Readings for first week: Introduction

1. Readings in Adobe Acrobat files (look in the approriate folder on the Course Documents page):

    Includes:   Day, et al., 1989, Estuarine Ecology, selections
                    Warner, 1975, Beautiful Swimmers, chapter 1, "The Bay"
                    EPA, 2000, Introduction to an Ecosystem

The reading from Day provides basic background information about important characteristics of estuaries. The material in Warner can be gotten from other sources but this is a particularly well-writtten piece and can be read quickly. The EPA piece is written at or slightly above a middle-school level but still provides some useful background.

2. Apart from these readings,  you should take a look at the following.