5027J -101 



REPORT DOCUMENTATION 

 PAGE 



1,_ REPORT NO. 



FWS/OBS-81/15 



3. Recipient's Accession No 



4. Title and Subtitle 



THE ECOLOGY OF INTERTIDAL OYSTER REEFS OF THE SOUTH ATLANTIC 

 COAST: A COMMUNITY PROFILE 



5. Report Date 



May 1981 



7. Author(s) 



8. Performing Organization Rept. No. 



Leonard M. Bahr and William P. Lanier, 



9. Performing Organization Name and Address 



Louisiana State University 

 Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803 



10. Project/Task/Work Unit No. 



11. Contract(C) or Grant(G) No. 

 (C) 



(G) 



12. Sponsoring Organization Name and Address 



U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

 Office of Biological Services 

 Department of the Interior 

 W3':;hingtnn , D.C. 20240 



15. Supplementary Notes 



13. Type of Report & Period Covered 



16. Abstract (Limit: 200 words) 



The functional role of the intertidal oyster reef community in the southeastern Atlantic 

 coastal zone is described. This description is based on a compilation of published data, 

 as well as some unpublished information presented as hypotheses. 



The profile is organized in a hierarchical manner, such that relevant details of reef 

 oyster biology (autecology) are presented, followed by a description of the reef 

 community level of organization. Then the reef community is described as a subsystem 

 of the coastal marsh-ecosystem (synecology) . This information is also synthesized in a 

 series of nested conceptual models of oyster reefs at the regional level, the drainage 

 basin level, and the individual reef level. The final chapter includes a summary 

 overview and a section on management implications and guidelines. 



Intertidal oyster reefs are relatively persistent features of the salt marsh estuarine 

 ecosystem in the southeastern Atlantic coastal zone. The average areal extent of the 

 oyster reef subsystem in this larger ecosystem is relatively small (about 0.05%). This 

 proportion does not reflect, however, the functional importance of the reef subsystem 

 in stablizing the marsh, providing food for estuarine consumers, mineralizing organic 

 matter, and providing firm substrates in this otherwise soft environment. 



17. Document Analysis a. Descriptors 



Oysters, Reefs, Ecology, Intertidal zone, Food chain, Estuaries 



b. Identifiers/Open-Ended Terms 



Salt marsh, conceptual models 



c. COSATI Field/Group 



18. Availability Statement 



Unlimited 



19. Security Class (This Report) 



Unclassified 



20. Security Class ahis Page) 



21. No. of Pages 



105 



(See ANSI-Z39.18) 



■it U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1981 - 773-803 



Sea Instructions on Reverse 



OPTIONAL FORM 272 (4-77) 

 (Formerly NTIS-35) 

 Department of Commerce 



