After spending a day in the field observing
and gathering data at three different locations throughout Estero Bay I have an
idea of the seagrass habitats in the area. Our first location was high upstream and had a modest amount
of algal cover. We were able to
identify a minute amount of Halophila
decipiens among the shallow water upstream habitat. A reason for this lack of seagrass high
upstream in Estero Bay could be related to winter drought causing seagrass to
die off. Our second site we found
a great deal of Thalassia testudinum and
a small amount of Haladule wrightii. This site was much lower in Estero Bay
closer to the Gulf of Mexico and in a location that was deeper and less
turbid. These conditions allow
more light attenuation and a more suitable environment for increased growth and
biodiversity among seagrass species.
There also was a large amount of Rhodophyta species that in some areas
have begun to smother the seagrass beds.
Our third location for quadrats yielded results similar to the first
location. There was minimal algal
cover and no seagrass species seen in any of the quadrats. This most likely is due to high boat
traffic and extremely turbid water conditions. Seagrass needs light in order to thrive and this location
was almost completely void of sunlight.
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