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United States Department of Agriculture 

 - Bureau of Biolog-ical Survey 



W ildlife Resea rch aa d Mana;gement Leaflet BS-94 



Washington, D. C. 



July 1937 



STATUS OF EELQMSS (Z0ST3PJI ^ LA HIL'A) OH THS ITOHTE 

 ATLBTTIC COAST, JAMIARY 1957 /l 



By John J. Lynch, Junior Biologist, and Clarence Cottam, Senior 

 Biologist, In Charge Section of Pood Eahits, Division of 

 Wildlife Research 



Contents 



Page 



Introduction ......... 1' 



Present conditions 3 



Maine and Hew Hampshire . . 3 



Upper Massachusetts coast . 5 



Cape Cod and Buzzards Bay . '5 



Rhode Island south shore . . 5 



Long Island Sound 7 



Long Island south bays ... 7 



Hew Jersey 9 



Page 

 present conditions — Cont'd. 



Delmarva Peninsula 9 



Chesapeake Bay 10 



North Carolina H 



Summary of conditions ... 12 



Experimental plantings .... 12 



Localities 13 



Results 15 



IHTRODUCTIOIT 



Since its almost complete disappearance in 1931, eelgrass ( Zostera 

 marina L.) has been making sporadic attempts to reestablish itself in many 

 localities on the North Atlantic coast. Numerous small local growths have 

 been reported; in all but a, few areas, however, these have been short 

 lived, and though apparently thriving for a time have iDeen suddenly and' 

 almost completely wiped out by the causative factor responsible for the 

 wasting disease of eelgrass. 



l/ This report supplements and brings up to January 1937 the infor- 

 mation on the condition of eelgrass, set forth in Leaflet BS-3, on "The 

 Present Situation Regarding Eelgrass ( Zostera marina )". Information on 

 the history and extent of disappearance, effects of the -disappearance, and 

 past periods of scarcity is contained in the former paper. 



