Summary

Seagrasses are dominant primary producers and play a central role in stability, nursery function, biogeochemical cycling, and trophodynamics in coastal ecosystems. ACE-INC researchers are developing and evaluating seagrass indicators that provide a link between field observations, mensurative experiments, modeling, and remote sensing information sources. Our research efforts are focused in three broad areas of decreasing hierarchical scale and increasing resolution. At the largest spatio-temporal scale is the effort to refine an existing bio-optical model for enhanced water quality management in collaboration with researchers in the ASC EaGLe-group. To supplement this effort, we are focusing on developing easy to use, rapid-assessment field bioassay-techniques to determine the habitat suitability of water quality conditions for seagrass survival and growth – this an area where little research has been focused to date. Finally, we are evaluating numerous traditional and novel physiological indicators of seagrass plant-health to make recommendations on which of these metrics are most information-rich and suitable for management-oriented applications. Background and Rationale for Developing Seagrass Indicator