Temporal and spatial patterns of eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) in a former estuary in The netherlands, dominated by human activities
Nienhuis, P.H. (1983). Temporal and spatial patterns of eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) in a former estuary in The netherlands, dominated by human activities. Mar. Technol. Soc. J. 17(2): 69-77 In: Marine Technology Society Journal. Marine Technology Society (MTS): Washington, D.C.. ISSN 0025-3324; e-ISSN 1948-1209, more |  |
| Keywords | Marine/Coastal; Brackish water |
| Abstract | A review is given of the temporal and spatial patterns of the eelgrass population in Grevelingen estuary, SW Netherlands, after it has been transformed into a salt-water lake. After man-induced changes in environmental conditions the eelgrass population dropped down in 1980 to about half the 1978 situation. The possible causes of this sudden decline have been discussed, viz seed production and germination, water temperature, wasting disease, transparency of the water, oxygen content of the sediment, salinity of the water, nutrient concentrations in the open water and macro-algal competition. The most plausible explantation for mass decline of eelgrass in Lake Grevelingen in 1980 is associated with an increase in organic matter deposition on the bottom, following a change in nutrient loading of the lake, causing rapid deoxygenation and toxification of the sediments, and consequent die back of rhizomes and roots. |
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