VI-103 



and enerqy productivity, species interaction, effects of pollution, 

 biological indicators of environmental change, and ecosystem analysis. 

 The broad impact of economic poisons*, must be identified and quanti- 

 fied. What are the sources, effects, and fate of the various pesti- 

 cides and herbicides, and how may these effects be mitigated? What 

 are the details of the life histories and environmental requirements 

 of estuarine-associated and estuarine-dependent species? Studies 

 should be conducted to determine the dependence of marine species on 

 estuarine nursery areas, to measure the impact of inland development 

 on the estuarine ecosystem, and to determine the quality and quantity 

 of fish and wildlife habitat areas necessary to maintain present 

 population levels and to satisfy predicted future use. Studies should 

 be implemented on rare and endangered snecies of fish and shellfish. 

 One of the most important gaps remaining is our lack of knowledge of 

 the dynamics of food chains, the relationships between phytoplankton 

 on one end of the food chain and fish at the other, esnecially quanti- 

 tative data on biomass and replacement rates of both benthic and 

 Delagic invertebrates which are not of economic value themselves but 

 are important parts of the food chain or, in some cases, are anta- 

 gonistic to economically important species. 



Enerqy Flow in Food Webs 



Much study is reauired to determine the absolute and relative contri- 

 butions of phytoplankton, spermatonhytes such as turtle qrass and 



♦Pesticides, herbicides, defoliants, rodenticides, etc. 



