hydrate, and fat contents decline, but protein shows a 96-300 percent 

 increase from dead plants to the particulate detritus stage, (J.B.) 



Keywords: detritus, nutritive values, salt marsh plants 



III-C-11 



De la Cruz, A. A., and W.E. Poe. 1975. Amino acids in salt marsh detritus. 

 Limnology and Oceanography 20:124-127. 



Amino acids declined by greater than 50 percent at the death of marsh 

 plants, but increased again almost to the level of the living plant 

 during in situ decomposition. A decline in the ratio of amino acid 

 to crude protein in spite of increases in both implies that there are 

 nitrogen sources in the marsh other than the amino acids and ammonia 

 in the plants. (J.B.) 



Keywords: amino acids, salt marsh, detritus 



III-C-12 



Gosselink, J. 6., and C.J. Kirby. 1974. Decomposition of salt marsh grass, 

 Spartina alterniflora Loisel. Limnology and Oceanography 19:825-832. 



Dead standing Spartina alterniflora stems and leaves were obtained 

 from the Barataria Bay area of coastal Louisiana in November. The 

 S. alterniflora stems and leaves were ground, dried, separated into 

 four size fractions from 67- to 218-micron average diameter, and 

 incubated in the dark at 30°C in inoculated artificial seawater. 

 Particulate nitrogen, oxidizable carbon, dry weight, and metabolic 

 rate were measured for 30 days. The conversion efficiency of substrate 

 to microbial biomass ranged from 28 percent to over 60 percent, 

 decreasing as substrate particle size increased. (B.W.) 



Keywords: Spartina , decomposition, biomass, Louisiana 



D. Suspended and Transported Nutrients 



III-D-1 



Happ, G. 1974. The distribution and seasonal concentration of organic 



carbon in a Louisiana estuary. M.S. Thesis, Louisiana State University, 



Baton Rouge. 36 pp. 



Organic carbon content is a direct measure of the amount of detritus 

 present in an area. There have been numerous studies on the carbon 



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