CONTENTS 



Page 



PREFACE iii 



FIGURES V 



TABLES vii 



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ix 



CHAPTER 1. ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE MARSHES 1 



Evolving Concepts of Marsh Development 1 



Subsidence and Sea Level Rise 1 



Aggradation and Accretion 6 



The Barnstable Marshes 7 



CHAPTER 2. WATER LEVELS, SEDIMENT DEPOSITION, AND THE 



FORM OF THE MARSH 9 



Fluctuations in Water Level 9 



Short-term Changes in Mean Sea Level 9 



Tides 11 



The Form of the Marsh 15 



Marsh Development, Topography, and Morphology 15 



Marsh Sediments 19 



CHAPTER 3. ZONATION ON THE MARSHES 21 



Higher Plants 21 



Epibenthic Algae 28 



Marsh Animals 28 



Insects 30 



Crabs and Snails 32 



Fish 33 



Birds 33 



Mammals 35 



CHAPTER 4. COMMUNITY METABOLISM 36 



Primary Production 36 



Nutrients and Primary Production 41 



Fate of the Primary Production 41 



Accmulation in the Sediments 42 



Decomposition 44 



Organic Export 45 



TV 



