Distribution of Seagrass Beds Along the Texas Coast

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Distribution of Seagrass Beds Along the Texas
Coast

• Chris Wilson
• Marine Science Institute

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Introduction

• Who UTMSI and TXCEQ
• Goal Determine the factors controlling seagrass
  distributions along the TX coast
• How- Use of GIS and Time Series Data

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Study Location
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Data Aquisition
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Light Decreasing with Depth
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Light and Seagrass Cover
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Depth and Total Seagrass Cover
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Seagrass Cover and Location

• Red 0 Cover
• Orange lt 50 Cover
• Green gt 50 Cover

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2003-2004 Decline in Thalassia
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2003-2004 Decline in Seagrass Cover
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Yearly Average Rainfall For Texas
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Summer Rainfall- Corpus Christi
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Monthly Rainfall Corpus Christi
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Decline gt20 Quadrat Cover
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Conclusions

• Light and depth affect the distribution of
  seagrass beds
• More work needs to be focused on seagrass beds
  between 1 and 1.5m in depth
• Decline in seagrass cover may have been
  attributed to rainfall, but more data is needed

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References

• http//jrscience.wcp.muohio.edu/FieldCourses00/Mar
  ineEcologyArticles/SeagrassEcosystems.html
• http//www.srh.noaa.gov/crp/climate/crpf-6.html