Factors Influencing Spatial and Annual Variability in Eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) Meadows in Willapa Bay, Washington, and Coos Bay, Oregon, Estuaries

Thom, Ronald M; Borde, Amy B; Rumrill, Steven; Woodruff, Dana L; Williams, Greg D; Southard, John A; Sargeant, Susan L

doi:10.1007/BF02803368

Title: Factors Influencing Spatial and Annual Variability in Eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) Meadows in Willapa Bay, Washington, and Coos Bay, Oregon, Estuaries

Full Record
Other Related Research

Abstract

Environmental factors that influence annual variability and spatial differences in eelgrass meadows (Zostera marina L.) were examined within Willapa Bay, WA, and Coos Bay, OR, over a period of 4 years (1998-2001). A suite of eelgrass metrics were recorded annually at field sites that spanned the estuarine gradient from the marine-dominated to mesohaline regions. Growth of eelgrass plants was also monitored on a monthly basis within Sequim Bay, WA. Both the spatial cover and density of Z. marina were positively correlated with estuarine salinity and inversely correlated with temperature of the tideflat sediment. Experimental evidence verified that optimal eelgrass growth occurred at highest salinities and relatively low temperatures. Eelgrass density, biomass, and the incident of flowering plants all increased substantially in Willapa Bay, and less so in Coos Bay, over the duration of the study. Warmer winters and cooler summers associated with the transition from El Ni?o to La Ni?a ocean conditions during the study period were correlated with the increase in eelgrass abundance and flowering. Anthropogenic factors (e.g., disturbance and erosion by vessel wakes and recreational shellfishing activities) may have contributed to spatial variability. Our findings indicate that large-scale changes in climate and nearshore ocean conditions can exert amore »« less

Authors:: Thom, Ronald M; Borde, Amy B; Rumrill, Steven; Woodruff, Dana L; Williams, Greg D; Southard, John A; Sargeant, Susan L

Publication Date:: Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 2003

Research Org.:: Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

Sponsoring Org.:: USDOE

OSTI Identifier:: 15010261

Report Number(s):: PNWD-SA-5838

DOE Contract Number:: AC05-76RL01830

Resource Type:: Journal Article

Journal Name:: Estuaries, 26(4B):1117-1129

Additional Journal Information:: Journal Name: Estuaries, 26(4B):1117-1129

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

Subject:: 09 BIOMASS FUELS

Citation Formats


                    Thom, Ronald M, Borde, Amy B, Rumrill, Steven, Woodruff, Dana L, Williams, Greg D, Southard, John A, and Sargeant, Susan L. Factors Influencing Spatial and Annual Variability in Eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) Meadows in Willapa Bay, Washington, and Coos Bay, Oregon, Estuaries.  United States: N. p., 2003. 
        Web.  doi:10.1007/BF02803368.

Copy to clipboard


                    Thom, Ronald M, Borde, Amy B, Rumrill, Steven, Woodruff, Dana L, Williams, Greg D, Southard, John A, & Sargeant, Susan L. Factors Influencing Spatial and Annual Variability in Eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) Meadows in Willapa Bay, Washington, and Coos Bay, Oregon, Estuaries.  United States.  https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02803368

Copy to clipboard


                    Thom, Ronald M, Borde, Amy B, Rumrill, Steven, Woodruff, Dana L, Williams, Greg D, Southard, John A, and Sargeant, Susan L. 2003.  
        "Factors Influencing Spatial and Annual Variability in Eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) Meadows in Willapa Bay, Washington, and Coos Bay, Oregon, Estuaries".  United States.  https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02803368.

Copy to clipboard


                    
@article{osti_15010261,

  title        = {Factors Influencing Spatial and Annual Variability in Eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) Meadows in Willapa Bay, Washington, and Coos Bay, Oregon, Estuaries},

  author       = {Thom, Ronald M and Borde, Amy B and Rumrill, Steven and Woodruff, Dana L and Williams, Greg D and Southard, John A and Sargeant, Susan L},

  abstractNote = {Environmental factors that influence annual variability and spatial differences in eelgrass meadows (Zostera marina L.) were examined within Willapa Bay, WA, and Coos Bay, OR, over a period of 4 years (1998-2001). A suite of eelgrass metrics were recorded annually at field sites that spanned the estuarine gradient from the marine-dominated to mesohaline regions. Growth of eelgrass plants was also monitored on a monthly basis within Sequim Bay, WA. Both the spatial cover and density of Z. marina were positively correlated with estuarine salinity and inversely correlated with temperature of the tideflat sediment. Experimental evidence verified that optimal eelgrass growth occurred at highest salinities and relatively low temperatures. Eelgrass density, biomass, and the incident of flowering plants all increased substantially in Willapa Bay, and less so in Coos Bay, over the duration of the study. Warmer winters and cooler summers associated with the transition from El Ni?o to La Ni?a ocean conditions during the study period were correlated with the increase in eelgrass abundance and flowering. Anthropogenic factors (e.g., disturbance and erosion by vessel wakes and recreational shellfishing activities) may have contributed to spatial variability. Our findings indicate that large-scale changes in climate and nearshore ocean conditions can exert a strong regional influence on eelgrass abundance, which can vary annually by as much as 700% in Willapa Bay. Lower levels of variability observed in Coos Bay may be due to the stronger and more direct influence of the nearshore Pacific Ocean. We conclude that climate variation may have profound effects on the abundance and distribution of eelgrass meadows throughout the Pacific Northwest, and we anticipate that ocean conditions will emerge as a primary driving force for living estuarine resources and ecological processes that are associated with Z. marina beds within the landscape of these estuarine tidal basins.},

  doi          = {10.1007/BF02803368},

  url          = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/15010261},
  journal      = {Estuaries, 26(4B):1117-1129},
number       = ,

  volume       = ,

  place        = {United States},

  year         = {Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 2003},

  month        = {Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 2003}

}

Copy to clipboard

Journal Article:

https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02803368

Other availability

Find in Google Scholar

Search WorldCat to find libraries that may hold this journal

Save / Share:

Export Metadata

Save to My Library

Similar records in OSTI.GOV collections:

Eelgrass Enhancement and Restoration in the Lower Columbia River Estuary, Period of Performance: Feb 2008-Sep 2009.

Technical Report Judd, C; Thom, R; Borde, A

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ability to enhance distribution of eelgrass (Zostera marina) in the Columbia River Estuary to serve as refuge and feeding habitat for juvenile salmon, Dungeness crab, and other fish and wildlife. We strongly suspected that limited eelgrass seed dispersal has resulted in the present distribution of eelgrass meadows, and that there are other suitable places for eelgrass to survive and form functional meadows. Funded as part of the Bonneville Power Administration's call for Innovative Projects, we initiated a multistage study in 2008 that combined modeling, remote sensing, and field experimentation to: (1)more »« less
https://doi.org/10.2172/966365

Full Text Available
Willapa Bay: A historical perspective and a rationale for research

Technical Report Hedgpeth, J; Obrebski, S

This report provides a historical perspective of a Pacific coast estuarine system -- Willapa Bay. The intent of the report is to stimulate estuarine research in an area which is relatively undisturbed. Of particular interest is the importance or value of marshes, tideflats, and eelgrass beds to estuarine fisheries and waterfowl. The research findings as determined for Willapa Bay could be applied to other Pacific Northwest estuaries for coastal problems and decisionmaking. 61 refs., 18 figs., 5 tabs.
Ocean current patterns drive the worldwide colonization of eelgrass (Zostera marina)

Journal Article Yu, Lei; Khachaturyan, Marina; Matschiner, Michael; ... - Nature Plants (Online)

Currents are unique drivers of oceanic phylogeography and thus determine the distribution of marine coastal species, along with past glaciations and sea-level changes. Here we reconstruct the worldwide colonization history of eelgrass (Zostera marina L.), the most widely distributed marine flowering plant or seagrass from its origin in the Northwest Pacific, based on nuclear and chloroplast genomes. We identified two divergent Pacific clades with evidence for admixture along the East Pacific coast. Two west-to-east (trans-Pacific) colonization events support the key role of the North Pacific Current. Time-calibrated nuclear and chloroplast phylogenies yielded concordant estimates of the arrival of Z. marinamore »« less
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-023-01464-3

Full Text Available
Geospatial Habitat Analysis in Pacific Northwest Coastal Estuaries

Journal Article Borde, Amy; Thom, Ronald; Rumrill, Steven; ... - Estuaries

We assessed historical changes in the location and amount of estuarine habitat in three of the four largest coastal estuaries in the Pacific Northwest (Grays Harbor, Willapa Bay, and Coos Bay) as part of the Pacific Northwest Coastal Ecosystem Regional Study (PNCERS). To accomplish this, navigation charts, hydrographic survey data, maps, and published descriptions were used to gain information on the location of the shoreline, bathymetry, and vegetated habitats, which was then digitized and subjected to geospatial analysis using a geographic information system. In addition, we used present-day elevational boundaries for marshes, flats, and eelgrass meadows to help define habitatmore »« less
https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02803367
Restoring Resiliency: Case Studies from Pacific Northwest Estuarine Eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) Ecosystems

Journal Article Thom, Ronald; Diefenderfer, Heida; Vavrinec, John; ... - Estuaries and Coasts

The purpose of many ecological restoration projects is to establish an ecosystem with fully developed structure and function that exhibits resistance to and resilience from disturbances. Coastal restoration projects in the Pacific Northwest provide opportunities to understand what is required to restore the resilience of eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) populations. Factors influencing resilience observed in three case studies of eelgrass restoration include minimum viable population, adaptations of transplant populations, and natural and anthropogenic disturbances at restoration sites. The evaluation of resiliency depends on selecting appropriate monitoring metrics and the frequency and duration of monitoring. Eelgrass area, cover and shoot densitymore »« less
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-011-9430-6

Similar Records