John T. O. Kirk: Light and photosynthesis in aquatic ecosystems.–With 108 figs, 401 pp. Cambridge–London–New York: Cambridge University Press 1983. ISBN 0 521 24450 1. £ 37.50, $ 74.50

✍ Scribed by H. Caspers

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1985
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 209 KB
• Volume: 70
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1434-2944
• DOI: 10.1002/iroh.19850700619

✦ Synopsis

As a result. of the siting and operation of the 620 megawatt Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station beside Barnegat Bay, a "hgoon-type estuary" on the East Coast of New Jersey, nearly 20 years of intensive ecological research has been conducted. The various results are reviewed in this monograph. In 14 sections by 20 authors, the physical, chemical and biological aspects are described. Section 1 deals with the physical and chemical characterist'ics of the bay in which the water circulation is restrict,ed by the barrier island, Long Bea,ch Island, approximately 65 km long. This island also effects tides, salinity and sediment deposition. There is a balance between nitrogen input into the bay, cycling by regeneration, primary production, and light penetration. Nitrogen enters the system largely as nitrate-N from the upper drainage and leaves the estuary as organic-X.

The section on the phytoplankt'on by K. MOUNTFORD includes a list of diatom and dinoflagellates species. Phytoplankton is probably responsible for less biomass synthesis than the benthic algae and the Spartina marsh, but because of its accessibility t o grazers, its nutritional value is important. The dominance of non-motile ultraplankton (Nannochloris) in summer is a warning that eutrophic conditions are developing, such as those in Moriches Bay, New York. The macroflora of algae and submerged vascular vegetation is import,ant for primary production, as a. nut.rient base and as a refuge for fish. I n the phytoplankton section, lists of Chlorophyta, Phaeophyta, Rhodophyta, Cyanophyta, Chrysophyta, and Xanthophyta are provided. and substrate algae and their epiphytes are compared from year to year. P. K. SA4RDINE, who studied the zooplankton, lists the species with their monthly day and night densities. He includes niero-and ichthyoplankton. The seasonal abundance varies closely with that of phytoplankton, with a maximum in spring or summer. The section on the benthic fauna by R. E. LOVELAND and J. V. VOUGLITOIS includes a table with the rank and mean density of the species from 1969 t o 1973. They found a stable species composition. Unfortunately, the documentation is not detailed and lacks biocenotic aspects. Four authors describe the shellfisheries and examine the life history and ecology of the hard clam (Mercenaria mercenaria) and of the blue crab (Callinectes sapidus). There are special sections on fouling organisms and on shipworm research. Destructive woodborer attacks have been recorded since 1885. Considerable research has been conducted on the fishes. The ichthyofauna is dominated numerically by relatively few species. Many juveniles use the bay as a nursery area. There are important commercial and sport fisheries. In their eection on the trophic relationships in the bay, M. J. KERNISR and R. E. LOVELAND analyze the detritus and phytoplankton generated food webs.