wetland 

 Resources Publication No. LSU-SG-72-04. 80 pp. 



The coastal zone of Louisiana includes more than seven million 

 acres of marshes and estuaries. This paper is a description of Barataria 

 Bay, one of the estuaries in the coastal zone. The salt marsh, water 

 column, and benthic communities are each divided into several subunits. 

 Each of these components is treated in terms of seasonal and spatial 

 variations of abundance, feeding habits, life histories, trophic 

 position, and commercial importance. A carbon budget is presented 

 for each of the components and for the whole marsh-estuarine community. 



The marsh is dominated by Spartina alterni flora . Net production 

 of the grass is 2,960 g dry wt/m^/yr streamside and 1,484 g dry wt/m^/yr 

 50 meters inland. The highest rates of production of Spartina occur 

 in late spring. There is a peak of detritus loss from the marsh in 

 the spring, which coincides with rising temperatures and water levels. 

 Phytoplankton dominate primary production during the warmer months, 

 and benthic producers dominate during the colder months. The most 

 numerous and important of the primary producers are diatoms, with 

 macrophytes and other phytoplankton being of lesser importance. Total 

 production is highest during the summer. 



The article discusses the fauna of the marsh community, which is 

 composed largely of detrital feeders, including most of the meiobenthos, 

 crabs, snails, mussels, and many of the insects. Several species are 

 discussed in some detail because of their commercial importance. 



From the studies of the different components of the estuary, the 

 authors constructed a budget of the entire estuary. Production and 



37 



