Publication Details
Declines of Eelgrass in Estuarine Research Reserves Along the East Coast, U.S.A., Part 1: Problems of Pollution and Disease
Author(s): Frederick T. Short, David M. Burdick, Jaimie Wolf, Galen E. Jones
NCCOS Center: CSCOR (http://cop.noaa.gov/)
Name of Publisher: University of New Hampshire Printing Services
Place of Publication: Jackson Estuarine Laboratory, University of New Ha
Publication Type: NOAA Special Reports
Date of Publication: 1993
Reference Information:
Abstract: Eelgrass, Zostera marina L., is a submerged marine vascular plant that provides the basic
structure of an extensive and important estuarine and coastal ecosystem. Currently, eelgrass
populations around the world are declining dramatically due primarily to two causes: human pollution
and a disease. The extensive loss of eelgrass threatens major alterations to the coastal environment and
to the waterfowl and fish that depend on these plant communities. However, the eelgrass declines
represent natural experiments that provide an opportunity to investigate a disease's impact on an
ecosystem, the characteristics of pollution-related declines, and fmally, how declines from both causes
can be diminished or mitigated.
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