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Gulf Coast Research Lab - Marine Botany |
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Fig. 1: Hard at work |
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Chandeleur Islands Seagrass Monitoring |
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Sampling was conducted on shallow nearshore seagrass beds. Access by boat was restricted due to the shallow depths (1-4 ft). We had lots of equipment: transect tapes, 6 inch corers, quadrats, sampling bags, sieves, underwater camera, GPS, datasheets, snorkel gear; so we ended up using one of the R/V McIllwain life-rafts to help us out and it worked great! Below the sampling images are some pictures of the seagrass condition at the seven sites visited: 1. Site 2 - former Syringodium meadow site visited by USGS for water quality monitoring, this northern end of the island chain had been completely removed by Katrina, and only a shallow unvegetated sand bar was left. 2. L12, MO2, L13 are behind a remaining fragment of the islands - at L12 there was some burial, MO2 was patchy elongated meadows running north-south, L13 was a deeper mixed species patch eroding around the edges. 3. L05, L03, and L04 were along the edge of a new deep tidal channel. Lots of water flow, quite a lot of drifting macroalgal mats. Erosion along the edges of the tidal channel was very evident. Grass looks very healthy compared to the other sites. |
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Fig. 3: Thalassia testudinum L12 |
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Fig. 5: Syringodium filiforme L13 |
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Fig. 2: no Syringodium left at Site 2, south of Chandeleur Lighthouse |
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Fig. 4: Thalassia testudinum MO2 signs of burial and anoxia |
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Fig. 6: Thalassia testudinum L05 |
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Fig. 7: Thalassia testudinum L03 showing algae and eroding edge |
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Fig. 8: L04 a previously vegetated site was now a barren mud flat |
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Dr. Patrick Biber Associate Professor, Coastal Sciences Gulf Coast Research Laboratory 703 East Beach Drive Ocean Springs, MS 39564 United States |
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Phone: 228 872 4200 Fax: 228 872 4204 E-mail: patrick.biber@usm.edu Webpage: |
