Abstract |
A conceptual model for the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem (wetlands, tributaries, and bay proper) has been developed as an interrelated series of diagrams showing carbon and nutrient. Information was based on an analysis of local literature and discussions with scientists who are studying the Bay. The ecological functions that produce the resources of commercial and recreational fisheries, habitat for migratory birds and other wildlife, waste disposal, and aesthetic water quality are indicated. Physical (light, turbidity, mixing, transport, sedimentation) and chemical (sediment-water interactions, presence of pollutants) aspects of the environment modify the rates of biological processes (primary production, nutrient regeneration, larval survival). A detailed ecosystem model combining the wetlands, plankton, seagrasses, other benthos, and fish trophic dynamics submodels shows the importance of material transfer and interactions between subsystems. |