Effect of “Brown Tide” Shading on Eelgrass (Zostera Marina L.) Distributions

  • William C. Dennison
  • Gregory J. Marshall
  • Cathleen Wigand
Conference paper
Part of the Coastal and Estuarine Studies book series (COASTAL, volume 35)

Abstract

For the past 4 summers (1985–1988), the microalga Aureococcus anophagefferens bloomed in Long Island embayments, causing large scale perturbations in water column dynamics. The “brown tide” algal blooms brought about significant changes in the benthic community as well. The high cell densities (>109 l-1) of A. anophagefferens significantly increased light absorption in the water column (Cosper et al., 1987), and reduced the light available to plants living on the bottom of the embayments. In particular, the temperate water seagrass Zostera marina L. (eelgrass) was affected by the reduced light availability due to the “brown tide” algal blooms.

Keywords

Aerial Photograph Algal Bloom Zostera Marina Brown Tide Seagrass Ecosystem 
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Copyright information

© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 1989

Authors and Affiliations

  • William C. Dennison
    • 1
  • Gregory J. Marshall
    • 2
  • Cathleen Wigand
    • 1
  1. 1.Horn Point Environmental Laboratories Center for Environmental and Estuarine StudiesUniversity of MarylandCambridgeUSA
  2. 2.Marine Sciences Research CenterState University of New YorkStony BrookUSA

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