which are unique associations of symbiotic coelenterates and photo- 

 synthetic dinoflagellates. The mud surface in different latitudes 

 appears generally to support growth of diatoms, blue-green algae and 

 other primary producers. In all of these areas periodic blooms of 

 planktonic diatoms and dinoflagellates are at various times important 

 to the total productivity. Studies on the crops and residues of typical 

 communities indicate that microbial decomposition plays an important 

 role in the turnover of the primary organic matter for consumption 

 by herbivores and carnivores. Bacteria constitute an active group 

 of small plant converters which aid in formation of detritus, much 

 of which then is available for the micro- and macro-fauna of marshes 

 and nearby marine areas. 



The amount of standing crop of plankton or of flowering plants may 

 provide a rough indication of the productivity. Thus, suspended 

 dry materials in blooms, measured by millipore filter technique, 

 in Long Island Sound, at Sapelo, Ga., and in the Bahia Fosforescente, 

 Puerto Rico, have given the following values in milligrams per liter: 

 16.8, 22 to 159, and 14,4. Great variations occur, and this approach 

 only indicates what is present at any given time, not the overall 

 production. Other methods (e.g., measurements of carbon fixation 

 with C-14, oxygen production in dark and light bottles, etc.), provide 

 better indices to primary productivity. A discussion is included at 

 the end of the paper. (Author's introduction-modified). 



Keywords: marine productivity, Spartina , salt marshes, U.S. east coast, 

 Puerto Rico 



III-C-5 



Meyers, S.P., M.L. Nicholson, J.S. Rhee, P.C. Miles, and D.6. Ahearn. 1970. 

 Mycological studies in Barataria Bay, Louisiana, and biodegradation of 

 oyster grass, Spartina alterni flora . Louisiana State University, Coastal 

 Studies Bulletin No. 5, Special Sea Grant Issue, pp. 111-124. 



This paper investigates biodegradative processes in the Spartina 

 ecosystem, with particular emphasis on the ecological role of yeasts 

 and filamentous fungi. The ability of the marine-occurring yeasts to 

 assimilate nonprotein nitrogenous substrates, and the capacity of 

 certain taxa to produce extracellular proteolytic enzymes, is being 

 examined. Particular attention is directed to utilization of amine and 

 amine-related compounds of considerable biochemical and economic 

 significance in fisheries technology and in marine biology in general. 

 In view of their role as detrital feeders, certain portions of the 

 nematode biota also are being considered. 



Attention was given to higher sections of the marshland supporting 

 dense Spartina growth, and particularly to the area of the plant system 

 commonly termed a "rhizosphere" environment. In terrestrial habitats, 

 the rhizosphere is that portion of the plant/soil zone characterized 



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