112 



3.1.8 Assigning Priorities 



Some examples of areas of priority in reviewing the various proposed components were noted during discussions. 

 Higher priority should be given to studies that: 



include model construction before field studies, for heuristic purposes at first, to identify unknowns and 

 what does not need to be done, and to use before field work to set effort and justify sampling; 



determine the organic inputs, probably with sediment traps, and to conduct shelf-wide measurements 

 of the rates of production, preferably at previously sampled sites; 



determine the biomass of meiobenthos and macrobenthos (but not necessarily of fish); 



• determine rate measurements, e.g., community respiration rates, as opposed to standing stock 

 measurements; 



• investigate microbial turnover/uptake, in particular, because this functional component probably turns 

 over at least 25 to 50% of the energy; 



• include regeneration rate measurements. 

 Moderate priority should be given to studies that include: 



sulfate reduction, sedimentation rates on a geological time scale. 

 Lower priority should be given to studies that include: 



pollutant reservoirs, 



• burial rates of POC, 



• sediment physical properties such as grain size, mineral composition, porosity , etc. 



3.1.9 Management Suggestions 



Even though management issues are beyond the charge of this workshop, it is important that a few comments 

 be made. As stressed in the presentations, increased emphasis upon process studies is a new venture for MMS. 

 As well expressed by Dr. Pomeroy (section 2.2.3), the use of process oriented ecosystems to meet management 

 needs is also a new departure for coastal oceanographers. Therefore, it is critical that study planning and 

 management be structured to help both MMS and the participating scientists as they jointly undertake this new 

 endeavor. There must be mechanisms in place which encourage innovation, which avoid locking in unproductive 

 efforts, and which discourage attempts to revert to descriptive based studies. The following steps should help 

 bring about the needed mechanisms. 



• encourage carefully planned components. 



synthesize/analyze pockets of existing information through, for example: 



a) solicitation for small competitive awards, 



b) workshops on specific topics, 



c) data summaries and technical reports, 



d) provide small amounts of money ($30-$100K) for highly leveraged efforts, especially where 

 on-going or long-term data samples are available and crisp statements of work can be put 

 forward. 



• strive for a mix of institutional responses rather than one institution award, thus maximizing expertise 

 and cooperation within the scientific community. 



