Abstract
The effectiveness of glass prisms in boat docks was assessed to determine if shading impacts to submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV), primarilyVallisneria americana, were reduced. Six experimental docks, three with prisms and three without prisms, were constructed in the lower St. Johns River, Florida. SAV percent cover and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) were monitored under each dock and in an adjacent control area with no experimental docks. Subsurface PAR during the growing season of the first year of the study was not significantly greater beneath docks having prisms than beneath docks without prisms. Postconstruction SAV monitoring (February 2000 to May 2002) revealed no significant differences in SAV percent cover between dock treatments, although coverage declined in both dock treatments and the control area. Declining water quality conditions at the study site clearly impacted the health of the SAV habitat as indicated by the decline in SAV coverage in the control area initially in the study. Given the subsequent resurgence of SAV in the control area, the additional light transmitted through the prisms did not appear to be biologically significant or adequate to counteract effects from larger-scale environmental stressors.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature Cited
American Public Health Association (APHA). 1998. Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater. American Public Health Association, American Water Works Association, Water Environment Federation, Washington, D.C.
Batiuk, R. A., R. J. Orth, K. A. Moore, W. C. Dennison, J. C. Stevenson, L. Straver, V. Carter, N. Rybicki, R. E. Hickman, S. Kollar, S. Bieber, P. Heasly, andP. Bergstrom. 1992. Chesapeake Bay Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Habitat Requirements and Restoration Goals: A Technical Synthesis. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Chesapeake Bay Program, Annapolis, Maryland.
Beal, J. L. andB. S. Schmit. 2000. The effects of dock height on light irradiance (PAR) and seagrass (Halodule wrightii andSyringodium filiforme) cover, p. 49–63.In S. A. Bortone (ed.), Seagrasses: Monitoring, Ecology, Physiology, and Management. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida.
Blanch, S. J., G. G. Ganf, andK. F. Walker. 1998. Growth and recruitment inVallisneria americana as related to average irradiance in the water column.Aquatic Botany 6:181–205.
Brody, R. W. 1994. Volume six of the Lower St. Johns River Basin Reconnaissance: Biological Resources. St. Johns River Water Management District. Technical Publication SJ94-2. Palatka, Florida.
Burdick, D. M. andF. T. Short. 1999. The effects of boat docks on eelgrass beds in coastal waters of Massachusetts.Environmental Management 23:231–240.
Carter, V. andN. B. Rybicki. 1985. The effects of grazers and light penetration on the survival of transplants ofVallisneria americana Michaux in the tidal Potomac River, Maryland.Aquatic Botany 23:197–213.
Dennison, W. C., R. J. Orth, K. A. Moore, J. C. Stevenson, V. Carter, S. Kollar, P. W. Bergstrom, andR. A. Batiuk. 1993. Assessing water quality with submersed aquatic vegetation. Habitat requirements as barometers of Chesapeake Bay health.BioScience 43:86–94.
Dock Construction Guidelines in Florida for Docks or Other Minor Structures Constructed in or over Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (SAV). 2001. Marsh or Mangrove Habitat. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, National Marine Fisheries Service, Jacksonville, Florida.
Doering, P. H., R. H. Chamberlain, K. M. Donohue, andA. D. Steinman. 1999. Effect of salinity on the growth ofVallisneria americana Michaux from the Caloosahatchee Estuary, Florida.Florida Scientist 62:89–105.
Doyle, R. D. andR. M. Smart. 2001. Impacts of water column turbidity on the survival and growth ofVallisneria americana winterbuds and seedlings.Journal of Lake and Reservoir Management 17:17–28.
Gallegos, C. L. 2002. Development of an Optical Water Quality Model for the Lower St. Johns River—Final Report for the St. Johns River Water Management District. Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, Maryland.
Haller, W. T., D. L. Sutton, andW. C. Barlowe. 1974. Effects of salinity on growth of several aquatic macrophytes.Ecology 55:891–894.
Kaldy, J. E. and K. H. Dunton. 1993. The light requirements of growth and photosynthesis in seagrasses with emphasis on Texas estuaries: A literature survey. University of Texas at Austin Marine Science Institute, Port Aransas, Texas. Submitted to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 6, Dallas, Texas.
Kemp, M., R. A. Batiuk, andP. Bergstrom. 2000. In Chesapeake Bay Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Habitat Requirements and Restoration Goals: A Second Technical Synthesis. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Chesapeake Bay Program, Annapolis, Maryland.
Kimber, A., J. L. Owens, andW. G. Crumpton. 1995. Light availability and growth of wildcelery (Vallisneria americana) in upper Mississippi River backwaters.Regulated Rivers: Research and Management 11:167–174.
Neckles, H. A. (ed.). 1994. Indicator Development: Seagrass Monitoring and Research in the Gulf of Mexico. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, Environmental Research Laboratory, EPA/620/R-94/029. Gulf Breeze, Florida.
Orth, R. J. andK. A. Moore. 1984. Distribution and abundance of submerged aquatic vegetation in Chesapeake Bay: An historical perspective.Estuaries 7:531–540.
Schloesser, D. W. andB. A. Manny. 1990. Decline of wild celery buds in the lower Detroit River, 1950–85.Journal of Wildlife Management 54:72–76.
Shafer, D. J. 1999. The effects of dock shading on the seagrassHalodule wrightii in Perdido Bay, Alabama.Estuaries 22:936–943.
Smith, K. and R. Mezich. 1999. Comprehensive Assessment of the Effects of Single Family Docks on Seagrass in Palm Beach County, Florida. Draft Report for the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission. Tallahassee, Florida.
St. Johns River Water Management District. 1999. Standard Operating Procedures for the Collection of Surface water Quality Samples and Field Data. Division of Laboratory Services. St. Johns River Water Management District, Palatka, Florida.
Thom, R. M., D. K. Shreffler, and J. Schafer. 1995. Mitigation Plan for Impacts to Subtidal Vegetation Associated with Reconstruction and Expansion of the Ferry Terminal at Clinton, Whidbey Island, Washington. For the Washington Department of Transportation, PNL-10844. Olympia, Washington.
Titus, J. E. andM. S. Adams. 1979. Coexistence and the comparative light relations of the submersed macrophytesMyriophyllum spicatum andVallisneria americana.Oecologia 40:273–286.
Twilley, R. R. andJ. W. Barko. 1990. The growth of submersed macrophytes under experimental salinity and light conditions.Estuaries 13:311–321.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Steinmetz, A.M., Jeansonne, M.M., Gordon, E.S. et al. An evaluation of glass prisms in boat docks to reduce shading of submerged aquatic vegetation in the lower St. Johns River, Florida. Estuaries 27, 938–944 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02803420
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02803420