January 07, 2009
This page last modified:
July 16, 2001
Seagrass Ecology
The Making of a Salinity vs Plant Community Model
Florida Bay Project Profile - 5
Question: Is a change in salinity more important to the health and distribution of aquatic plants than light, nutrients, temperature, or average salinity at the northern land margin of Florida Bay? If so, would not:
1. rapid, sudden and extreme changes in water salinity cause the common aquatic plants to stop growing or die?
2. Constant changes of salinity in an area result in the presence of only a few aquatic plants?
3. A computer model be able to predict salinity variability, as well as, predict what plants will grow, how many will be present, and where they will grow?
Experiment: Ten sites along two northern Florida Bay transects are characterized bi-weekly for plant composition, abundance and health. The sites are also monitored for salinity, temperature, water column depth, sediment depth, and light availability. In addition, a network of tanks, called mesocosms, has been built at the Everglades National Park Ranger Station in Key Largo to control salinity in aquatic plant experiments.
Findings To Date: Variations in salinity do influence what species are present and where they will grow.
Status: The study of the range of salinity tolerance in transplanted plants will be completed 1998. Specific salinity parameters for each plant species will be identified using the mesocosm beginning in the spring of 1998. An existing computerized multi-species plant vs. salinity simulation model will be tested upon completion of the other projects. Eventually, the effects of nutrients, light and temperature will be incorporated into the model.
Restoration Impacts: The findings from this research will enable the water management districts to predict flowrate impacts on downstream salinities and aquatic communities in northern Florida Bay.
Funding Source: South Florida Water Management District
Other Related Profiles:
The Florida Bay Education Project is an archived site. For more information go to NOAA's South Florida Ecosystem Education Project at www.aoml.noaa.gov/sfp/outreach.shtml.