FUTURE RESEARCH 



Sufficient capabilities have been developed 

 to permit the laboratory staff, acting as a 

 team, to mount an inclusive study of the dynannic 

 aspects of the radioecology of a specific 

 estuary--a case history or study in depth. 

 Our plan of attack is first to complete a pre- 

 liminary mathematical model of the flow of 

 energy and specific materials and to begin 

 studying the standing crop of the estuarine 

 biota. On the basis of information obtained in 

 the preliminary studies, an "all-inclusive" 

 study involving as many aspects of estuarine 



ecology as possible will be undertaken. Infor- 

 mation will be gathered on seasonal and de- 

 velopmental feeding trends, selective feeding, 

 and competition for food among species. Data 

 will be collected also on population dynamics, 

 including size and composition of estuarine 

 populations, seasonal abundances, and distri- 

 bution of various species. From this study we 

 plan to obtain information necessary to (1) in- 

 crease the production of organic matter, 



(2) channel the available organic matter into 

 food webs that support fishery organisms, and 



(3) predict the routes and rates of movement of 

 radionuclides in the estuarine environment. 



MS. #1789 



17 



GPO S04-038 



