was conducted from February to July, 1970 by the authors

with the assistance of Lyn Slocum (Virgin Islands Ecologi-

cal Research Station) and several marine technology students

from Cape Fear Technical Institute. Other students who

assisted in the field and the laboratory were David Morris

(Fairleigh Dickenson University) and Laverne Ragater (Uni-

versity of Miami). Eileen Shatrosky, assisted by Sonya

Nelthropp of the College of the Virgin Islands, did most

of the laboratory analyses and Roosevelt Bryant and Lawrence

Lewie of the College of the Virgin Islands prepared the

figures. Jackie Thomas of the Caribbean Research Institute

and Paula Bailey deserve special thanks for the laborious

job of typing the report.


Previous Work

 Several previous reports have covered various aspects

of the Lagoon biology and hydrography. All have acknowl-

edged the uniqueness and the natural value of the area. In

a survey of the biological aspects of water quality in the

three Virgin Islands, a Department of Interior, FWPCA, report

(1967) includes some data on sediment nutrients in the Lagoon.

McNulty, et al, (1968), in the most comprehensive study of

the Lagoon to date, divided the area into nine ecological

zones, presented data on its hydrography and wildlife and

called for several safeguards to be observed for the pro-

tection of the area if the airport is constructed. At the


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