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Conference poster
Porewater Nutrients in Seagrass Beds
Gulf Estuarine Research Biennial Meeting (Fairhope, Alabama, USA, 12/05/2024–12/07/2024)
12/2024
Abstract
Seagrasses protect coastlines from erosion, improve the water quality, shelter juvenile marine species, and are an important part of the estuarine environment. Seagrasses are responsible for nutrient cycling within the estuary, such as carbon fixation and burial, and nitrification and denitrification. Pensacola Bay System’s seagrasses were studied to see how seagrass coverage, water quality, and nutrient concentrations changed during the 2024 growing season. Three locations in Santa Rosa Sound, home to the most seagrass coverage, were used to collect samples. Measurements of seagrass cover and water quality were made, along with samples for overlying water and pore water. The average seagrass cover
at these locations was 57% with Halodule wrightii dominating in shallow water and Thalassia testudinum dominating in deeper water. Porewater was analyzed for dissolved inorganic phosphate (DIP), sulfide, iron, and ammonium. Ammonium and DIP concentrations from May and June had consistently lower overlying water concentrations compared to the porewater. DIP was in excess compared to ammonium assuming Redfield stoichiometry, perhaps due to seagrasses taking up nitrogen from the porewater. This data will be used to find how seagrass growth effects the nutrient concentrations of estuarine sediment.
Details
- Title
- Porewater Nutrients in Seagrass Beds
- Resource Type
- Conference poster
- Conference
- Gulf Estuarine Research Biennial Meeting (Fairhope, Alabama, USA, 12/05/2024–12/07/2024)
- Copyright
- Permission granted to the University of West Florida Libraries by the author to digitize and/or display this information for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires the permission of the copyright holder.
- Identifiers
- 99381340310906600
- Academic Unit
- Biology; Center for Environmental Diagnostics and Bioremediation ; Hal Marcus College of Science and Engineering
- Language
- English