Habitat use patterns of the mummichog,Fundulus heteroclitus, in New England. I. Intramarsh variation

Although studies of intertidal habitats have contributed greatly to the field of ecology, the processes governing the use of these areas by highly mobile animals such as fish remain poorly understood. In particular, although large-scale patterns of estuarine fish abundances are well known, fine-scale patterns of habitat use have been largely overlooked. Here, I examine among and within habitat use patterns of the mummichog,Fundulus heteroclitus, in a New England salt marsh. Using minnow traps I sampled changes in mummichog habitat use among closely spaced sites within creeks, mudflat, and channel over 2 yr. The general pattern of mummichog captures was consistent among years, showing peaks in summer months and lows in winter. Use of specific habitat types was also seasonally dependent. For most of the year (fall, winter, spring) mudflat capture rates were lower than creek capture rates in the summer; however, densities in the mudflat equal or exceed those in creeks. In most months channel habitats did not differ significantly in use from either creek or mudflat habitat. Consistent patterns also occur within induividual marsh habitats.F. heteroclitus concentrate in the uppermost portion of creeks. Additionally, mudflat capture rates (August 1990) declined with increasing water depth. Diurnal habitat use is heavier than nocturnal use for all habitats. These findings demonstrate that mummichogs are restricted to areas representing a very small proportion of total available habitat and that their patterns of habitat use are strongly seasonal. Only careful experimental work can determine the relative advantages of these habitats for estuarine fish. Further comparative work is required to reveal how biological and physical parameters affecting habitat use may vary geographically.     

Predation on soft-shell clams,Mya arenaria,by the common mummichog,Fundulus heteroclitus

Invertebrate predation has been cited as the major factor determining post-settling survival of the soft-shell clam, Mya arenaria. Feeding studies on common mummichogs, Fundulus heteroclitus, in Essex Bay, Massachusetts, from July 1976 to June 1978 showed soft-shell clams to be an important diet item in fish greater than 55 mm TL. Biweekly quantitative seining from 16 April to 24 September 1977 revealed predation peaks in the spring and fall corresponding to March–April and June–July spawning periods for M. arenaria. In spring and fall 1977 and spring 1978, 38.5% of the male and 52.8% of the female mummichogs sampled over 55 mm TL averaged 6.77 and 7.32 clams per stomach respectively. The maximum number of clams per stomach was 49 (108 mm female), and 47 (100 mm male). Quantitative seining at low tide yielded mummichog densities from 0.35 to 6.04 fish/m². Combining mummichog density estimates with soft-shell clam predation data gave a possible consumption of 546,000 M. arenaria per km low tide shoreline per day during peak predation periods. Results indicate mummichog predation may equal or exceed invertebrate predation as a major cause of small (<12 mm) soft-shell clam mortality in the Gulf of Maine.     

A freshwater population of the mummichog,Fundulus heteroclitus,from the Susquehanna River drainage in Pennsylvania

An established population of mummichog,Fundulus heteroclitus, in the Susquehanna drainage is reported from Pennsylvania for the first time. Three year classes of this brackish water species were taken on 17 August 1976 from Letort Spring Run, a tributary of the Conodoguinet Creek in Cumberland County. A survey of unpublished records and museum specimens revealed occurrences in Wissahickon Creek, Montgomery County, and Brandywine Creek, Chester County; both Delaware drainage. Presence in these drainages is believed the result of bait bucket introduction.     

Predation Risk Experienced by Mummichog, Fundulus heteroclitus, in Intertidal and Subtidal Salt Marsh Habitats

It is often presumed that salt marshes provide a predation refuge for small fishes, but predation risks have rarely been compared in intertidal and subtidal habitats, making the importance of salt marshes as a predation refuge speculative. We measured relative survival of tethered mummichog (Fundulus heteroclitus) in four habitats in a salt marsh?Ctidal creek system: unvegetated and vegetated intertidal areas and the subtidal creek at high and low tide. At high tide, mummichog in the intertidal zone had significantly higher survival than in the subtidal creek in June through August. Survival rates in unvegetated and vegetated intertidal habitats were not significantly different, suggesting that higher intertidal survival was due to less abundant predators compared with the creek, rather than predators being less effective in vegetation. The lower predation risk experienced by mummichog in the intertidal marsh suggests that access to intertidal habitats will be important for production of small estuarine fishes.     

Ion balance,acid-base regulation,and chloride cell function in the common killifish,Fundulus heteroclitus—a euryhaline estuarine teleost

The common killifish,Fundulus heteroclitus, is a euryhaline teleost common throughout estuaries of eastern North America. This symposium paper reviews the important contributions of the killifish to our present understanding of ionoregulation in seawater (SW) fish and their mechanisms of euryhalinity, and presents new data developing the killifish as a freshwater (FW) model system. Experiments on killifish have characterized (i) drinking in SW and its reduction in FW; (ii) the adaptive roles of the kidney to SW and FW conditions; (iii) the instantaneous (Phase I) and delayed (Phase II) reductions in Na⁺ outflux that occur upon transfer from SW to FW; (iv) the importance of prolactin secretion in the Phase II effect; (v) the cortisol-stimulated induction of branchial Na⁺, K⁺-ATPase that occurs upon transfer from FW to SW; (vi) the accompanying changes in morphology of the mitochondria-rich (MR) or “chloride cells” on the gills; (vii) the localization of this Na⁺, K⁺-ATPase activity to the basolateral membrane of chloride cells; and (viii) the NaCl-secretory function of these cells in SW. The opercular epithelium, which is rich in chloride cells, has been used as an in vitro model to characterize the mechanisms and control of NaCl secretion in SW fish. Much less is known about gill function in fresh water (inward NaCl transport), primarily due to the absence of a comparable freshwater model. Here we show that killifish acclimated to dilute FW ([NaCl] = 1 mmol I^?1) possess large numbers of MR cells on the opercular epithelium. When mounted in vitro with FW on the outside, the preparation develops a large inside negative transepithelial potential (TEP) that is a Na⁺ diffusion potential. By the Ussing flux ratio criterion, Na⁺ fluxes are passive, but a small active influx of Cl^? occurs, an observation that supports the involvement of MR cells in active Cl^? uptake. This FW opercular epithelium if bathed with isotonic saline on both sides does not secrete Cl^?, indicating that the MR cells indeed are of the FW type. In vivo, the fish exhibits a high rate of Na⁺ influx and outflux; Cl^? outflux is much lower, and there is no detectable Cl^? influx. Experimental variation of FW [NaCl] reveals a saturable, low affinity Na⁺ uptake mechanism, a Cl^? influx mechanism that is activated only at much higher concentrations, and no evidence of exchange diffusion. Acid-base disturbance appears to be corrected by differential regulation of the outflux components only. Hence, the FW killifish ionoregulates somewhat differently from the few other FW teleosts that have been examined, and its opercular epithelium will serve as a very useful model system.     

Diet and movement of the killifish,Fundulus heteroclitus, in a Maine salt marsh assessed using gut contents and stable isotope analyses

Killifish are ecologically important components of salt marsh ecosystems, but no studies have determined the importance of locally produced versus allochthonous food sources on a scale of less than multiple kilometers. The goal of our study was to examine diet and movement of the killifish,Fundulus heteroclitus, collected from a Maine salt marsh to assess the importance of locally produced versus allochthonous food sources on a scale of several hundred meters. We compared the gut contents and stable isotope signatures ofF. heteroclitus from four regions along the central river of a Maine salt marsh to the distinct food sources and isotopic signatures of the region of the marsh in which they were caught.F. heteroclitus were relying on locally produced food sources even on the scale of several hundred meters. They fed daily in a small area less than 6 ha and maintained relatively strong site fidelities over the course of several months. Phytoplankton and salt marsh detritus both contributed to the high production ofF. heteroclitus; terrestrial plant detritus was not an important component of their diet. The diet and feeding patterns ofF. heteroclitus from this small Maine salt marsh were similar to the patterns found in much larger salt marshes, suggesting that locally produced organic matter is essential to the production of these ecologically important fish.     

Gut contents of common mummichogs,Fundulus heteroclitus L., in a restored impounded marsh and in natural reference marshes

We examined the gut contents of mummichogs, Fundulus heteroclitus L., entering and leaving ditches in three marsh regions within the Barn Island Wildlife Management Area in Connecticut: a restored impounded valley marsh, a marsh below the impoundment dike (Headquarters Marsh), and an unimpounded valley marsh (Davis Marsh). On the Headquarters Marsh and at certain times on the other two marshes, fish entered the ditches on the flooding tide with relatively little food in their guts and left them on the following ebbing tide with considerably more food in their guts. Since the high tides did not flood the surface of the high marsh, it appears that the ditches are important foraging areas. Major components of the gut contents were detritus, algae, amphipods, tanaids, copepods, and insects. During the summer, fish in the restored impounded marsh consumed less food per unit body weight than did fish inhabiting the other marsh regions.     

Diet of winter flounder in a New Jersey estuary: Ontogenetic change and spatial variation

Juvenile and adult winter flounder,Pseudopleuronectes americanus Walbaum (Pleuronectidae), from the Navesink River and Sandy Hook Bay, New Jersey, U.S., were examined for ontogenetic, seasonal, and spatial variation in dietary content. Fish (n=1291 non-empty) were placed by cluster analysis of dietary content into three size groups: 15–49, 50–299, and ≥300 mm total length. Clear ontogenetic patterns were revealed, in particular the disappearance of calanoid copepods from the diet as fish grew >50 mm and an increase in number of taxa in the diet with growth. Fish in size group 1 fed upon spionid polychaetes, the calanoid copepodEurytemora affinis, and ampeliscid amphipods. Fish in size group 2 added various species of polychaetes, amphipods, and siphons of the bivalveMya aremaria to their diets. Size group 2 was present during all months of the survey, but only minor seasonal differences in their diet were apparent. One obvious change was the increase in consumption of the shrimpCrangon septemspinosa in summer and fall. Size group 3 fish, collected mainly in fall, ate large volumes ofM. arenaria and glycerid polychaetes. Cluster analysis showed a largescale spatial pattern in diet among fish of size group 1, related to the presence ofE. affinis in winter flounder diets in the river and a marsh cove in the bay. Small-scale spatial differences in diets of fish in size group 2 were possibly related to prey distribution.     

Differentiation and Compaction in the Palisades Sill, New Jersey

The Palisades Sill was studied chemically and petrographicallyin order to elucidate its differentiation mechanism. Neutronactivation analysis was performed on 53 whole rock samples froma 342-m thick section located near the George Washington bridge.Data for 31 elements in these samples are presented here. Thestudy revealed that at least three and probably four pulsesof magma were intruded into the sill. Following the final pulsethe remaining two-thirds of the thickness of the sill differentiatedprimarily through inefficient fractional crystallization inwhich cumulate material contained 40–50 per cent interstitialmagma. In addition to differentiation by fractional crystallization,postcumulus transport of interstitial magma in the Palisadescumulates played a significant role. Crystallization of thelast of the main body of magma produced a peak in incompatibleclement concentrations at a sandwich horizon located at the300 m level, where the floor and roof of the sill converged.At the time this enriched zone crystallized, the underlying150 m of cumulus material still contained interstitial meltSubsequent buoyancy driven upward transport of interstitialmelt in this zone concentrated incompatible elements 45 m belowthe main peak. A numerical model of the sill was constructed which includesa treatment of compaction, thermal and compositional processes,and crystallization. The model is successful in simulating thedifferentiation of the sill and in particular the postcumulustransport mechanism, although the magnitude of the effect issomewhat less than in the natural system. The reason for thegreater effect in the natural system is probably due to theeffects of water which work to facilitate postcumulus flow.     

Steeply-dipping extension fractures in the Newark basin, New Jersey

Late Triassic and Early Jurassic bedrock in the Newark basin is pervasively fractured as a result of Mesozoic rifting of the east–central North American continental margin. Tectonic rifting imparted systematic sets of steeply-dipping, en échelon, Mode I, extension fractures in basin strata including ordinary joints and veins. These fractures are arranged in transitional-tensional arrays resembling normal dip-slip shear zones. They contributed to crustal stretching, sagging, and eventual faulting of basin rift deposits. Extension fractures display progressive linkage and spatial clustering that probably controlled incipient fault growth. They cluster into three prominent strike groups correlated to early, intermediate, and late-stage tectonic events reflecting about 50– 60° of counterclockwise rotation of incremental stretching directions. Finite strain analyses show that extension fractures allowed the stretching of basin strata by a few percent, and these fractures impart stratigraphic dips up to a few degrees in directions opposing fracture dips. Fracture groups display three-dimensional spatial variability but consistent geometric relations. Younger fractures locally cut across and terminate against older fractures having more complex vein-cement morphologies and bed-normal folds from stratigraphic compaction. A fourth, youngest group of extension fractures occur sporadically and strike about E–W in obliquely inverted crustal blocks. A geometric analysis of overlapping fracture sets shows how fracture groups result from incremental rotation of an extending tectonic plate, and that old fractures can reactivate with oblique slip components in the contemporary, compressive stress regime.     

Viral-like particles (VLPS) in the alga,Aureococcus anophagefferens (pelagophyceae), during 1999–2000 brown tide blooms in Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey

We assessed the presence and quantified the intracellular virus-like particles (VLPs) in natural populations ofAureococcus anophagefferens during the 1999–2000 brown tide blooms that occurred in New Jersey coastal waters. From displayed a wide range of ultrastructural changes from apparently healthy cells to those showing late stages of production of VLPs. VLP-infected cells usually had an electron dense plasma membrane and lacked the typical exocellular polysaccharide layer (EPS). The VLPs were similar in size (c. 140 nm) and morphology to those initially reported in natural populations ofA. anophagefferens and to brown tide viruses (BtVs) which were previously isolated and inoculated into laboratory cultures ofA. anophagefferens. VLP-infectedA. anophagefferens were found consistently throughout the brown tide blooms in both years in Little Egg Harbor. Percentages of VLP-infected cells were 8.1% at the beginning of a bloom, which decreased to less than 2% at the height of the blooms during both years, and increased at the end of the 2000 bloom to 2.5%. While these percentages appear low, the estimated VLP infection rate ofA. anophagefferens cells, which ranged from 0.83%–50% of the standing population, is comparable to other studies.     

Sedimentation processes in an impoundment,Union lake,New Jersey

A small (3 75 km²) impoundment. Union Lake, on the Maurice River in southern New Jersey contains fine-grained sediment and organic material being transported through the surface water system Sedimentation is slow and rates calculated from¹³⁷Cs-dated cores indicate a decrease through time from 2 6 mm/yr to 0 57 mm/yr Sediment from shallow areas (<3 m) consists of winnowed preimpoundment fluvial sand, whereas sediment from deeper areas (>3 m) is dy composed of diatoms, organic matter, and silt- and clay-sized mineral grains Sediment distribution is controlled by water moving from the river entrance southward toward the outlet and by wind-generated water motion from shallow areas fringing the shore toward deeper portions of the impoundment     

Feldspathoidal Syenite in a Quartz Diabase Sill, Brookville, New Jersey

Nepheline- and analcime-bearing syenite occurs at the uppercontact of a quartz diabase sill with the Lockatong Argilliteat Brookville, New Jersey. The syenite is intimately mixed withgranophyre that formed by fractional crystallization of basalticmagma and accumulated near the top of the sill. Some of theresidual liquid now represented by granophyre reacted with silica-poor,sodium-rich argillite to form the syenite. Initial Sr⁸⁷/Sr⁸⁶ ratios (assuming an age of 190 m. y.) are0.7144–0.7147 for the unmetamorphosed and the hornfelsedargillite, 0.7067 for the granophyre, 0.7058 for the diabase,and intermediate values of 0.7128–0.7131 for the syenite. The isotopic evidence agrees with field, petrographic, experimental,and chemical data supporting assimilation. Alternative hypothesesof syenite formation by separate intrusion, differentiation,or partial melting of Lockatong Argillite are contradicted bythe data. Isotopic and normative data strongly suggest that syenite formedfrom argillite and granophyre in the proportions three or fourto one; during the assimilation process the country rock actedas solvent and the intrusive as solute.     

Geochronology and sedimentology of the lower Passaic River,New Jersey

In an attempt to characterize localized rates of sediment accretion, 10 sediment cores were collected from the lower reach of the Passaic River, a major tributary of Newark Bay, New Jersey. Sediments were assayed for ²¹⁰Pb activity at predetermined depths and the rate of sediment accretion (cm yr^?1) was estimated from the least squares regression of the log of unsupported activity versus depth. Sediment accretion rates, derived from ²¹⁰Pb measurements (R_Pb) were used to predict the depth interval within the core containing sediments deposited around 1954; subsequent ¹³⁷Cs analyses were focused on this depth interval. Sediment accretion rates derived from ¹³⁷Cs measurements (R_Cs) were extrapolated from the depth of the 1954 horizon. Lead-210 derived sediment accretion rates in cores collected from a sediment bench extending along the inside bend on the southern shore of a meander in the river, ranged from 4.1 cm yr^?1 to 10.2 cm yr^?1 and averaged 6.8 cm yr^?1. The R_Cs estimates for cores from this area ranged from 3.8 cm yr^?1 to 8.9 cm yr^?1 and averaged 6.6 cm yr^?1. The R_Cs for cores collected in a more hydrologically dynamic reach of the river upstream of the sediment bench, were only 0.41 cm yr^?1 and 0.66 cm yr^?1. The results of this investigation indicate that this reach of the lower Passaic River is an area of high sediment accumulation, retaining much of the sediment load deposited from upstream and downstream sources. The rates of sediment accretion in the lower Passaic River are among the highest reported anywhere in the Newark Bay estuary.     

Metamorphic History of the Northeastern Reading Prong, New York and Northern New Jersey

The Reading Prong is part of the Precambrian basement whichis discontinuously exposed in the north-central Appalachians.Precambrian rocks in the northeastern Prong consist of diversegneisses which were plastically deformed, metmorphosed to thehornblende granulite facies, and intruded by syntectonic granitesaround 1150 m.y. ago. Sillimanite-garnet-biotite-quartz-two feldspar paragneisses(locally with hornblende or cordierite and without sillimanite)are one of the predominate lithologies in this area. Micro-probeand wet chemical analyses show biotites from these assemblageshave variable Fe/Mg mol. ratios (3.5–0.3) and containappreciable Ti and A1. The biotites are not zoned with respectto Fe or Mg (except for a systematic decrease in the Fe/Mg ratioin rims contiguous with garnet), however Ti is typically depletedin rim compositions with a reciprocal increase of octahedralA1. Garnets are principally solutions of almandine and pyrope(Fe/Mg mol. ratio, 13.1–1.2) with minor grossularite andspessartine components. They are compositionally zoned, withFe concentrated in rims and Mg in cores (particularly wherethey are contiguous with biotite). The analyzed garnets arehomogeneous with respect to Ca and Mn. The most iron-rich biotitesand garnets are found associated with hornblende. The partitioning of Fe and Mg between the interiors of coexistinggarnet and biotite is uniform within each locality sampled.Although the partitioning is variable on a regional scale, thisappears to reflect the non-ideality of the distribution (a resultof the large and variable octahedral Ti and A1 concentrationsin biotite) and not any major, systematic variations in progrademetamorphic conditions. Low temperature alteration of these prograde assemblages issporadically present in paragneisses west of the Hudson Riverand includes associations of: phengitic muscovite, epidote,clinozoisite, chlorite, and secondary calcite. Isotopic agedata (Sutter & Dallmeyer, 1972) suggest slow uplift of thissegment of the Reading Prong, and it appears that these alterationfeatures developed as a result of prolonged cooling followingthe 1150 m.y. metamorphism. In an attempt to re-equilibrateto the lower temperature conditions during uplift, localizedexchange of Fe and Mg occurred between contiguous garnet andbiotite. Alteration is more widespread in the easternmost paragneisseswhere textural, chemical, and isotopic data suggest these secondaryfeatures are, in part, a result of retrograde metamorphism duringone or more Paleozoic orogenic events recorded in the surroundingterrain.     

An assessment of the time-dependence structure of streams in New Jersey,USA

The lag-one serial correlation coefficient is one of the important hydrological metric used as a quantitative measure of carry-over capacity of water stored within a catchment. In this study, the annual lag-one serial correlation coefficient has been computed for 27 unregulated streams spread across the two main climatic regions of New Jersey, USA. The computed mean annual lag-one serial correlation coefficient was found to be 0.17, which is typical of the national value. It appears that streams that drain northern catchments have higher carry-over capacity in comparison to their southern counterparts. Further, the Goud–Dincer Gamma method of reservoir storage capacity was used to compare the average reservoir storage needed to meet the over-year storage requirement for a hypothetical reservoir located within the two main climatic regions. The results revealed that on average, a reservoir needed to meet over-year storage requirements in climate region 1 (northern New Jersey) needs to be a little more than one half times as large as those in climate region 2 (southern New Jersey) for the same level of regulation. Though groundwater recharge to streams in the southern catchments are generally higher than their northern counterparts, it appears relatively less ground water (release from storage) in any given year in the south is carried from the previous year(s).     

A Quartz Syenite Intrusion in the New Jersey Highlands

A Sheel of clinopyroxene quartz syenite, in the PrecambrianHighlands of New Jersey near Berkshire Valley, transects structuraltrends in surrounding gneisses that have been metamorphosedto the hornblende granulite subfacies. The quartz syenite lacksfoliation, lineation, and visible layering. The rock has hypautomorphic-granular texture and is composedchiefly of mesoperthite, quartz, and ferrohedenbergite. Locallyfayalite or hornblende are common. Accessory minerals includeplagioclase and potassium feldspar, zircon, apatite, magnetite,ilmenite, covellite, and pyrite. Contour maps based on modesof thirty-six specimens of quartz syenite indicate progressiveincrease in quartz content and corresponding decrease in maficmineral content from east to west. These modal variations suggestsome degree of gravitational settling of crystals. Althoughthe rock is chemically similar to many Precambrian syenitesin eastern North America, it is distinguished from them by anextremely high Fe/Mg ratio. It is believed that the quartz syenite was intruded as a magmaduring the late stages of folding of the host gneisses. Themagma was highly undersaturated with respect to H₂O during mostof the course of crystallization. Initial H₂O content was probablyfar less than 0.5 weight per cent. Crystallization of most ofthe mass occurred at temperatures well in excess of 800°Cand at load pressures well in excess of 2.5 kilobars. The magmawas probably derived by deep-seated anatexis of Fe-rich, Mg-poorsyenitic gnessies that are now widely exposed in the New JerseyHighlands.     

A new ferrosilite and Fe-pigeonite occurrence in the Reading Prong, New Jersey, USA

Ferrosilite and Fe-rich pigeonite have been discovered as discrete grains and as lamellae intergrown with hedenbergite in a fayalite-bearing hedenbergite-quartz-syenite in the Reading Prong province near Berkshire Valley, New Jersey. Pyroxene thermometry suggests that these extremely Fe-rich pyroxenes probably began crystallizing above 910°C. Blocking temperatures indicated by the compositions of lamellae in exsolved pyroxenes were around 550 to 600°C. Load pressure during crystallization may have been around 6 to 6.5 kbar. Oxygen fugacity varied from 10⁻¹² to 10⁻¹⁷ bars and was no lower than one log unit below QFM. These data suggest that the part of the northwestern Reading Prong that contains the quartz-syenite may have been approximately 22 km deep 1000 m.y. ago.     

Life history characteristics of the northern pipefish,Syngnathus fuscus, in Southern New Jersey

The northern pipefish,Syngnathus fuscus, is an abundant component of estuarine faunas along the east coast of the United States, yet little is known of its life history. Northern pipefish were collected from several areas in southern New Jersey, particularly the Great Bay-Little Egg Harbor estuarine system, to determine aspects of its reproduction and to estimate its age and growth. A monthly gonadosomatic index for both males and females indicated a spring through summer spawning period, with a peak in reproductive activity during June. A male brood pouch-somatic index indicated a prolonged male brooding period over spring through summer, with a peak in June. The size of males with broods ranged from 119–222 mm total length (TL), and the number of eggs within a brood varied from 45 to 1380. Individual embryos within a brood were identical in development stage, suggesting each brood resulted from a single mating. Young-of-the-year occurred in samples from May through November, with peak abundance in June. Individuals in this year class were extremely variable in size by the end of the first growing season, varying from 5 mm TL to 200 mm TL in November. At approximately 1 yr of age, individuals were 70–220 mm TL and many were of sufficient size to reproduce, indicating that the events of the first year of life for this species are of central importance to an understanding of its population dynamics.     

Sulfate transport in a Coastal Plain confining unit, New Jersey, USA

 A transient 1-D, two-pathway non-equilibrium deterministic advective dispersion model was used to examine the distribution of chloride (43–100 mg/L) and sulfate (57–894 mg/L) concentrations in the 35-m-thick section of the Lower confining unit, Atlantic Coastal Plain, New Jersey, USA. The model was used to constrain hypotheses about how pore-water chemistry changed over time. Explanations of the solute concentrations were explored by inverse and direct methods given a few known constraints, including concentrations of pore-water constituents from 12 core samples, reported simulated flow rates, and estimated hydrogeologic properties. The hypothesis that is best supported by the model results is that the distribution of chloride and sulfate concentrations in the confining unit reflect the history of the aquifer system since it was filled with seawater at the last eustatic high, about 84×10³yr BP. The model simulates fresh-water flushing of the seawater-permeated silts at a steady upward pore-water flow velocity of 8.8×10^–6 m/d, with a dispersion coefficient of 9.2×10^–7 m²/d, a dimensionless partition expression for chloride, β_Cl=0.981, and a dimensionless exchange coefficient, ω_Cl=0.31×10^–2. Sulfate concentrations were simulated over the flow path using flow and dispersion values calculated for chloride transport plus a retardation term. Parameters for sulfate transport include retardation coefficient=4.51, β_SO4=0.994, and ω_SO4=0.31×10^–2. Sensitivity analysis indicates that the model is most sensitive to flow velocity, and that fresh-water flushing of the confining unit is best simulated by having seawater concentration levels at the inflow boundary of the confining unit exponentially decrease with a concentration half-life rate of 825 yr. Received, January 1997 / Revised, April 1998, October 1998, January 1999 / Accepted, January 1999