Experimental studies of interactions between Zostera marina and the associated benthic fauna

• Main Author: Penny, David Marshall
• Format: Others
• Published: Scholarly Commons 1978
• Subjects: Zostera marina; Zosteraceae; Benthos; Marine ecology California Tomales Bay; Life Sciences; Marine Biology
• Online Access: https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/1975; https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2974&context=uop_etds

The objectives of the present study are to: (1) Describe the macro-invertebrate species composition and seasonal changes in abundance of the benthic infauna within an eelgrass bed; (2) Observe what immediate effects occur to the benthic community as a result of experimental removal of eelgrass plants from plants within the Zostera bed; (3) Measure the seasonal variation of eelgrass turion length over an annual cycle and determine its correlation to biomass (dry weight); (4) Examine, by means of field experiments, the importance of incident solar irradiation in affecting the seasonal growth of Zostera; and (5) Determine the relationship, if any, between the abundance of major invertebrate species and the abundance of eelgrass as determined by mean turion length.