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Light Requirements for Growth and Survival of Eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) in Pacific Northwest (USA) Estuaries

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Abstract

We developed light requirements for eelgrass in the Pacific Northwest, USA, to evaluate the effects of short- and long-term reductions in irradiance reaching eelgrass, especially related to turbidity and overwater structures. Photosynthesis-irradiance experiments and depth distribution field studies indicated that eelgrass productivity was maximum at a photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) of about 350–550 μmol quanta m−2 s−1. Winter plants had approximately threefold greater net apparent primary productivity rate at the same irradiance as summer plants. Growth studies using artificial shading as well as field monitoring of light and eelgrass growth indicated that long-term survival required at least 3 mol quanta m−2 day−1 on average during spring and summer (i.e., May-September), and that growth was saturated above about 7 mol quanta m−2 day−1. We conclude that non-light-limited growth of eelgrass in the Pacific Northwest requires an average of at least 7 mol quanta m−2 day−1 during spring and summer and that long-term survival requires a minimum average of 3 mol quanta m−2 day−1.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), Glacier Northwest, NOAA Coastal Ocean Program, and the US Department of Energy through their Laboratory Directed Research and Development program. We sincerely acknowledge Jim Schafer and Jim Toohey from WSDOT and Ron Summers from Glacier Northwest. Those participating in this work included Sandy Wyllie Escheverria, David Shreffler, Bruce Higgins, Greg Williams, John Southard, Liam Antrim, Charles Simenstad, Annette Olson, Brie Van Cleve, Jennifer Lipfert, and Kari Steenworth. Jeni Smith assisted in the production of the final manuscript. Finally, we sincerely appreciate comments and corrections of drafts of this manuscript by Jeff Ward, Andrea Copping, and two anonymous reviewers.

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  1. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Marine Sciences Laboratory, 1529 W. Sequim Bay Road, Sequim, WA, 98382, USA

    Ronald M. Thom, Susan L. Southard & Amy B. Borde

  2. Glacier Northwest, 5975 East Marginal Way South, Seattle, WA, 98134, USA

    Peter Stoltz

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  1. Ronald M. Thom
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Correspondence to Ronald M. Thom.

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Thom, R.M., Southard, S.L., Borde, A.B. et al. Light Requirements for Growth and Survival of Eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) in Pacific Northwest (USA) Estuaries. Estuaries and Coasts 31, 969–980 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-008-9082-3

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