Skip to main content
Log in

Magnitude and Patterns of Change in Submerged Aquatic Vegetation of the Tidal Freshwater Hudson River

Estuaries and Coasts Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Three aerial photography inventories were used to examine change in submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) in the tidal freshwater Hudson River over the interval 1997 to 2007. Overall, there was about a 30 % net decline in SAV coverage although there were also many individual areas of expansion. The invasive water chestnut (Trapa natans) did not change appreciably in net cover over the interval, and there was replacement of SAV by water chestnut along with slightly fewer cases of SAV replacing the exotic. A fine-scale (100 m by 100 m quadrats) analysis showed that about 30 % of quadrats that supported vegetation changed by more than 10 % in plant cover and overall SAV was quite dynamic. SAV in the Hudson is limited by light which is in turn controlled by suspended sediment. SAV was rarely found at depths >1 m below low water, and interannual differences in clarity affected the ability of SAV beds to maintain locally supersaturated levels of dissolved oxygen. We found that location within the River channel (proximity to shore) influenced the magnitude and variability in change in SAV between census periods. The physical nature of the adjacent shoreline also affected the magnitude of change with greater declines in cover in areas next to hard-engineered shore types. SAV in the Hudson is highly dynamic, apparently quite resilient, and the control of light by suspended sediment rather than phytoplankton growth offers a contrast to eutrophication-influenced changes in other estuaries. Management and protection of SAV habitat must recognize the highly variable nature of plant cover and that absence in any particular year does not preclude future appearance of submerged plants at that location.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Bain, M.B. 1993. Assessing impacts of introduced aquatic species: grass carp in large systems. Environmental Management 17: 211–224.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boylen, C.W., L.W. Eichler, and J.D. Madsen. 1999. Loss of native aquatic plant species in a community dominated by Eurasian watermilfoil. Hydrobiologia 415: 207–211.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bull, J.C., E.J. Kenyon, and K.J. Cook. 2012. Wasting disease regulates long-term population dynamics in a threatened seagrass. Oecologia 169: 135–142. doi:10.1007/s00442-011-2187-6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caraco, N.F., J.J. Cole, and P.A. Raymond. 1997. Zebra mussel invasion in a large, turbid river: Phytoplankton response to increased grazing. Ecology 78: 588–602.

    Google Scholar 

  • Caraco, N.F., and J.J. Cole. 2002. Contrasting impacts of a native and alien macrophyte on dissolved oxygen in a large river. Ecological Applications 12: 1496–1509. doi:10.2307/3099987.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caraco, N.F., J.J. Cole, S.E.G. Findlay, D.T. Fischer, G.G. Lampman, M.L. Pace, and D.L. Strayer. 2000. Dissolved oxygen declines in the Hudson River associated with the invasion of the zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha). Environmental Science and Technology 34: 1204–1210.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Costello, C.T., and W.J. Kenworthy. 2011. Twelve-year mapping and change analysis of eelgrass (Zostera marina) areal abundance in Massachusetts (USA) identifies statewide declines. Estuaries and Coasts 34: 232–242.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dennison, W.C., R.J. Orth, K.A. Moore, J.C. Stevenson, V. Carter, S. Kollar, P.W. Bergstrom, and R.A. Batiuk. 1993. Assessing water quality with submersed aquatic vegetation. Bioscience 43: 86–94.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Findlay, S., M. Pace, and D. Fischer. 1996. Spatial and temporal variability in the lower food web of the tidal freshwater Hudson River. Estuaries 19:866–873.

    Google Scholar 

  • Findlay, S.E.G., W.C. Nieder, and D.T. Fischer. 2006a. Multi-scale controls on water quality effects of submerged aquatic vegetation in the tidal freshwater Hudson River. Ecosystems 9: 84–96.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Findlay, S.E.G., C. Wigand, and W.C. Nieder. 2006b. Submersed macrophyte distribution and function in the tidal freshwater Hudson River. In The Hudson River ecosystem, ed. J. Levinton and J. Waldman, 230–241. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Fonseca, M.S., and S.S. Bell. 1998. Influence of physical setting on seagrass landscapes near Beaufort, North Carolina, USA. Marine Ecology Progress Series 171: 109–121.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fortin, M.-J., and M. Dale. 2005. Spatial analysis: a guide for ecologists. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harley, M.T., and S. Findlay. 1994. Photosynthesis-irradiance relationships for three species of submersed macrophytes in the tidal freshwater Hudson River. Estuaries 17: 200–205.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hilt, S., J. Köhler, H.-P. Kozerski, E.H. van Nes, and M. Scheffer. 2011. Abrupt regime shifts in space and time along rivers and connected lake systems. Oikos 120: 766–775.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hughes, A.R., S.L. Williams, C.M. Duarte, K.L. Heck, and M. Waycott. 2009. Associations of concern: declining seagrasses and threatened dependent species. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 7: 242–246.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hummel, M., and S. Findlay. 2006. Effects of water chestnut (Trapa natans) beds on water chemistry in the tidal freshwater Hudson River. Hydrobiologia 559: 169–181. doi:10.1007/s10750-005-9201-0.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lampman, G.G., N.F. Caraco, and J.J. Cole. 1999. Spatial and temporal patterns of nutrient concentration and export in the tidal Hudson River. Estuaries 22: 285–296.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li, X.Y., D.E. Weller, C.L. Gallegos, T.E. Jordant, and H.C. Kim. 2007. Effects of watershed and estuarine characteristics on the abundance of submerged aquatic vegetation in Chesapeake Bay subestuaries. Estuaries and Coasts 30: 840–854.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miles, J.R., P.E. Russell, and D.A. Huntley. 2001. Field measurements of sediment dynamics in front of a seawall. Journal of Coastal Research 17: 195–206.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moore, K.A., E.C. Shields, D.B. Parrish, and R.J. Orth. 2012. Eelgrass survival in two contrasting systems: role of turbidity and summer water temperatures. Marine Ecology Progress Series 448: 247–258.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nieder, W.C., E. Barnaba, S.E.G. Findlay, S. Hoskins, N. Holochuck, and E.A. Blair. 2004. Distribution and abundance of submerged aquatic vegetation in the Hudson River Estuary. Journal of Coastal Research 45: 150–161.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nieder, W.C., S. Hoskins, S.D. Smith, and S.E.G. Findlay. 2008. Distribution and spatial change of Hudson River Estuary submerged aquatic vegetation: implications for coastal management and natural resource protection. In Remote sensing and GIS for coastal ecosystem assessment and management: principles and applications, ed. X. Yang, 259–277. Berlin: Springer-Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Orth, R.J., T.J.B. Carruthers, W.C. Dennison, C.M. Duarte, J.W. Fourqurean, K.L. Heck, A.R. Hughes, G.A. Kendrick, W.J. Kenworthy, S. Olyarnik, F.T. Short, M. Waycott, and S.L. Williams. 2006. A global crisis for seagrass ecosystems. Bioscience 56: 987–996.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Orth, R.J., M.R. Williams, S.R. Marion, D.J. Wilcox, T.J.B. Carruthers, K.A. Moore, W.M. Kemp, W.C. Dennison, N. Rybicki, P. Bergstrom, and R.A. Batiuk. 2010. Long-term trends in submersed aquatic vegetation (SAV) in Chesapeake Bay, USA, related to water quality. Estuaries and Coasts 33(5): 1144–1163.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rozas, L.P., and T.J. Minello. 2006. Nekton use of Vallisneria americana Michx. (wild celery) beds and adjacent habitats in coastal Louisiana. Estuaries and Coasts 29: 297–310.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rybicki, N.B., and J.M. Landwehr. 2007. Long-term changes in abundance and diversity of macrophyte and waterfowl populations in an estuary with exotic macrophytes and improving water quality. Limnology and Oceanography 52: 1195–1207.

    Google Scholar 

  • Santos, R.O., D. Lirman, and J.E. Serafy. 2011. Quantifying freshwater-induced fragmentation of submerged aquatic vegetation communities using a multi-scale landscape ecology approach. Marine Ecology Progress Series 427: 233–246.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scheffer, M., S.H. Hosper, M.L. Meijer, B. Moss, and E. Jeppesen. 1993. Alternative equilibria in shallow lakes. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 8: 275–279.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Shields, E.C., K.A. Moore, and D.B. Parrish. 2012. Influence of salinity and light availability on abundance and distribution of tidal freshwater and oligohaline submersed vegetation. Estuaries ad Coasts 35:515–526.

    Google Scholar 

  • Short, F.T., and D.M. Burdick. 1996. Quantifying eelgrass habitat loss in relation to housing development and nitrogen loading in Waquoit Bay, Massachusetts. Estuaries 19: 730–739.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strayer, D.L., and H.M. Malcom. 2007. Submersed vegetation as habitat for invertebrates in the Hudson River estuary. Estuaries and Coasts 30: 253–264.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strayer, D.L., C. Lutz, H.M. Malcom, K. Munger, and W.H. Shaw. 2003. Invertebrate communities associated with a native (Vallisneria americana) and an alien (Trapa natans) macrophyte in a large river. Freshwater Biology 48: 1938–1949.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strayer, D.L., E.A. Blair, N.F. Caraco, J.J. Cole, S. Findlay, W.C. Nieder, and M.L. Pace. 2005. Interactions between alien species and restoration of large-river ecosystems. Archiv für Hydrobiologie Supplementband 155: 133–145.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tall, L., N. Caraco, and R. Maranger. 2011. Denitrification hot spots: dominant role of invasive macrophyte Trapa natans in removing nitrogen from a tidal river. Ecological Applications 21: 3104–3114.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Townsend, E.C., and M.S. Fonseca. 1998. Bioturbation as a potential mechanism influencing spatial heterogeneity of North Carolina seagrass beds. Marine Ecology Progress Series 169: 123–132.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by a grant from the Hudson River Foundation to SF and DLS.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to S. E. G. Findlay.

Additional information

Communicated by Marianne Holmer

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Findlay, S.E.G., Strayer, D.L., Smith, S.D. et al. Magnitude and Patterns of Change in Submerged Aquatic Vegetation of the Tidal Freshwater Hudson River. Estuaries and Coasts 37, 1233–1242 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-013-9758-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-013-9758-1

Keywords

Navigation