74 



can be accurately documented from sediment cores taken at suitable 

 locations around the bay. 



Apponaganset Bay, Dartmouth 



Like the Westport Rivers, Apponagansett Bay, in South Dartmouth is 

 a shallow embayment with abundant shellfish beds. There is considerably 

 less freshwater input here than in the Westport Rivers, and the main 

 surface input is from Buttonwood Brook (Fig. 3), which includes animal 

 waste from the New Bedford Zoo. The salinity of virtually all of the 

 bay is above 20 ppt (J. Freitas, pers. communication). Padanaram on the 

 eastern shore is densely developed, and residences are serviced by 

 septic tanks. 



A sediment core taken 150 m west of Little Island (see chapter 3) 

 and other historical documentation was suggest that eelgrass was 

 abundant in the inner Bay for many years prior to the decline of the 

 wasting disease. Afterwards, eelgrass began to recover with some major 

 fluctuation during 1940-1960, but declined again in the last 15 years. 

 In contrast, eelgrass in the outer Bay continuously expanded after onset 

 of colonization in the 1940's. 



The cause of these changes can be inferred from the long-term 

 patterns of eelgrass distribution in this Bay, and the time when changes 

 occurred. For example, coastal charts of Apponagansett Bay from the 

 turn of the century shows that eelgrass is abundant in the deeper part 

 of the inner harbor (0.9-1.8 m MLW; Fig. 4a). Typical of these charts, 

 eelgrass is occasionally noted where it is abundant, but to avoid 

 clutter eelgrass is not identified in all areas where it grows. This 



