Hypotheses
Study Sites
Diversity Pattern
Stuff on the beach
Findings
Conclusions
- Intertidal biodiversity and biomass are much higher at the northern oceanic end of the Puget Sound estuary.
- Growth rates of seaweeds and oysters do not follow this trend.
- Recruitment of diverse organisms is as high or higher at the southern estuarine end of Puget Sound.
- Predator-caused mortality of recruits is low and cannot explain trends in survival.
- It appears that relatively subtle differences in physical factors, especially temperature and salinity, may cause high mortality of young plants and animals in the estuarine end relative to the marine end of Puget Sound.
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