seagrass growth could be supported at a given site. On-site restoration directly 
addresses a return of ecosystem productivity. From an ecological perspective, off- 
impact-site restoration often results in the selection of sites unacceptable as a 
mitigative tradeoff. These data suggest that unvegetated patches among natural 
meadows should not be transplanted as a method to compensate for destruction of 
existing meadows. Most important for effective management is the utilization of 
seagrass-population-growth models in the planning process. These data allow (1) 
selection of the appropriate species for the site in question, (2) setting of precise and 
testable performance standards, (3) accurate planning of the transplanting operation, 
including spacing between plantings, (4) development of a monitoring program, and (5) 
an objective determination by regulatory agencies as to when compliance has been 
achieved. This transplantation study took place during April 1984 in several sites in the 
Florida Keys including sites on the Bay side. 
1984 0 
Mahadevan, S., J. Sprinkel, D. Heatwole, and D. H. Wooding (1984) A review and annotated 
bibliography of benthic studies in the coastal and estuarine areas of Florida. Florida Sea 
Grant Rep. No. 66. 576 pp. 
The intention of this report is to provide the reader with a reference document on 
available information (published and unpublished) on the benthic environment and its 
flora and fauna of Florida's estuarine and coastal areas. To facilitate ease of use, the 
annotated bibliography is arranged by counties. The hope is that this report will serve 
as a starting point for the investigators of benthic studies to be conducted in the next 
few decades. As is frequently the case with literature reviews, this report is already 
out of date beyond 1982. The methodological references compiled are intended to aid 
the investigator's awareness of the variety of methods available and to hopefully guide 
the investigator in choosing the best available methodology for achieving study 
objectives. The taxonomic references compiled are intended to help the investigator by 
making available a majority of keys, descriptions and guides, thereby improving the 
taxonomic adequacy of the study. We hope that his report will also be helpful to 
resource managers, regulators, and interveners by providing basic historical 
information in their respective areas of concern. A compilation of over 1500 papers 
were compiled for the report. 
1984 
Merriam, D. F., S. Sengupta, and P. J. Zimmerman (1985) Regional variation of water- 
chemical properties affecting the water/sediment interface in Florida Bay. The Compass . 
62(2): 106-1 5. 
Florida Bay is a large triangular-shaped area in southern Florida bounded on the north 
by the Everglades on the mainland, on the south and southeast by the Keys and is open 
to the Gulf of Mexico on the southwest and west. The recently flooded Bay (in the last 
approximately 5,000 yrs), floored by the Pleistocene Miami Limestone, is shallow, 
usually less than 10 ft, and contains grove-covered islands. The Bay is a prolific 
carbonate factory and of interest to researchers as a modern analog to ancient 
conditions. Recent studies have emphasized the water/sediment interface, geographic 
variation of different parameters of both Recent and Pleistocene units, and the most 
recent history of the Bay as interpreted from shallow, soft-sediment cores. Water 
properties of salinity, pH, dissolved C0 2 and 0 2 and turbidity are important factors 
along with physical parameters in determining the origin, distribution, and accumulation 
of the Recent sediments. In January 1984, 21 stations were occupied in the Bay and 
samples taken and analyzed on site with a portable chemical kit. These spatial data 
were subjected to trend-surface analysis to determine the regional pattern of values 
for each variable. Salinity is normal marine in the center of the Bay decreasing to 
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