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MEPS 705:61-75 (2023)  -  DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps14248

Northeast Pacific eelgrass dynamics: interannual expansion distances and meadow area variation over time

Stuart H. Munsch1,*, Fiona L. Beaty2,3, Kathryn M. Beheshti4, W. Bryant Chesney5, Charlie A. Endris6,7, Travis G. Gerwing8, Margot Hessing-Lewis3,9, Peter M. Kiffney10, Jennifer K. O’Leary11, Luba Reshitnyk9, Beth L. Sanderson10, Ryan K. Walter12

1Ocean Associates, Under Contract to Northwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, 2725 Montlake Boulevard East, Seattle, Washington 98112, USA
2Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada
3Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada
4Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA
5Protected Resources Division, West Coast Region, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, Long Beach, California 90802, USA
6Department of Geological Oceanography, Moss Landing Marine Labs, Moss Landing, California 95039, USA
7Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, Watsonville, California 95076, USA
8Department of Biology, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia V8P 5C2, Canada
9Hakai Institute, Box 309, Heriot Bay, British Columbia, V0P 1H0, Canada
10Fish Ecology Division, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, 2725 Montlake Boulevard East, Seattle, Washington 98112, USA
11Wildlife Conservation Society, Mombasa 80107, Kenya
12Physics Department, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, California 93401, USA
*Corresponding author:

ABSTRACT: Ecosystems constantly change, yet managers often lack information to move beyond static habitat assumptions. As human impacts and geographic information systems advance, it is important and feasible to quantify past habitat boundary shifts to inform management decisions (e.g. protective perimeters) robust to near-term habitat changes. This is the case in eelgrass (Zostera spp.), an ecosystem engineer that forms dynamic, often protected meadows. Practitioners protect areas to avoid human stress to eelgrass, but they can lack quantitative descriptions of the near-term potential for eelgrass meadows to shift into unprotected areas. Here, we quantified interannual eelgrass meadow boundary shifts within 23 sites spanning 9 decades and 19° latitude. Eelgrass meadow boundaries typically shifted into areas tens of meters away from previous meadow edges, but sometimes much farther. Also, eelgrass meadows often vacated and later recolonized the same areas. By implication, eelgrass protection efforts may be enhanced by considering that presently vacant areas may be inhabited in the future, especially near currently existing meadows. Additionally, eelgrass meadows changed less over time at sites less modified by people within temperate landscapes compared to sites located within human-dominated, warmer, and drought-prone landscapes with limited water turnover. We thus hypothesize that eelgrass meadows change more over time within landscapes exposed to greater stressor regimes because they more frequently or intensely cycle through disturbance and recovery phases. These results inform tactical decisions seeking to mitigate impacts of human activities to eelgrass and underscore the potential synergy of monitoring, research, and adaptive management approaches to protect dynamic habitats.


KEY WORDS: Coastal ecosystems · Ecosystem processes · Marine spatial planning · Recolonization · Seagrasses · Shifting habitat mosaics · Zostera


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Cite this article as: Munsch SH, Beaty FL, Beheshti KM, Chesney WB and others (2023) Northeast Pacific eelgrass dynamics: interannual expansion distances and meadow area variation over time. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 705:61-75. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps14248

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