105 



and 1960's, but a November 1971 photograph shows that some beds had 

 disappeared or had less cover than in 1966, particularly in the deeper 

 parts of the bay, such as at the channel by the mouth of the bay. Like 

 Wild Harbor, this decline could have been related to the oil spill 

 because most other parts of Buzzards Bay do not a decline at this time, 

 suggesting local conditions were the cause. 



Waquoit Bay, Falmouth 



A 100 to 500 m shoal is present on the eastern shore of Waquoit 

 Bay, south of the Quashnet River. After the wasting disease, and prior 

 to the mid-1970' s, eelgrass was abundant on that shoal (Figs. 18 and 

 19) . There is some question about the composition of vegetation along 

 this shore in the 1938 photograph because a longtime shellf isherman (0. 

 Kelly, pers. comm) claimed that Ruppia was the sole species on this 

 shoal during a visit in 1937. If so, Ruppia was replaced by eelgrass in 

 subsequent decades. By early 1970 's eelgrass began to decline in this 

 area, beginning first along the deeper bed margins and the innermost 

 parts of the Bay. Virtually all eelgrass disappeared between the 

 Quashnet and Little Rivers by the early 1980' s, and no beds and few 

 shoots were observed in 1985 and 1987 field observations. 



In addition to these events on the eastern shoal, drift algae 



