Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001

SS01 Submerged Aquatic Vegetation and the Water Column (Environmental Connections)

Date: Tuesday, February 13, 2001, Time: 11:30:00 AM

Location: Galisteo

Bartleson, R, D, Univ. of Maryland CES HPL, Cambridge, USA, bartlesn@hpl.umces.edu

Walstad, L, J, Univ. of Maryland CES HPL, Cambridge, USA, walstad@hpl.umces.edu

Sanford, L, P, Univ. of Maryland CES HPL, Cambridge, USA, sanford@hpl.umces.edu

Kemp, W, M, Univ. of Maryland CES HPL, Cambridge, USA, kemp@hpl.umces.edu

Stevenson, J, C, Univ. of Maryland CES HPL, Cambridge, USA, court@hpl.umces.edu

EFFECTS OF SEAGRASS BED SIZE AND FLOW REGIME ON LOCAL WATER QUALITY: PRELIMINARY MODEL STUDY AND FIELD CORROBORATION.

We formulated a simple spatial model of seagrass, nutrients, and hydrodynamics to examine the relationships between seagrass bed size, water flow, and cross-bed water quality. The model was calibrated to mesocosm experimental data of plant community nutrient uptake and drag. We measured dissolved N, P and 02 and currents across shallow flats of varying seagrass density. Results indicate that the degree and spatial extent of water quality changes are positively correlated with the size and density of the seagrass bed and negatively correlated with the current velocity. These model and field results suggest that the potential for nutrient limitation of epiphytic algal growth could increase with bed size, and current exposure, and hence, that a grass bed’s size and location may be correlated with its ability to withstand eutrophication stress.

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Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001

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