155 



substrate area are covered by rocks and boulders from glacial deposition 

 or sandy shoals. For example, the area of substrate less than 5.4 m (18 

 ft contour) around the is 1300 ha, compared to 8500 ha less than 3.6 m 

 along the mainland of Buzzards Bay. If the mean substrate eelgrass 

 ratio is 2.4 like other parts of the Bay (Table 3 in Chapter 1), 

 eelgrass habitat area equals 540 ha in the Elizabeth Islands. To 

 account for rock and cobble bottom and vrave disturbance, only 50% of the 

 area was estimated to contain eelgrass (vs 67% for other parts of 

 Buzzards Bay, Table 2 in Chapter 1). Given these assumptions, eelgrass 

 bed area along the Buzzards Bay shore of the Elizabeth Islands is 270 

 ha. 



