Annual report to the Atomic Energy Commission, 1974 Atlantic Estuarine Fisheries Center annual report to the Atomic Energy Commission : a cooperative agreement between the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Atomic Energy Commission

This annual progress report marks the 24th year of uninterrupted interagency cooperative support for research at Beaufort. Initially the research dealt with the accumulation of radionuclides by marine organisms, but it has developed Into our present efforts or. the structure and function of estuarine ecosystems, the distribution and movement of metallic elements and radionuclides in these ecosystems, and the effects of environmental stresses such as heat and radiation on estuarine organisms. The complement of fulltime permanent research positions assigned to this cooperative research program remained at 24 in FY 1974, although budgetary constraints prevented u.b iron filling all these positions throughout the year. Dr. F. A. Cross head of the Elemental Cycling Program, was assigned temporarily to the ArX, Division of Biomedical and Environmental Research for the entire contract year at no financial cost to this contract. In addition to Dr ..toss, we reduced our staff effort at Beaufort by approximately two man-years in response to financial constraints. Our internal organizational stincture remains unchanged since last year's annual report.