121. THAYER, G.W. , and PHILLIPS, R.L. , "Importance of Eelgrass Beds in Puget 

 Sound," Marine Fisheries Review, Vol. 39, No. 11, Nov. 1977. pp. 18-22. 



Eelgrass beds in Puget Sound, Washington, are important to many inverte- 

 brates. A partial list of invertebrates commonly collected in the Puget Sound 

 beds and a list of commercial or recreational invertebrates and vertebrates 

 are given. Invertebrates of the eelgrass beds are described as small 

 epiphytes, attached fauna, motile users, and resting swimmers. The usefulness 

 of the beds for food and shelter is discussed and related to the aquatic food 

 chain. 



122. THAYER, G.W. , and STUART, H.H. , "The Bay Scallop Makes Its Bed of Sea- 

 grass," Mavine Fisheries Review, Vol. 36, No. 7, July 1974, pp. 27-30. 



The bay scallop {Argopeaten irradians) , important commercially in eight 

 Atlantic coast states, is more often associated with seagrass. In North 

 Carolina one or more years of good scallop harvest have been followed by 

 several years of poor harvest, the most recent being 1970-72. Commercial 

 dredging and trawling for scallops and fish in shallow estuaries disrupt the 

 vegetation and bottom, and this may impede the regrowth of the grass to which 

 larval bay scallops attach. Commercial dredging significantly decreases both 

 scallop and grass density, and it is suggested that annual or biannual rota- 

 tion of scallop harvesting techniques might increase scallop productivity. 



123. THAYER, G.W., ADAMS, S.M. , and LaCROIX, M.W. , "Structural and Functional 

 Aspects of a Recently Established Zostera marina community, "Estuarine 

 Research, Vol. 1, Academic Press, New York, 1975, pp. 518-540. 



The value of eelgrass productivity to an ecosystem has been recognized 

 for more than 50 years but little quantitative information is available. The 

 epifaunal and infaunal invertebrates and the fishes inhabiting a grass bed in 

 the Newport River estuary are dominated by only a few species. The density 

 and biomass of these groups are greater than in the adjacent unvegetated 

 areas. Fishes appeared to have some control over the density of the epifaunal 

 community. The macrofauna consume an amount of energy equivalent to 55 per- 

 cent of the net production of eelgrass, phytoplankton, and benthic algae in 

 the bed. There is an excess of plant production in the bed, a part of which 

 is increasing the organic content of the sediments. The remainder is ex- 

 ported. This export may be highly significant to the tropic function of the 

 shallow estuarine system. 



124. THAYER, G.W., ENGLE, D.W. , and LaCROIX, M.W. , "Seasonal Distribution of 

 Changes in the Nutritive Quality of Living, Dead and Detrital Fractions 

 of Zostera marina," Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 

 Vol. 30, No. 2, Nov. 1977, pp. 109-127. 



Samples of eelgrass {Zostera rmrina) were collected monthly from December 

 1974 to December 1975 in a shallow embayment near Beaufort, North Carolina, 

 and separated into living leaves, dead leaves, and detritis. Each component 

 was analyzed for dry weight, organic matter, inorganic and organic carbon, 

 nitrogen and amino compounds. 



The standing crop of living and dead leaves reached a maximum April 

 through June. Detrital material peaked in December, April, and July to 

 September. Inorganic carbon varied seasonally and represented 14, 24, and 30 

 percent of the total carbon associated with the living and dead leaves and 



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