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Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences
Effects Of Community Structure On The Seagrass Thalassia Testudinum, Craig D. Rose, Clinton J. Dawes
Effects Of Community Structure On The Seagrass Thalassia Testudinum, Craig D. Rose, Clinton J. Dawes
Integrative Biology Faculty and Staff Publications
The influence of community structure on the seagrass Thalassia testudinum was studied in 3 distinct communities: low and high density monocultures, and patches intermixed with Halodule wrightii, in Cockroach Bay, Tampa, Florida. T. testudinum shoot-specific leaf mass and growth were significantly higher in low density monocultures, and both variables were negatively correlated with short-shoot density. Intraspecific, competition-density effects in high-density seagrass beds may be responsible for the relatively lower shoot-specific leaf mass and growth rates, possibly due to the reduction of available light from dense leaf canopies. These observations are supported by significantly higher T. testudinum leaf C:N and …
Influence Of Physical Setting On Seagrass Landscapes Near Beaufort, North Carolina, Usa, Mark S. Fonseca, Susan S. Bell
Influence Of Physical Setting On Seagrass Landscapes Near Beaufort, North Carolina, Usa, Mark S. Fonseca, Susan S. Bell
Integrative Biology Faculty and Staff Publications
Field surveys were conducted in Core and Back Sounds, North Carolina, USA, to relate the physical setting of seagrass beds, as measured by a wave exposure index (REI), tidal current speed and water depth, to various measures of the sedimentary environment, spatial heterogeneity of seagrass distribution and measures of seagrass abundance. Seagrass beds in this area form patterns ranging from continuous to semi-continuous to widely dispersed, discrete patches across a gradient of increasing hydrodynamic activity. Tidal current speeds, exposure to waves and relative water depths revealed strong correlative evidence that physical processes influenced landscape-scale (50 x 50 m range with …
Drift Macroalgal Abundance In Seagrass Beds: Investigating Large-Scale Associations With Physical And Biotic Attributes, Susan S. Bell, Margaret O. Hall
Drift Macroalgal Abundance In Seagrass Beds: Investigating Large-Scale Associations With Physical And Biotic Attributes, Susan S. Bell, Margaret O. Hall
Integrative Biology Faculty and Staff Publications
The relationship between a suite of physical and biological factors and drift macroalgal abundance was examined in 12 seagrass sites spanning a distance of over 50 km within Tampa Bay, Florida, USA. Field sampling was conducted in December 1991, and drift algal abundance was determined by recording algal percent cover from 25 quadrants at each site. Additionally, drift macroalgae were collected from gridded plots and dry weight biomass measured. Sediment characteristics and seagrass biomass, shoot density, blade length and percent cover at each site were also determined. Likewise, position of site within Tampa Bay was categorized by spatial coordinates. Step-wise …