Fourqurean Et Al. 2001

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Fourqurean Et Al. 2001 Marine Biology "2001) 138: 341±354 Ó Springer-Verlag 2001 J. W. Fourqurean á A. Willsie á C. D. Rose L. M. Rutten Spatial and temporal pattern in seagrass community composition and productivity in south Florida Received: 30 January 2000 / Accepted: 24 July 2000 Abstract We document the distribution and abundance the data presented in this paper serve as a benchmark of seagrasses, as well as the intra-annual temporal pat- against which future change in the system can be terns in the abundance of seagrasses and the produc- quanti®ed. tivity of the nearshore dominant seagrass "Thalassia testudinum) in the south Florida region. At least one species of seagrass was present at 80.8% of 874 ran- Introduction domly chosen mapping sites, delimiting 12,800 km2 of seagrass beds in the 17,000-km2 survey area. Halophila Seagrasses have not fared well worldwide in the last decipiens had the greatest range in the study area; it century because of human alteration of the coastal zone. was found to occur over 7,500 km2. The range of In general, human activities have decreased the clarity of T. testudinum was almost as extensive "6,400 km2), fol- the water column, either because of increased turbidity lowed by Syringodium ®liforme "4,400 km2), Halodule or eutrophication; this has led to a concomitant decrease wrightii "3,000 km2)andHalophila engelmanni in seagrasses "see Duarte 1995; Short and Wyllie- "50 km2 ). The seasonal maxima of standing crop was Echeverria 1996 for review). Seagrass beds are often about 32% higher than the yearly mean. The produc- cited as some of the most productive ecosystems on tivity of T. testudinum was both temporally and spatially earth, rivaling cultivated crops in annual net primary variable. Yearly mean areal productivity averaged production "Zieman and Wetzel 1980). Despite the rec- 0.70 g m)2day)1, with a range of 0.05±3.29 g m)2 day)1. ognized importance of seagrasses "Costanza et al. 1997), Speci®c productivity ranged between 3.2 and 34.2 continued human population growth, and the suscepti- mg g)1 day)1, with a mean of 18.3 mg g)1 day)1. An- bility of seagrass communities to anthropogenic distur- nual peaks in speci®c productivity occurred in August, bance, there have been fewdetailed spatially extensive and minima in February. Integrating the standing monitoring programs designed to examine the status and crop for the study area gives an estimate of 1.4 ´ 1011 g trends of the seagrass beds at the regional scale "Duarte T. testudinum and 3.6 ´ 1010 g S. ®liforme, which 1999). Before assessments of trends in such systems can translate to a yearly production of 9.4 ´ 1011 g be accomplished, it is imperative that spatial and intra- T. testudinum leaves and 2.4 ´ 1011 g S. ®liforme leaves. annual patterns in the seagrass beds be understood. We assessed the ecacy of rapid visual surveys for There are fewareas whereseagrasses are as wide- estimating abundance of seagrasses in south Florida by spread and conspicuous as the shallowmarine waters comparing these results to measures of leaf biomass for surrounding the southern tip of the Florida peninsula T. testudinum and S. ®liforme. Our rapid visual surveys "ca. 24.5°N, 80.5°W). Seagrass beds are the most com- proved useful for quantifying seagrass abundance, and mon benthic community type in the region, they cover at least 14,000 km2 "Fourqurean et al. in press). A lack of signi®cant river discharge and vigorous mixing of coastal Communicated by N. Marcus, Tallahassee water bodies with oceanic water results in generally clear waters in south Florida; this water clarity allows su- J. W. Fourqurean "&) á A. Willsie á C. D. Rose á L. M. Rutten cient light to penetrate to the sandy and muddy bottoms Department of Biological Sciences and Southeast Environmental Research Center, of the region to support seagrass growth. Seagrass beds, Florida International University, along with mangrove forests and the only barrier coral Miami, FL 33199, USA reef in the continental United States, provide the habitats e-mail: fourqure@®u.edu that support commercial ®shing and recreational use of Tel.: +1-305-3484084; Fax: +1-305-3484096 the nearshore marine habitat. 342 The litany of recent, perceived environmental prob- protect the physical and biological components on the lems in the nearshore marine environment in south south Florida estuarine and marine ecosystem to ensure Florida is long. Particular concern has been raised over its viability for the use and enjoyment of present and the bleaching of reef corals "Jaap 1985; Williams et al. future generations'' "NOAA 1996). 1987; Fitt et al. 1993), loss of coral cover on the reef In this study, we describe the spatial pattern in the tract "Dustan and Halas 1987; Porter and Meier 1992), present-day distribution of seagrass communities in and increasing occurrence and types of coral diseases south Florida and describe the seasonal patterns in the "Richardson 1998; Richardson et al. 1998). A poorly biomass and productivity of Thalassia testudinum,a understood seagrass dieo event in the late 1980s in dominant seagrass, as a baseline against which future adjacent Florida Bay "Robblee et al. 1991; Thayer et al. change in the ecosystem can be measured. The spatial 1994; Hall et al. 1999) had rami®cations that cascaded scale and temporal resolution of the monitoring network through the ecosystem, causing phytoplankton blooms described herein are without precedent in seagrass eco- and sponge dieos that in turn aected large mobile ®sh systems; only through such large-scale studies can gen- and invertebrates "Butler et al. 1995; Philips and Bad- eralizable and reliable patterns and trends be detected. It ylak 1996; Matheson et al. 1999; Thayer et al. 1999). is possible that relatively local phenomena may be mis- Changing water quality has been implicated, as either a sed in a monitoring program of such scope, but proper cause or an eect, of many of these environmental management of the FKNMS, as well as other seagrass problems "e.g., Lapointe and Clark 1992; Porter et al. ecosystems worldwide, depends on understanding gen- 1999). Direct physical damage to seagrass beds is also eral, regional-scale trends in the ecosystem "Duarte occurring in south Florida, mostly in the form of ``prop 1999). scarring'' caused by inadvertent or negligent operation of boats in shallowseagrass beds "Sargent et al. 1995). Human recognition of the value of the nearshore marine habitats, coupled with perceptions of degraded habitat Materials and methods quality that were partially supported by strong scienti®c We surveyed the seagrass distribution and abundance throughout a data, were largely responsible for the creation of the 17,000-km2 area in south Florida "Fig. 1). The FKNMS is a 9,600- Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary "FKNMS) in km2 region within this larger area. A strati®ed-random approach, 1990. The goal of the FKNMS is to ``preserve and with distance oshore as the strata, was used to locate 30 perma- Fig. 1 Map of study area showing boundaries of manage- ment areas within the study area and the location of the 30 permanent monitoring sites and the 874 mapping sites 343 nent seagrass monitoring sites within the FKNMS "Fig. 1). Sites mum Braun-Blanquet score "note Di £ Ai). Frequency "F)was were sampled every 3 months from December 1995 through De- calculated as: cember 1998. In addition to these permanent sites, an additional N F i 3 874 mapping sites were randomly selected across the FKNMS and i n the shallowportion of the SouthwestFlorida Shelf to the north of such that 0 £ Fi £ 1. In addition to species-speci®c measures, sea- the FKNMS "Fig. 1); these sites were visited once during the grass species richness S was calculated for each site by summing the summer months of 1996±1998 in order to rapidly estimate spatial number of seagrass species for which D >0. extent and cover of benthic macrophytes in the FKNMS and Net aboveground productivity of Thalassia testudinum was adjacent shallowwatermarine environments. measured on a quarterly basis at each permanent site using a modi- A rapid, visual assessment technique developed early in the 20th ®ed leaf marking technique "Zieman 1974; Zieman et al. 1999). Six century by the plant sociologist Braun-Blanquet "Braun-Blanquet 10 ´ 20-cm quadrats were haphazardly distributed within 10 m of a 1972) was used to assess the abundance of seagrass and macroal- permanent steel rod that marked the site. Within each quadrat, all gae. This method is very quick, requiring only minutes at each short shoots "SS) of the seagrass T. testudinum were marked near the sampling site; yet it is robust and highly repeatable, thereby mini- base of the leaves by driving an 18-gauge hypodermic needle through mizing among-observer dierences, and has recently been applied all of the leaves on a short shoot. Care was taken not to disturb other to seagrass research "Kenworthy et al. 1993; Rose et al. 1999). At plant and animal taxa in the quadrats. The marked SS were allowed each permanent seagrass monitoring site, a 50-m-long transect was to growfor 10±14 days; after whichall above-ground seagrass ma- established at the beginning of the study period by driving steel terial in the quadrats was harvested. The number of SS of each sea- rods into the substratum at both ends of the transect. At each grass species was counted. Plant material was separated by seagrass mapping site, a 50-m transect was set up by extending a meter tape species; and T. testudinum leaves were separated further into newly along the bottom in an up-current direction.
Recommended publications
  • Exploring Seagrass Ecosystems Distance Learning Module Grades 3-8
    Exploring Seagrass Ecosystems Distance Learning Module Grades 3-8 Smithsonian Marine Ecosystems Exhibit Word Search: Seagrass Just like finding animals in an actual seagrass bed, finding words in this word search will be a little tricky! See if you can search and find all the words! Snapping Shrimp: A small species of burrowing shrimp. When they open and close their specialized claws, it sounds like a human's snap! Nursery: Many juvenile fish and invertebrates utilize this habitat as they grow. Seagrass provides complex protection from predators and many food sources. Turtle Grass: A thick bladed species of seagrass that is the preferred snack of Green Sea Turtles! Seagrasses are related to land plants. Nutrients: Many nutrients are important for seagrass habitats. The two most important are Nitrogen and Phosphorous. Mullet: An herbivorous fish that you can often see jumping or swimming in schools near the surface of the water in tidal estuaries. Brackish: Brackish water is a combination of both fresh water from rivers and salt water from the ocean. When these bodies of water meet and mix, we call it an estuary. Manatee Grass: A thin, and round bladed species of seagrass. Manatees can often be found grazing on this species. Oxygen: Did you know that as a byproduct of photosynthesis, seagrass is a huge producer of the oxygen we breath? Boxfish: These unique box-shaped fish are one of the juvenile species you can find in the seagrass beds. Sunlight: Sunlight is required for photosynthesis, the process where plants convert sunlight to food. Aerobic Zone: Depth to which oxygen diffuses down into the substrate.
    [Show full text]
  • Global Seagrass Distribution and Diversity: a Bioregional Model ⁎ F
    Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 350 (2007) 3–20 www.elsevier.com/locate/jembe Global seagrass distribution and diversity: A bioregional model ⁎ F. Short a, , T. Carruthers b, W. Dennison b, M. Waycott c a Department of Natural Resources, University of New Hampshire, Jackson Estuarine Laboratory, Durham, NH 03824, USA b Integration and Application Network, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Cambridge, MD 21613, USA c School of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, 4811 Queensland, Australia Received 1 February 2007; received in revised form 31 May 2007; accepted 4 June 2007 Abstract Seagrasses, marine flowering plants, are widely distributed along temperate and tropical coastlines of the world. Seagrasses have key ecological roles in coastal ecosystems and can form extensive meadows supporting high biodiversity. The global species diversity of seagrasses is low (b60 species), but species can have ranges that extend for thousands of kilometers of coastline. Seagrass bioregions are defined here, based on species assemblages, species distributional ranges, and tropical and temperate influences. Six global bioregions are presented: four temperate and two tropical. The temperate bioregions include the Temperate North Atlantic, the Temperate North Pacific, the Mediterranean, and the Temperate Southern Oceans. The Temperate North Atlantic has low seagrass diversity, the major species being Zostera marina, typically occurring in estuaries and lagoons. The Temperate North Pacific has high seagrass diversity with Zostera spp. in estuaries and lagoons as well as Phyllospadix spp. in the surf zone. The Mediterranean region has clear water with vast meadows of moderate diversity of both temperate and tropical seagrasses, dominated by deep-growing Posidonia oceanica.
    [Show full text]
  • Evidence of Phosphorus and Nitrogen Limitation Matthew W
    Aquatic Botany 85 (2006) 103–111 www.elsevier.com/locate/aquabot Nutrient content of seagrasses and epiphytes in the northern Gulf of Mexico: Evidence of phosphorus and nitrogen limitation Matthew W. Johnson a,b,*, Kenneth L. Heck Jr.a,b, James W. Fourqurean c a University of South Alabama, Department of Marine Sciences, LCSB 25, Mobile, AL 36688, United States b Dauphin Island Sea Lab, 101 Bienville Blvd., Dauphin Island, AL 36528, United States c Department of Biological Sciences and Southeast Environmental Research Center, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, United States Received 9 May 2005; received in revised form 20 January 2006; accepted 16 February 2006 Abstract We examined C:N:P ratios of seagrass leaves and epiphytic algae from the eastern shoreline of Grand Bay (Alabama, USA) and the entire shoreline of Big Lagoon (Florida, USA) during the summer of 2001 and March 2003, and used contour plotting of N:P ratios in both locations to examine spatial trends in our data. Results indicated phosphorus limitation for seagrass and epiphytes in each bay. In addition, C:N, C:P, and N:P ratios in both locations showed differences between summer and wintertime values for seagrasses; however, the only epiphytic elemental ratios to differ were C:P and N:P ratios in Grand Bay. Within Grand Bay, phosphorus limitation was stronger in epiphytes than seagrasses, with the largest amount of variation in N:P ratios occurring adjacent to the only developed land on the shoreline. In Big Lagoon, two distinct areas were present in N:P contour plots: the eastern end of the bay that was influenced by water from the Gulf of Mexico and Santa Rosa Sound, and the western end of the bay that was most influenced by Perdido Bay and a developed area along the northern shoreline.
    [Show full text]
  • Ecological Characterization of Bioluminescence in Mangrove Lagoon, Salt River Bay, St. Croix, USVI
    Ecological Characterization of Bioluminescence in Mangrove Lagoon, Salt River Bay, St. Croix, USVI James L. Pinckney (PI)* Dianne I. Greenfield Claudia Benitez-Nelson Richard Long Michelle Zimberlin University of South Carolina Chad S. Lane Paula Reidhaar Carmelo Tomas University of North Carolina - Wilmington Bernard Castillo Kynoch Reale-Munroe Marcia Taylor University of the Virgin Islands David Goldstein Zandy Hillis-Starr National Park Service, Salt River Bay NHP & EP 01 January 2013 – 31 December 2013 Duration: 1 year * Contact Information Marine Science Program and Department of Biological Sciences University of South Carolina Columbia, SC 29208 (803) 777-7133 phone (803) 777-4002 fax [email protected] email 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................... 4 BACKGROUND: BIOLUMINESCENT DINOFLAGELLATES IN CARIBBEAN WATERS ............................................... 9 PROJECT OBJECTIVES ..................................................................................................................................... 19 OBJECTIVE I. CONFIRM THE IDENTIY OF THE BIOLUMINESCENT DINOFLAGELLATE(S) AND DOMINANT PHYTOPLANKTON SPECIES IN MANGROVE LAGOON ........................................................................ 22 OBJECTIVE II. COLLECT MEASUREMENTS OF BASIC WATER QUALITY PARAMETERS (E.G., TEMPERATURE, SALINITY, DISSOLVED O2, TURBIDITY, PH, IRRADIANCE, DISSOLVED NUTRIENTS) FOR CORRELATION WITH PHYTOPLANKTON
    [Show full text]
  • Trophic State of Coastal Waters
    Report on the Environment https://www.epa.gov/roe/ Trophic State of Coastal Waters While the presence of many water pollutants can lead to decreases in coastal water quality, four interlinked components related to trophic state are especially critical: nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus), chlorophyll-a, dissolved oxygen, and water clarity. “Trophic state” generally refers to aspects of aquatic systems associated with the growth of algae, decreasing water transparency, and low oxygen levels in the lower water column that can harm fish and other aquatic life. Nitrogen is usually the most important limiting nutrient in coastal waters, driving large increases of microscopic phytoplankton called “algal blooms,” but phosphorus can become limiting in coastal systems if nitrogen is abundant in a bioavailable form (U.S. EPA, 2003). Nitrogen and phosphorus can come from point sources, such as wastewater treatment plants and industrial effluents, and nonpoint sources, such as runoff from farms, over-fertilized lawns, leaking septic systems, and atmospheric deposition. Chlorophyll-a is a surrogate measure of phytoplankton abundance in the water column. Chlorophyll-a levels are increased by nutrients and decreased by filtering organisms (e.g., clams, mussels, or oysters). High concentrations of chlorophyll-a indicate overproduction of algae, which can lead to surface scums, fish kills, and noxious odors. Low dissolved oxygen levels and decreased clarity caused by algal blooms or the decay of organic matter from the watershed are stressful to estuarine organisms. Reduced water clarity (usually measured as the amount and type of light penetrating water to a depth of 1 meter) can be caused by algal blooms, sediment inputs from the watershed, or storm-related events that cause resuspension of sediments, and can impair the normal growth of algae and other submerged aquatic vegetation.
    [Show full text]
  • Biodiversity and the Functioning of Seagrass Ecosystems
    MARINE ECOLOGY PROGRESS SERIES Vol. 311: 233–250, 2006 Published April 13 Mar Ecol Prog Ser OPENPEN ACCESSCCESS Biodiversity and the functioning of seagrass ecosystems J. Emmett Duffy* School of Marine Science and Virginia Institute of Marine Science, The College of William and Mary, Gloucester Point, Virginia 23062-1346, USA ABSTRACT: Biodiversity at multiple levels — genotypes within species, species within functional groups, habitats within a landscape — enhances productivity, resource use, and stability of seagrass ecosystems. Several themes emerge from a review of the mostly indirect evidence and the few exper- iments that explicitly manipulated diversity in seagrass systems. First, because many seagrass com- munities are dominated by 1 or a few plant species, genetic and phenotypic diversity within such foundation species has important influences on ecosystem productivity and stability. Second, in sea- grass beds and many other aquatic systems, consumer control is strong, extinction is biased toward large body size and high trophic levels, and thus human impacts are often mediated by interactions of changing ‘vertical diversity’ (food chain length) with changing ‘horizontal diversity’ (heterogene- ity within trophic levels). Third, the openness of marine systems means that ecosystem structure and processes often depend on interactions among habitats within a landscape (landscape diversity). There is clear evidence from seagrass systems that advection of resources and active movement of consumers among adjacent habitats influence nutrient fluxes, trophic transfer, fishery production, and species diversity. Future investigations of biodiversity effects on processes within seagrass and other aquatic ecosystems would benefit from broadening the concept of biodiversity to encompass the hierarchy of genetic through landscape diversity, focusing on links between diversity and trophic interactions, and on links between regional diversity, local diversity, and ecosystem processes.
    [Show full text]
  • Seagrasses of Florida: a Review
    Page 1 of 1 Seagrasses of Florida: A Review Virginia Rigdon The University of Florida Soil and Water Science Departments Introduction Seagrass communities are noted to be some of the most productive ecosystems on earth, as they provide countless ecological functions, including carbon uptake, habitat for endangered species, food sources for many commercially and recreationally important fish and shellfish, aiding nutrient cyling, and their ability to anchor the sediment bottom. These communites are in jeopardy and a wordwide decline can be attributed mainly to deterioration in water quality, due to anthropogenic activities. Seagrasses are a diverse group of submerged angiosperms, which grow in estuaries and shallow ocean shelves and form dense vegetative communities. These vascular plants are not true grasses; however, their “grass-like” qualities and their ability to adapt to a saline environment give them their name. While seagrasses can be found across the globe, they have relatively low taxonomic diversity. There are approximately 60 species of seagrasses, compared to roughly 250,000 terrestrial angiosperms (Orth, 2006). These plants can be traced back to three distinct seagrass families (Hydrocharitaceae, Cymodoceaceace complex, and Zosteraceae), which all evolved 70 million to 100 million years ago from a individual line of monocotyledonous flowering plants (Orth, 2006). The importance of these ecosystems, both ecologically and economically is well understood. The focus of this paper will be to discuss the species of seagrass in Florida, the components which affect their health and growth, and the major factors which threaten these precious and unique ecosystems, as well as programs which are in place to protect and preserve this essential resource.
    [Show full text]
  • Influence of Nutrient Input on the Trophic State of a Tropical Brackish
    Influence of nutrient input on the trophic state of a tropical brackish water lagoon D Ganguly1,3,∗, Sivaji Patra1, Pradipta R Muduli2, K Vishnu Vardhan1, Abhilash K R1,3, R S Robin1,3 and B R Subramanian3 1ICMAM Project Directorate, Ministry of Earth Sciences, NIOT Campus, Chennai 600 100, India. 2Wetland Research and Training Centre, Chilika Development Authority, Odisha 752 030, India. 3National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management, MOEF, Chennai 600 025, India. ∗Corresponding author. e-mail: [email protected] Ecosystem level changes in water quality and biotic communities in coastal lagoons have been associated with intensification of anthropogenic pressures. In light of incipient changes in Asia’s largest brackish water lagoon (Chilika, India), an examination of different dissolved nutrients distribution and phy- toplankton biomass, was conducted through seasonal water quality monitoring in the year 2011. The lagoon showed both spatial and temporal variation in nutrient concentration, mostly altered by fresh- water input, regulated the chlorophyll distribution as well. Dissolved inorganic N:P ratio in the lagoon showed nitrogen limitation in May and December, 2011. Chlorophyll in the lagoon varied between 3.38 and 17.66 mg m−3. Spatially, northern part of the lagoon showed higher values of DIN and chlorophyll during most part of the year, except in May, when highest DIN was recorded in the southern part. Sta- tistical analysis revealed that dissolved NH+–N and urea could combinedly explain 43% of Chlorophyll-a 4 − − (Chl-a) variability which was relatively higher than that explained by NO3 –N and NO2 –N (12.4%) in lagoon water.
    [Show full text]
  • Methodology for Tidal Wetland and Seagrass Restoration
    METHODOLOGY: VCS Version 3 METHODOLOGY FOR TIDAL WETLAND AND SEAGRASS RESTORATION Title Methodology for Tidal Wetland and Seagrass Restoration Version 20140722 Date of Issue 27 January 2014 Type Methodology Sectoral Scope 14. Agriculture Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU) Project category: ARR + RWE Prepared By Silvestrum, University of Maryland, Restore America’s Estuaries, Dr. Stephen Crooks, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, University of Virginia Contact Silvestrum Dr. Igino Emmer Dorpsstraat 4, 1546 LJ, Jisp, The Netherlands Email: [email protected] Tel: +31 653699610 Restore America’s Estuaries Mr. Stephen Emmett-Mattox 2020 14th St. North, Suite 210 Arlington, VA 22201, USA Email: [email protected] Tel: +1 720-300-3139 v3.3 1 METHODOLOGY: VCS Version 3 Acknowledgements The development of this methodology was funded by Restore America’s Estuaries with support from the National Estuarine Research Reserve System Science Collaborative, The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Habitat Conservation, The Ocean Foundation, The Curtis and Edith Munson Foundation, and KBR. Methodology developers are Dr. Igino Emmer, Silvestrum; Dr. Brian Needelman, University of Maryland; Stephen Emmett-Mattox, Restore America’s Estuaries; Dr. Stephen Crooks, Environmental Science Associates; Dr. Pat Megonigal, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center; Doug Myers, Chesapeake Bay Foundation; Matthew Oreska, University of Virginia; Dr. Karen McGlathery, University of Virginia, and David
    [Show full text]
  • North and South Carolina Coasts
    Marine Pollution Bulletin Vol. 41, Nos. 1±6, pp. 56±75, 2000 Ó 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved Printed in Great Britain PII: S0025-326X(00)00102-8 0025-326X/00 $ - see front matter North and South Carolina Coasts MICHAEL A. MALLIN *, JOANN M. BURKHOLDERà, LAWRENCE B. CAHOON§ and MARTIN H. POSEY Center for Marine Science, University of North Carolina at Wilmington, 5001 Masonboro Loop Road, Wilmington, NC 28409, USA àDepartment of Botany, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-7612, USA §Department of Biological Sciences, University of North Carolina at Wilmington, Wilmington, NC 28403, USA This coastal region of North and South Carolina is a sediments with toxic substances, especially of metals and gently sloping plain, containing large riverine estuaries, PCBs at suciently high levels to depress growth of sounds, lagoons, and salt marshes. The most striking some benthic macroinvertebrates. Numerous ®sh kills feature is the large, enclosed sound known as the have been caused by toxic P®esteria outbreaks, and ®sh Albemarle±Pamlico Estuarine System, covering approx- kills and habitat loss have been caused by episodic imately 7530 km2. The coast also has numerous tidal hypoxia and anoxia in rivers and estuaries. Oyster beds creek estuaries ranging from 1 to 10 km in length. This currently are in decline because of overharvesting, high coast has a rapidly growing population and greatly siltation and suspended particulate loads, disease, hyp- increasing point and non-point sources of pollution. oxia, and coastal development. Fisheries monitoring Agriculture is important to the region, swine rearing which began in the late 1970s shows greatest recorded notably increasing fourfold during the 1990s.
    [Show full text]
  • Interconnectivity Among Coral Reefs, Seagrass Beds and Mangroves
    See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: http://www.researchgate.net/publication/280300718 The need for Institutional Networking in Integrated Coastal Management: Interconnectivity among coral reefs, seagrass beds and mangroves CONFERENCE PAPER · OCTOBER 2014 READS 30 2 AUTHORS, INCLUDING: Richard N. Muallil Marine Science Institute, University of the Philippi… 11 PUBLICATIONS 56 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE Available from: Richard N. Muallil Retrieved on: 28 September 2015 !e Need for Institutional Networking in Integrated Coastal Management: Interconnectivity among Coral Reefs, Seagrass beds and Mangroves Dr Por"rio M. Aliño Mr Richard N. Muallil Dr Hazel O. Arceo Marine Science Institute, College of Science University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City INTRODUCTION 2005, Aburto-Oropeza et al. 2008, Mamauag et al. 2009). Further, the condition of one habitat (e.g. mangroves) will !e Philippines is an archipelagic country where millions also a#ect the productivity of adjacent habitat (e.g. coral of inhabitants are, in one way or another, dependent on reefs). Mumby et al. (2004), for example, showed that "sh the "sheries and ecosystem services provided by coral biomass is generally higher by tens to thousands of percent reefs, seagrass beds and mangroves. However, these on coral reefs adjacent to extensive or rich mangroves than valuable resources are being threatened by issues such those with scarce mangroves. Nagelkerken et al. (2012) as coastal development, over"shing, destructive "shing, further showed that coral reefs adjacent to mangroves had sedimentation and pollution, which are widespread in considerably higher "sh biomass than isolated coral reefs. the country. Coastal "sheries all over the country have been drastically declining especially over the last few MPAS AND MPA NETWORKS decades because of over"shing and irresponsible coastal development activities, which are further exacerbated by climate change impacts (Muallil et al.
    [Show full text]
  • Diversity of Zooplankton in Seagrass Ecosystem of Mandapam Coast in Gulf of Mannar
    Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2019) 8(7): 2034-2042 International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 8 Number 07 (2019) Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com Original Research Article https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2019.807.244 Diversity of Zooplankton in Seagrass Ecosystem of Mandapam Coast in Gulf of Mannar S. Deepika1*, A. Srinivasan1, P. Padmavathy1 and P. Jawahar2 1Department of Aquatic Environment Management 2Department of Fisheries Biology and Resource Management, Fisheries College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Dr. J. Jayalalithaa Fisheries University, Thoothukudi – 628 008. Tamil Nadu, India *Corresponding author ABSTRACT K e yw or ds The present investigation was carried out to assess the distribution of zooplankton in seagrass ecosystem in comparison with that of the coastal waters without seagrasses in Seagrass ecosystem, Gulf of Mannar. Water and plankton samples were collected from the seagrass ecosystem Zooplankton, (Station 1) and the control station without seagrasses (station 2) from September 2016 to Physico chemical parameters, Species May 2017. The physico chemical parameters were analysed and the mean values of composition, surface water temperature, salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate, Species diversity silicate, gross primary productivity and chlorophyll-a were 27.72⁰ C, 34.17 ppt, 7.99, 3.85 -1 -3 -1 -3 index ml.l , 0.25µM, 0.01 µM, 0.63 µM, 1.03 µM, 0.22 mg.C.m .h and 0.24 mg.m respectively. Totally, 59 species of zooplankton were recorded from each of the two Article Info stations with the maximum density of 667400 and 935300 nos.m-3 in station 1 and 2 respectively.
    [Show full text]