engleski

Boat-based videographic monitoring of an Adriatic lagoon indicates increase in seagrass cover associated with sediment deposition

Within the scope of a seagrass monitoring program in the Novigrad Sea, Central Croatian Adriatic, we predicted that the annual variability in seagrass coverage can be partially explained by the annual variability in sediment translocation. From 23 fixed DGPS-referenced monitoring video transects followed over three years (June 2007-9), we calculated annual (1) changes in interior bed seagrass coverage, (2) gain in seagrass at the lower edge of the bed and the associated seagrass bed expansion, and (3) accumulation of sediment, its depth dependence, and the associated changes in transect slope. We found that in 2007-08, the year with net sediment accumulation, seagrass coverage increased and the seagrass bed expanded. In both years seagrass cover within the bed increased with increasing sediment accumulation, while seagrass bed expansion was highest under intermediate sedimentation rates. Boat-based videographic monitoring can document both natural sediment movement along the depth gradient, and species-specific responses necessary for informed management of submerged aquatic vegetation in the Adriatic Sea.

seagrass; sedimentation; monitoring; GPS; videography; Adriatic

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