CONTENTS 



Page 



PREFACE iii 



FIGURES vii 



TABLES viii 



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ix 



CHAPTER 1. COMMUNITY PROFILE BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES; DESCRIPTION 



OF THE COASTAL SETTING 1 



1.1 Introduction and Objectives 1 



1.2 General Characteristics of the South Atlantic Bight ... 3 



1.3 Estuarine Producers 8 



1.4 Estuarine Consumers 10 



CHAPTER 2. FUNCTIONAL OYSTER BIOLOGY AND AUTECOLOGY 17 



2.1 Taxonomy and Evolution 17 



2.2 Oyster Reproduction and Development 20 



2.3 Oyster Feeding, Digestion, and Assimilation 24 



2.4 Stresses on Oyster Populations: Natural and Cultural. . . 28 



2.5 Energy Summary 32 



CHAPTER 3. OYSTER REEF DESCRIPTION AND SYNEC0L06Y 37 



3.1 General Reef Description 37 



3.2 Reef -Associated Macrofauna 42 



3.3 Reef Community Energetics 48 



3.4 Reef Predation 53 



3.5 Colonial Aspects of the Reef Community 55 



CHAPTER 4. OYSTER REEF DEVELOPMENT, DISTRIBUTION, PHYSICAL EFFECTS, 



AND AREAL EXTENT 57 



4.1 Reef Development 57 



4.2 Distribution of Oyster Reefs in the Marsh Estuarine 



Ecosystem 58 



4.3 Physical Effects of Oyster Reefs on the Marsh- 



Estuarine Ecosystem 61 



4.4 Areal Extent of Oyster Reefs in the Coastal Ecosystem . . 62 



CHAPTER 5. CONCEPTUAL MODELS OF THE INTERTIDAL OYSTER 



REEF COMMUNITY 65 



5.1 Objectives and Level of Resolution 65 



5.2 Regional Level Conceptual Model 71 



5.3 Drainage Unit Level Conceptual Model 71 



5.4 Reef Level Conceptual Model 74 



