A Summary of Eelgrass (Zostera marina) Reproductive Biology with an Emphasis on Seed Biology and Ecology from the Chesapeake Bay Region
Abstract
Interest in seagrass restoration is increasing worldwide as the value of seagrass ecosystems is recognized by scientists, managers and regulators (Orth et al. 2000, 2006b, 2006c). Seagrass transplanting projects have traditionally relied on adult plants (Fonseca et al. 1998) using a variety of manual and mechanical techniques (Fonseca et al. 1998, Fishman et al. 2004, Treat and Lewis 2006). However, most techniques using adult plants are laborintensive and time-consuming, requiring physical excavation of the donor material, which could be deleterious to the donor bed s survival. In addition, transporting adult plants can present logistical constraints if the transplant site is located at significant distances from the donor site, or if the methodology requires moving sediment along with the plants. One of the key advantages of transplanting adult plants is the immediate creation of habitat for fauna, which have been shown to colonize these areas rapidly (Fonseca et al. 1996). While most seagrass restoration projects cover small areas of meters to tens of meters squared, efforts to restore larger areas may be necessary to significantly enhance recovery. Seeds offer the potential to restore large, genetically diverse populations of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) in a manner that avoids the damage to donor beds caused by harvesting adult transplants. Seagrass seeds have been shown to be critical in natural bed recovery following disturbances (Plus et al. 2003) and in initiating recovery in systems where seed recruitment is rare (Orth et al. 2006d). Much of the research on the use of seeds in SAV restoration has focused on a single species, Zostera marina (eelgrass) (Figure 1). As a result, more is known about the seed ecology of Z. marina than any other seagrass species.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 2007
- Accession Number
- ADA477866
Entities
People
- Kenneth A. Moore
- Robert J Orth
- Scott R. Marion
Organizations
- Engineer Research and Development Center