Causes of light attenuation with respect to seagrasses in upper and lower Charlotte Harbor. Final Report.

Abstract

This report describes a project with a goal to evaluate the susceptibility of seagrasses in Charlotte Harbor, Florida, to impacts from increased nutrients. The project involved the study of grasses in the Harbor in order to determine the amount of light present at the deep edge of seagrass meadows, to determine the amount of light reduction associated with epiphyte coverage of seagrass blades, and to determine the relative importance of various light attenuators on water column clarity. Studying both Thalassia testudinum and Halodule wrightii seagrasses, photosynthetically active radiation and attenuation were continuously monitored for one year at the deep edges of four grass beds along a gradient of salinity from the upper to lower Harbor.