Table 3 
Research Priorities for the San Francisco Bay Estuary 
ROLE OF INFLOW ON ESTUARINE PROCESSES 
Circulation and residence times 
Salt balance 
Sedimentation and transport 
Geochemical cycles 
Fisheries resources 
BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES 
Microbial ecology 
Micozooplankton biology 
Role of seasonal and tidal wetlands 
Benthic vegetation: eelgrass and algae 
Scale of temporal variability in biotic communities 
WATER QUALITY 
Long-term monitoring of biotic communities 
Sources and fates of toxics 
Development of new techniques to measure impacts of 
toxics 
Nutrient budgets for the estuary 
Table 4 
Major Management Issues for San Francisco Bay 
Freshwater diversion from Delta and Bay* 
Toxic waste discharge to ground and surface waters* 
Agricultural drainage 
Loss of wetlands* 
Decline of fisheries 
Sea level rise 
Dredging to deepen channels 
*Signifies those issues of high significance. 
18 
