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Full-Text Articles in Marine Biology
An Analysis Of Mesophotic Macroalgal Species Richness And Abundance In Puget Sound, Mathea Kurtz-Shaw
An Analysis Of Mesophotic Macroalgal Species Richness And Abundance In Puget Sound, Mathea Kurtz-Shaw
Honors Projects
Mesophotic ecosystems are important, light-dependent communities that act as an area of transition for shallow and deep-water organisms. Macroalgae are prominent members of these communities whose growth is influenced primarily by depth and light levels. Even though they are important community members and habitat-builders in these mesophotic ecosystems, macroalgae are highly understudied, especially in temperate environments. To examine these understudied communities, macroalgal coverage, richness, and light intensity at 3 different depth levels across 4 sites in Puget Sound, USA were compared using videos collected during SCUBA diving. All but three of the transects were within the surface irradiance limits classified …