Download or read book Effects of Eelgrass Zostera Marina Habitat Fragmentation on the Epifaunal Community in San Diego Bay USA written by Danielle Healey and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 116 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Effects of Eelgrass Zostera Marina Habitat Loss on Epifaunal Abundance and Diversity written by Brendan J. Reed and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 78 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Eelgrass Zostera Marina Structural Complexity written by Lindsay M. Sirota and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 98 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Effects of Habitat Fragmentation on the Utilization of Eelgrass Zostera Marina by Mobile Epifauna and Macrofauna written by Scott R. Marion and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 178 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Impacts of Copper Contamination and Habitat Degradation on Eelgrass Zostera Marina Mesograzers written by and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page 30 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Exposure of contaminants in coastal areas has been on the rise with increasing urbanization of natural environments. These contaminants are known to effect organisms in multiple ways, such as directly increasing mortality, or indirectly altering many of their behaviors, such as sensing predators and foraging. Since seagrass habitats are heavily influenced by anthropogenic factors, organisms found in these ecosystems often experience constant exposure to non-degradable contaminants such as heavy metals. Eelgrass (Zostera marina) persistence is promoted by mesograzers (small crustaceans and gastropods) that control competing epiphytic algae growing on seagrass blades. Along with nutrient levels, this top-down control of a dominant competitor (algae) plays a substantial role in dictating eelgrass health, particularly at high levels of eelgrass structural complexity. However, mesograzers can be negatively affected by contaminants at high levels. I conducted a manipulative field experiment on epifaunal colonization of eelgrass in San Diego Bay, and a companion lab experiment on epifaunal grazing, to determine how epiphytic algae, the mesograzer community, and rates of herbivory are interactively affected by dissolved copper and habitat structural complexity. In the field, copper spiked plaster blocks and artificial seagrass units were used to create realistic pulse events of contamination for two levels of habitat structural complexity. I found that the abundance of epiphytic algae decreased with increasing copper, but that copper had no effect on epifaunal abundance or diversity, which responded strongly only to habitat structural complexity. In the lab experiment, I found complex interactive effects of copper concentration and habitat complexity on grass shrimp grazing rates. Low elevated levels of copper resulted in higher grazing in low complexity vs. high complexity eelgrass, in contrast to trends in ambient and high levels of copper as well as in previous experiments. In both low and high structural complexity eelgrass, grass shrimp grazing impact was highest when copper was elevated compared to ambient levels. In order to set effective regulations, understanding both the direct and indirect interactions between organisms and their environment is key in conserving and managing eelgrass habitat.
Download or read book Seagrasses of Australia written by Anthony W. D. Larkum and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-07-27 with total page 791 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book takes the place of “Biology of Seagrasses: A Treatise on the Biology of Seagrasses with Special Reference to the Australian Region”, co-edited by A.W.D. Larkum, A.J. MaCComb and S.A. Shepherd and published by Elsevier in 1989. The first book has been influential, but it is now 25 years since it was published and seagrass studies have progressed and developed considerably since then. The design of the current book follows in the steps of the first book. There are chapters on taxonomy, floral biology, biogeography and regional studies. The regional studies emphasize the importance of Australia having over half of the world’s 62 species, including some ten species published for Australia since the previous book. There are a number of chapters on ecology and biogeography; fish biology and fisheries and dugong biology are prominent chapters. Physiological aspects again play an important part, including new knowledge on the role of hydrogen sulphide in sediments and on photosynthetic processes. Climate change, pollution and environmental degradation this time gain an even more important part of the book. Decline of seagrasses around Australia are also discussed in detail in several chapters. Since the first book was published two new areas have received special attention: blue carbon and genomic studies. Seagrasses are now known to be a very important player in the formation of blue carbon, i.e. carbon that has a long turnover time in soils and sediments. Alongside salt marshes and mangroves, seagrasses are now recognized as playing a very important role in the formation of blue carbon. And because Australia has such an abundance and variety of seagrasses, their role in blue carbon production and turnover is of great importance. The first whole genomes of seagrasses are now available and Australia has played an important role here. It appears that seagrasses have several different suites of genes as compared with other (land) plants and even in comparison with freshwater hydrophytes. This difference is leading to important molecular biological studies where the new knowledge will be important to the understanding and conservation of seagrass ecosystems in Australia. Thus by reason of its natural abundance of diverse seagrasses and a sophisticated seagrass research community in Australia it is possible to produce a book which will be attractive to marine biologists, coastal scientists and conservationists from many countries around the world.
Download or read book The Ecological Consequences of Genetic Diversity in Eelgrass Zostera Marina written by Anne Randall Hughes and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 262 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Global Change in Multispecies Systems Part I written by and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2012-10-05 with total page 577 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Advances in Ecological Research is one of the most successful series in the highly competitive field of ecology. Each volume publishes topical and important reviews, interpreting ecology as widely as in the past, to include all material that contributes to our understanding of the field. Topics in this invaluable series include the physiology, populations, and communities of plants and animals, as well as landscape and ecosystem ecology. - Advances in Ecological Research is one of the most successful series in the highly competitive field of ecology - Each volume publishes topical and important reviews, interpreting ecology as widely as in the past, to include all material that contributes to our understanding of the field
Download or read book Epifaunal Community Structure and Trophic Interactions in Eelgrass Zostera Marina Habitats of San Francisco Bay written by Lindsey Anne Carr and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 98 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Inventory of Eelgrass Zostera Marina L in San Francisco San Pablo Bay written by Sandy Wyllie-Echeverria and published by . This book was released on 1989 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Seagrasses Biology Ecology and Conservation written by Anthony Larkum and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2007-02-22 with total page 724 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Seagrasses are unique plants; the only group of flowering plants to recolonise the sea. They occur on every continental margin, except Antarctica, and form ecosystems which have important roles in fisheries, fish nursery grounds, prawn fisheries, habitat diversity and sediment stabilisation. Over the last two decades there has been an explosion of research and information on all aspects of seagrass biology. However the compilation of all this work into one book has not been attempted previously. In this book experts in 26 areas of seagrass biology present their work in chapters which are state-of–the-art and designed to be useful to students and researchers alike. The book not only focuses on what has been discovered but what exciting areas are left to discover. The book is divided into sections on taxonomy, anatomy, reproduction, ecology, physiology, fisheries, management, conservation and landscape ecology. It is destined to become the chosen text on seagrasses for any marine biology course.
Download or read book An Observational and Experimental Analysis of Eelgrass and Its Epifaunal Community in Bodega Harbor California written by Grace Ha and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Seagrass - marine flowering plants that create underwater meadows through-out temperate and tropical coastal waters - are important foundation species, acting as key nursery grounds for many commercial and recreational fisheries, performing ecosystem functions including flow modification and sediment stabilization, and providing habitat to diverse and productive communities of marine life. Given the decline of seagrass globally, there is particular need for documenting and understanding the dynamics of seagrass ecosystems. Focusing on the eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) beds of Bodega Harbor, California, USA, I approached this task through methods that incorporated natural history, field research, statistical analysis, and taxonomy. In Chapter 1, I conducted a 16-month survey of eelgrass and its epifauna and analyzed species abundances in the context of the extreme warm-water event known as "The Blob" that occurred along the Californian coastline in 2014. My research found a diverse invertebrate assemblage comprising mostly native detritivore-grazers, which contrasted sharply with nearby San Francisco Bay, which has been dominated by invasive species. Invertebrate population dynamics correlated closely to that of the eelgrass they inhabited, and in general, both habitat and epifauna declines coincided with increasing seawater temperatures. In Chapter 2, I used eelgrass as a model system to test the role of camouflage in predator-prey interactions. I conducted field experiments, testing whether prey survival was affected by color-matching between prey and habitat, using the green amphipod, Ampithoe lacertosa and artificial habitats made of eelgrass, and clear, red, and green plastic ribbon. With seine nets and underwater video recordings, I also collected data on fish predator abundance and diversity. Although generalized linear regressions in-dicated habitat color significantly affected prey survival, greater color-matching did not predict greater prey survival. Further analysis using structural equation modeling indicated that the effect of habitat on prey survival was significantly mediated by fish density and, to a lesser degree, fish diversity. Even after taking these effects into account, I did not find survival to clearly correspond to increasing color-match between prey and habitat. These results were consistent with the equivocal conclusions of previous studies on the anti-predator hypothesis of camouflage, altogether suggesting further theory development and experimentation is needed to explain the frequency of apparent camouflage in nature. In Chapter 3, I described a new species of porcellidiid copepod - found during the epifaunal surveys I conducted in 2013-2014. This was the first porcellidiid copepod species to be described from North America, although porcellidiid copepods have been previously recorded in Northeast Pacific coastal surveys. Porcellidium species nova n. sp., can be distinguished by a deep cleft in the female genital double somite, a lack of plumulose setae and three coupling denticles (two bulbous denticulate pads and one smooth protrusion) on the male antennule, and clear coloration with purple/maroon bands across the first and last metasomes. I have provided a partial revision to a key to Porcellidium species, along with a discussion of the natural history and distribution of porcellidiid copepods along the Northeastern Pacific coastline.
Download or read book The Causes and Consequences of Macroalgal Blooms on an Eelgrass Zostera Marina Community in Bodega Harbor CA written by Suzanne Victoria Olyarnik and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Edge Effects in Estuarine Habitat Mosaics written by and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page 31 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Seagrass is often one of several habitat types in estuarine seascape mosaics, but seagrass edge effect studies have rarely considered that neighboring habitat identity might create multiple ‘edge types’ each with unique effects on fauna. Restoration projects featuring multiple estuarine habitats may benefit from improved understanding of interactions between habitats at edges. I used an eelgrass (Zostera marina) and Olympia oyster (Ostrea lurida) living shoreline restoration experiment in southern California to test if eelgrass epifaunal community structure and predation risk vary with adjacent habitat (eelgrass-oyster and eelgrass-unvegetated sediment) and edge proximity (edge or interior). I found that effects of adjacent habitat and edge proximity on epifaunal density, richness, and diversity responses were site-specific, with oysters elevating richness and diversity in eelgrass at only one of three sites. Multivariate community analysis suggested that adjacent habitat and edge proximity altered epifaunal assemblages at that site only. Typical edge effect covariates such as habitat complexity and food availability did not appear to explain edge effects in epifaunal communities. Using tethering experiments, I found that predation risk for grass shrimp varied with adjacent habitat type and proximity to the edge, with interactive effects of adjacent habitat and edge proximity at two sites. Predation risk was lower in eelgrass patches adjacent to oysters than those adjacent to unvegetated sediments. My results suggest that after one year, oyster restoration has had moderate and variable effects on eelgrass epifaunal communities and predation risk. This living shorelines project is one of the first in southern California, and I recommend that more studies utilize restoration experiments to simultaneously test ecological theory and conserve habitats.
Download or read book The Effects of Mesograzer Biodiversity and Seagrass Structural Complexity on Eelgrass Ecosystem Function written by and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 39 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A central theory of community ecology is that increased biodiversity results in greater ecosystem function and stability. Many experiments have examined biodiversity-ecosystem function (BEF) relationships at the primary producer level, yet BEF relationships are equally pertinent at higher trophic levels. In seagrass ecosystems, mesograzers (small invertebrate herbivores) promote seagrass persistence by consuming competitively superior epiphytic algae that foul seagrass blades. Experiments in seagrass habitat suggest that mesograzer diversity is a primary driver of top-down control of epiphytic algae, but also that the relationship is temporally and spatially variable. The primary hypothesis of my study is that much of this variability may be due to differences in seagrass habitat structure through time and space. I worked in eelgrass (Zostera marina) habitat in San Diego Bay, California, USA, to test whether variability in eelgrass structural complexity (shoot density) affects relationships between mesograzer biodiversity and ecosystem function (grazing impact and secondary production). I also examined the functional roles of numerically dominant eelgrass epifauna, using a laboratory experiment and stable isotope analysis. Contrary to BEF theory, increased grazer diversity in laboratory mesocosms resulted in decreased grazing impact and facilitation of algal growth. Though some species combinations resulted in increased algal grazing, antagonistic relationships among the most influential grazing taxa resulted in reduced ecosystem function. Structural complexity promoted mesograzer top-down control of epiphytes, increased mesograzer secondary production, and altered epifaunal community composition. Effects of biodiversity and structural complexity on grazing corresponded to variability in diet and feeding behavior among dominant epifaunal taxa. My results demonstrate the importance of examining species-specific interactions when considering links between community structure and ecosystem function, and that environmental context, such as habitat structure, may have large effects on BEF relationships.
Download or read book Eelgrass Depletion on the Pacific Coast and Its Effect Upon Black Brant written by James Moffitt and published by . This book was released on 1941 with total page 30 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Habitat Fragmentation in Transplanted Eelgrass Zostera Marina Beds written by Alfonso Vollmer Lombana and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
