Seagrass recovery in the Delmarva Coastal Bays, USA

Orth, Robert J.; Luckenbach, Mark; Marion, Scott R.; Moore, Kenneth A.; Wilcox, David J.

doi:10.1016/j.aquabot.2005.07.007

Cited by 191 publications

(178 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…In the Delmarva Coastal Bays, USA, eelgrass Zostera marina showed natural recovery after the 1930s wasting disease and hurricane destruction in the four northern bays, probably from small remnant stands [56]. By contrast, no recovery occurred in the southern bays, owing to seed limitation, before active restoration efforts.…”

Section: Reviewmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Recovery of eelgrass beds after the 1930s wasting disease took decades in some areas, whereas other areas remain unvegetated [54,56]. Thus, even if all threats are reduced, recovery might still take decades to centuries for long-lived species, habitats and complex ecosystems, and clearly depends not only on the life-history characteristics of the species and the succession rate of the ecosystems, but also on the type and magnitude of disturbance.…”

Section: Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Recovery of marine animal populations and ecosystems

Lotze¹,

Coll²,

Magera³

et al. 2011

Trends in Ecology & Evolution

358

316

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Many marine populations and ecosystems have experienced strong historical depletions, yet reports of recoveries are increasing. Here, we review the growing research on marine recoveries to reveal how common recovery is, its magnitude, timescale and major drivers. Overall, 10-50% of depleted populations and ecosystems show some recovery, but rarely to former levels of abundance. In addition, recovery can take many decades for long-lived species and complex ecosystems. Major drivers of recovery include the reduction of human impacts, especially exploitation, habitat loss and pollution, combined with favorable life-history and environmental conditions. Awareness, legal protection and enforcement of management plans are also crucial. Learning from historical recovery successes and failures is essential for implementing realistic conservation goals and promising management strategies.A new focus on recovery An increasing number of studies have reported strong declines in marine animal populations and the degradation of ocean ecosystems over past decades and centuries around the world [1][2][3][4][5][6][7], leading to a widespread perception of empty oceans and polluted waters. Yet, throughout history, humans have responded to declining resource abundance and ecosystem degradation by implementing management and conservation measures. Some of these have been successful and resulted in recovery, whereas others have failed [3,8,9].Therefore, an important question to science and management is: how common is recovery among depleted populations and degraded ecosystems in the ocean? Today, many marine mammal, bird, reptile and fish populations are at low abundance, and several species are endangered or extinct on regional or global scales [5,[10][11][12]. However, despite long periods of intense human impacts, most marine species persist and some populations do show signs of recovery [3,8,9]. Similarly, many coastal habitats, including wetlands, seagrass beds, mangrove and kelp forests, and oyster and coral reefs, have been severely reduced or degraded [2][3][4]6], yet partial recovery has been achieved in some regions in response to protection and pollution controls [3,13]. Restoration attempts at an ecosystem level have often been followed by the return and recovery of former species assemblages and ecosystem functions [13][14][15][16][17], but some ecosystems have remained in an altered state [18]. Such successes could serve as important guides for efforts to prevent further biodiversity loss and enhance future recoveries.Despite a growing number of case studies on the recovery of specific populations or ecosystems, an overview of the general patterns and drivers of marine recoveries over historical timescales is lacking. A recent review on the recovery of damaged ecosystems found that many terrestrial and marine ecosystems can recover on timescales of a few years to a few decades after major perturbations [19]. However, most case studies in the review, especially among marine and brackish examples, included small, short-...

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Section: Reviewmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recovery of marine animal populations and ecosystems

Lotze¹,

Coll²,

Magera³

et al. 2011

Trends in Ecology & Evolution

358

316

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…There is little available literature on the spatio-temporal dynamics of seagrass meadows over long timeperiods (Charpentier et al, 2005;Orth et al, 2006b;Bernard et al, 2007;Sfriso and Facca, 2007). Here, we report evolutions in spatial distribution of Cymodocea nodosa-dominated seagrass meadows in a Mediterranean lagoon over a 40-year time-scale.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

“…Our data showed a 49% regression in seagrass meadow from the early 1970s to the early 1990s followed by a 42% increase from the early 1990s to now. With the exception of a few cases (e.g., seagrass expansion in Isle of Wight Bay: Dennison et al, 2009; seagrass recovery in the Delmarva Coastal Bays, USA: Orth et al, 2006b), studies over the last few decades report drastic declines in seagrass Fig. 7.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Resilience and stability of Cymodocea nodosa seagrass meadows over the last four decades in a Mediterranean lagoon

Garrido¹,

Lafabrie²,

Torre³

et al. 2013

Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science

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a b s t r a c tUnderstanding what controls the capacity of a coastal lagoon ecosystem to recover following climatic and anthropogenic perturbations and how these perturbations can alter this capacity is critical to efficient environmental management. The goal of this study was to examine the resilience and stability of Cymodocea nodosa-dominated seagrass meadows in Urbino lagoon (Corsica, Mediterranean Sea) by characterizing the spatio-temporal dynamics of seagrass meadows over a 40-year period and comparing (anthropogenic and climatic) environmental fluctuations. The spatio-temporal evolution of seagrass meadows was investigated using previous maps (1973, 1979, 1990, 1994, 1996, 1999) and a 2011 map realized by aerial photographyeremote sensing combined with GIS technology. Environmental fluctuation was investigated via physical-chemical parameters (rainfall, water temperature, salinity, turbidity, dissolved oxygen) and human-impact changes (aquaculture, artificial channel). The results showed a severe decline (estimated at À49%) in seagrass meadows between 1973 and 1994 followed by a period of strong recovery (estimated to þ42%) between 1994 and 2011. Increased turbidity, induced either by rainfall events, dredging or phytoplankton growth, emerged as the most important driver of the spatiotemporal evolution of Cymodocea nodosa-dominated meadows in Urbino lagoon over the last four decades. Climate events associated to increased turbidity and reduced salinity and temperature could heavily impact seagrass dynamics. This study shows that Urbino lagoon, a system relatively untouched by human impact, shelters seagrass meadows that exhibit high resilience and stability.

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“…This history reflects global trends. Similarly, continued coastal development threatens seagrasses communities worldwide (Orth et al 2005. Abundances have declined 29% globally since 1879 and for the last several decades seagrasses have been disappearing at a rate of 110 km 2 yr −1 (Lotze, Lenihan, and Bourque et al 2006;Micheli et al 2008;Waycott et al 2009;Hughes et al 2009).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Twenty-first century climate change and submerged aquatic vegetation in a temperate estuary: the case of Chesapeake Bay

Arnold

Zimmerman

Engelhardt

et al. 2017

Ecosyst Health Sustain

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Introduction: The Chesapeake Bay was once renowned for expansive meadows of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV). However, only 10% of the original meadows survive. Future restoration efforts will be complicated by accelerating climate change, including physiological stressors such as a predicted mean temperature increase of 2-6°C and a 50-160% increase in CO 2 concentrations. Outcomes: As the Chesapeake Bay begins to exhibit characteristics of a subtropical estuary, summer heat waves will become more frequent and severe. Warming alone would eventually eliminate eelgrass (Zostera marina) from the region. It will favor native heat-tolerant species such as widgeon grass (Ruppia maritima) while facilitating colonization by non-native seagrasses (e.g., Halodule spp.). Intensifying human activity will also fuel coastal zone acidification and the resulting high CO 2 /low pH conditions may benefit SAV via a "CO 2 fertilization effect." Discussion: Acidification is known to offset the effects of thermal stress and may have similar effects in estuaries, assuming water clarity is sufficient to support CO 2 -stimulated photosynthesis and plants are not overgrown by epiphytes. However, coastal zone acidification is variable, driven mostly by local biological processes that may or may not always counterbalance the effects of regional warming. This precarious equipoise between two forcesthermal stress and acidification -will be critically important because it may ultimately determine the fate of cool-water plants such as Zostera marina in the Chesapeake Bay. Conclusion: The combined impacts of warming, coastal zone acidification, water clarity, and overgrowth of competing algae will determine the fate of SAV communities in rapidly changing temperate estuaries.

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Seagrass recovery in the Delmarva Coastal Bays, USA

Cited by 191 publications

References 37 publications

Recovery of marine animal populations and ecosystems

Recovery of marine animal populations and ecosystems

Resilience and stability of Cymodocea nodosa seagrass meadows over the last four decades in a Mediterranean lagoon

Twenty-first century climate change and submerged aquatic vegetation in a temperate estuary: the case of Chesapeake Bay

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