Johnson 's Seagrass And Its Effects

Importantly, light penetration to the beds remained good. Mick Keough says ‘seagrass has the ability to survive on energy stores within the plant for periods of time, so if plants had been distressed during dredging, the effect might not show for years’.

The Chesapeake Bay is a 200-mile-long estuary extending from Norfolk, VA to Havre de grace Maryland. On average this bay contains about 68 trillion liters of water. This bay is the largest estuary in North America. It inhabits more than 3,000 species of plants, animals, and fish. “Since the early twentieth century, the Chesapeake Bay has experienced serious environmental degradation. Problems include large reductions in sea grass, reduced amounts of finfish and shellfish (especially oysters and crab), seasonal depletions in dissolved oxygen, and increases in sedimentation.” (Atkins & Anderson, 2003) These changes are brought on by pollution (Eutrophication and Toxic Contamination), development, deforestation, and agriculture. And according

Scientists and researchers began giving a large volume of effort and look into the extremely complex problems that face the Chesapeake Bay. When research for the improving and saving of the Bay’s overall health began it seemed very simple and there were only a couple of problems. The problems included nutrients from agricultural runoff; these nutrients were phosphorus and nitrogen. The combination of the nutrients in the Bay caused a large volume of algae that choked some of the marine life. While bringing in algae the nutrients also killed grasses on the seafloor. These seafloor bed grasses that once covered more than half of the Chesapeake Bay’s floor now only covered a tenth of their original area. Though the estuary was having problems it did not receive the terrible pollution from industries that many large rivers and lakes do in other urban areas (Brown, p. 397).

Wind and waves affect Glenelg as they set up a northward drift of sand along the coast and this type of sand movement is known as littoral drift. During coastal storms, huge quantities of sand are eroded and this does damage to near shore, beach and sand dune areas. Glenelg is not considered to be a stable as beach as many others are. Seagrass loss and seabed instability that affect Glenelg is that a third of seagrass meadows along the coasts of Glenelg has died since 1950 and poor water quality resulting from the stormwater runoff and effluent disposal has most likely been the initial cause. When there are gaps in the seagrass meadows the sand below the meadow edge can be eroded by the waves and this will in turn increase the rate of seagrass loss and make it difficult for plants to recolonise the seafloor, even though the water quality has been improved. Sea levels affect Glenelg as parts of Glenelg are being subsided as a result of climate change and a relative sea level rise of one to two millimetres per year has been recorded for Glenelg. “As a result of the loss of sand from the seabed, the level of the seabed has steadily become up to one metre deeper and the wave energy reaching our beaches has increased.” (Adelaide’s Living Beaches Strategies,

Human activities pose a threat to Seagrass beds because of boating, stepping on the seagrass, which damage the root system, dredging, pollution and construction practices.

Underwater grasses, or Elodea, was observed as well. This wide variety of life is a good indicator of the water’s health.

The oceans need to be protected because it is where life began and if not taken care of, life as we know it will end. The well-being of the ocean is constantly being threatened and needs to stop. When dangerous substances go into the ocean, ecosystems suffer and become endangered along with the lives of people and marine life. The importance of protecting and preserving the quality and biodiversity of the world 's coasts must be recognized because they are truly irreplaceable. If humans are not educated , and become careless about what is thrown on the ground or sprayed on lawns, disastrous effects follow when it comes to the condition of the ocean’s ecosystems, which can endanger life itself, leading to a problem only we can correct. There is historical evidence of ocean pollution, although the problem still shadows us today.

* The efforts of “Terrigal Lagoon Bushcare” have been largely successful in keeping the lagoons around Terrigal ecosystems. Their actions have helped the native plants compete with the introduced species.

One of the most damaging algae species known to Florida along the south-west coast is the Karenia brevis, also known as Florida red tide. These microscopic algae bloom all year around in the Gulf of Mexico producing brevetoxins, which contains a suite of neurotoxic polyether compound. These blooms can last as long as 18 months fluctuating between insignificant blooms to critical, impacting both the marine ecosystems and humans health (Pierce and Henry, 2008). The Florida red tide will continue to be the cause of unexplained fish and other animal deaths, along with human illnesses unless more research and observations is done to find a way of controlling these algae blooms.

In this research paper I will talk about how a large decrease in the algae population in the Chesapeake Bay will cause problems for not just fish and other species but the people who fish and make a living off of it. A large decrease in algae population will have a domino effect on the food chain. Having a major decrease in algae will hurt how others species live and protect themselves.

Kelp forests are seen as the ultimate ecological engineer in coastal areas. They exist in marine environments spanning in southern California, Aleutian Islands, and the western north Atlantic. Light, latitude, and water temperature and nutrients all play a role in facilitating the growth of kelp forests all around the world, (Bolton). Kelp specifically dominates the shallow rocky coasts of the world‘s cold water marine habitats. Although they look as a free-growing plant, they are in fact primarily of brown algae. These structures provide food and shelter to a huge mix of biota, including crabs, sea urchins, mollusks, and other marine organisms (Steneck). The fronds, or large leaves of the kelp are the distinctive feature that can represent where a specific kelp may be found. The sizes of these organisms can range from the smallest found near California and Alaska at 5m to giant kelp up to 45m in length found on the west coasts of North and South America (Hamilton).

Aquatic macroalgae are homes to a diverse assemblage of epifauna. These assemblages vary across different macrolage and substrate. Non-native foundation macroalgae species that invade habitats already occupied by native foundation species can alter the composition and assemblage of native epifauna. With the recent explosion of Starry Stonewort in the Great Lakes, it’s important to understand how this invasion can effect native organisms that depend on the native foundation species. In this field observation, we will look into the possibility of a cascading effect that the invasion of Starry stonewort may have in Lake Erie. With observations of areas of varying levels on invasion, abundances of fish can be compared and analyzed to

Kelp forests are “a source of food and habitat for dozens of other coastal species” (qtd. in Soulé et al 1240). Therefore, to maintain the diversity and richness of the coastal marine ecology, kelp forests should be preserved.

The erosion of shorelines is a natural process that can have beneficial or adverse impacts on the creation and maintenance of habitats. Sands and gravels eroded from the shores of coastal bays maintain the beach as a natural barrier between the open water and coastal wetlands. Beaches move back and forth onshore, offshore and along shore with changing wave conditions. The finer-grained silts and clays derived from the erosion of shorelines are sorted and carried as far as the waters of wetlands or tidal flats, where benefits are derived from addition of the new material. However, excessively high sediment loads can smother submerged aquatic vegetation beds, cover shellfish beds and tidal flats, fill in riffle

Seagrasses are essential primary producers that provide habitat and refuge to fauna. Anthropogenic influences have caused global loss of seagrasses and a major contributor is eutrophication, which increases phytoplankton and algal populations, reduces light availability, and causes daily hypoxic conditions. Eutrophication is commonly linked to declines in temperate conditions and is more difficult to link to tropical systems since decreases are typically related to physical damage and diminishing light conditions from runoff. Climate change, herbivore declines, disease and overfishing, along with anthropogenic impacts from coastal development, run-off, eutrophication, and aquaculture have caused declines in coral reefs and mangrove systems. These three systems are interconnected and when one system is impacted, secondary impacts are observed in the other systems; coastal ecosystems will be adversely effected and decline. Additional research, conservation, and ways to reduce anthropogenic impacts have been discussed. Restoration is used to reverse habitat loss, although success is varied. Coastal systems and the biological and ecosystem services they provide, may take decades to establish. Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are instituted to protect systems from further degradation, restore communities and allow them to flourish naturally. However, local residents are affected by MPAs and may become displaced, have restriction placed on their livelihood, or elimination of their