Biomass and Productivity of Thalassia testudinum in Estuaries of the Florida Panhandle

Gulf and Caribbean Research, Aug 2023

Thalassia testudinum often dominates seagrass meadows of the Florida panhandle but few measurements of productivity, biomass, density, turnover or leaf area index in this region have been made. We targeted 5 estuaries located at similar latitudes, 30⁰ ± 0.3⁰N: Big Lagoon, Santa Rosa Sound, St. Andrew Bay, St. Joseph Bay, and St. George Sound. This study was one component of a collaborative partnership of state and local researchers examining factors preventing recovery in panhandle estuarine areas that had historically contained seagrass in the 1940s and 1950s. Measurements were made twice in 2016, once in June and then again in summer or fall, except in Santa Rosa Sound where measurements were made 3 times. In the estuaries sampled for the second time in July or August, aboveground productivity was greater than in June. St. Joseph Bay had the highest aboveground productivity (4.3 g/m2/d) and 1—sided leaf area index (4.2) while St. George Sound had the lowest values (0.41 g/m2/d and 1.0). Principal component analysis suggested that St. Andrew Bay, Big Lagoon and Santa Rosa Sound were the most similar, with higher values for shoot densities and leaf turnover and lower salinities and watershed:water ratios. St. Joseph Bay had high aboveground productivity and salinity, and low turbidity. St. George Sound had low aboveground productivity, high total suspended solids and the highest watershed:water ratio. These baseline productivity estimates will be useful to assess the success of restoration efforts targeting seagrasses in the Florida panhandle and evaluate impacts of climate change on seagrasses.

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Biomass and Productivity of Thalassia testudinum in Estuaries of the Florida Panhandle

Gulf and Caribbean Research Volume 34 Issue 1 2023 Biomass and Productivity of Thalassia testudinum in Estuaries of the Florida Panhandle Laura A. Yarbro Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Paul R. Carlson Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Ken L. Heck Dauphin Island Sea Lab and University of South Alabama Dorothy Byron Dauphin Island Sea Lab See next page for additional authors Follow this and additional works at: https://aquila.usm.edu/gcr Part of the Marine Biology Commons, and the Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons To access the supplemental data associated with this article, CLICK HERE. Recommended Citation Yarbro, L. A., P. R. Carlson, K. L. Heck, D. Byron, S. Brooke, L. Fitzhugh, S. Scolaro, B. Albrecht, R. Presley and J. M. Caffrey. 2023. Biomass and Productivity of Thalassia testudinum in Estuaries of the Florida Panhandle. Gulf and Caribbean Research 34 (1): 69-78. Retrieved from https://aquila.usm.edu/gcr/vol34/iss1/11 DOI: https://doi.org/10.18785/gcr.3401.11 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by The Aquila Digital Community. It has been accepted for inclusion in Gulf and Caribbean Research by an authorized editor of The Aquila Digital Community. For more information, please contact . Biomass and Productivity of Thalassia testudinum in Estuaries of the Florida Panhandle Authors Laura A. Yarbro, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission; Paul R. Carlson, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission; Ken L. Heck, Dauphin Island Sea Lab and University of South Alabama; Dorothy Byron, Dauphin Island Sea Lab; Sandra Brooke, Florida State University; Linda Fitzhugh, Gulf Coast State College; Sheila Scolaro, Tampa Bay Estuary Program; Barbara Albrecht, University of West Florida; Rachel Presley, University of West Florida and University of Maine; and Jane M. Caffrey, University of West Florida This article is available in Gulf and Caribbean Research: https://aquila.usm.edu/gcr/vol34/iss1/11 Volume 25 R E S E A R C H March 2013 VOLUME 25 GULF AND CARIBBEAN TABLE OF CONTENTS R SAND BOTTOM MICROALGAL PRODUCTION AND BENTHIC NUTRIENT FLUXES ON THE NORTHEASTERN GULF OF MEXICO NEARSHORE SHELF Jeffrey G. Allison, M. E. Wagner, M. McAllister, A. K. J. Ren, and R. A. Snyder ....................................................................................1—8 WHAT IS KNOWN ABOUT SPECIES RICHNESS AND DISTRIBUTION ON THE OUTER—SHELF SOUTH TEXAS BANKS? Harriet L. Nash, Sharon J. Furiness, and John W. Tunnell, Jr........................................................................................................... 9—18 ASSESSMENT OF SEAGRASS FLORAL COMMUNITY STRUCTURE FROM TWO CARIBBEAN MARINE PROTECTED AREAS Paul A. X. Bologna and Anthony J. Suleski.............................................................................................................................................. 19—27 SPATIAL AND SIZE DISTRIBUTION OF RED DRUM CAUGHT AND RELEASED IN TAMPA BAY, FLORIDA, AND FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH POST—RELEASE HOOKING MORTALITY Kerry E. Flaherty, Brent L. Winner, Julie L. Vecchio, and Theodore S. Switzer....................................................................................29—41 CHARACTERIZATION OF ICHTHYOPLANKTON IN THE NORTHEASTERN GULF OF MEXICO FROM SEAMAP PLANKTON SURVEYS, 1982—1999 Joanne Lyczkowski—Shultz, David S. Hanisko, Kenneth J. Sulak, Małgorzata Konieczna, and Pamela J. Bond................................... 43—98 DEPURATION OF MACONDA (MC—252) OIL FOUND IN HETEROTROPHIC SCLERACTINIAN CORALS (TUBASTREA COCCINEA AND TUBASTREA MICRANTHUS) ON OFFSHORE OIL/GAS PLATFORMS IN THE GULF Steve R. Kolian, Scott Porter, Paul W. Sammarco, and Edwin W. Cake, Jr........................................................................................99—103 EFFECTS OF CLOSURE OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER GULF OUTLET ON SALTWATER INTRUSION AND BOTTOM WATER HYPOXIA IN LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN Michael A. Poirrier .............................................................................................................................................................................105—109 DISTRIBUTION AND LENGTH FREQUENCY OF INVASIVE LIONFISH (PTEROIS SP.) IN THE NORTHERN GULF OF MEXICO OF MEXICO Alexander Q. Fogg, Eric R. Hoffmayer, William B. Driggers III, Matthew D. Campbell, Gilmore J. Pellegrin, and William Stein ............................................................................................................................................................................................................111—115 NOTES ON THE BIOLOGY OF INVASIVE LIONFISH (PTEROIS SP.) FROM THE NORTHCENTRAL GULF OF MEXICO William Stein III, Nancy J. Brown—Peterson, James S. Franks, and Martin T. O’Connell................................................................117—120 RECORD BODY SIZE FOR THE RED LIONFISH, PTEROIS VOLITANS (SCORPAENIFORMES), IN THE SOUTHERN GULF OF MEXICO Alfonso Aguilar—Perera, Leidy Perera—Chan, and Luis Quijano—Puerto............................................................................................121—123 EFFECTS OF BLACK MANGROVE (AVICENNIA GERMINANS) EXPANSION ON SALTMARSH (SPARTINA ALTERNIFLORA) BENTHIC COMMUNITIES OF THE SOUTH TEXAS COAST Jessica Lunt, Kimberly McGlaun, and Elizabeth M. Robinson..........................................................................................................125—129 TIME—ACTIVITY BUDGETS OF STOPLIGHT PARROTFISH (SCARIDAE: SPARISOMA VIRIDE) IN BELIZE: CLEANING INVITATION AND DIURNAL PATTERNS Wesley A. Dent and Gary R. Gaston .................................................................................................................................................131—135 FIRST RECORD OF A NURSE SHARK, GINGLYMOSTOMA CIRRATUM, WITHIN THE MISSISSIPPI SOUND Jill M. Hendon, Eric R. Hoffmayer, and William B. Driggers III......................................................................................................137—139 REVIEWERS.........................................................................................................................................................................................................141 INSTRUCTION TO AUTHORS................................................................................................................................................................142-143 Published by ISSN: 1528—0470 All rights reserved. No part of this publication covered by the copyright hereon may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means without written permission from the publisher. E A R C H ISSN: 2572-1410 Published by MARCH 2013 703 East Beach Drive Ocean Springs, Mississippi 39564 228.872.4200 • FAX: 228.872.4204 www.usm.edu/gcrl S Volume 34 2023 © 2013 The University of Southern Mississippi, Gulf Coast Research Laboratory. Printed in the United States of America E GULF AND CARIBBEAN RESEARCH Short Communications GULF AND CA (...truncated)


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Laura A Yarbro, Paul R Carlson, Ken L Heck, Dorothy Byron, Sandra Brooke, Linda Fitzhugh, Sheila Scolaro, Barbara Albrecht, Rachel Presley, Jane M Caffrey. Biomass and Productivity of Thalassia testudinum in Estuaries of the Florida Panhandle, Gulf and Caribbean Research, 2023, pp. 69-78, Volume 34, Issue 1,