Production ecology of Ruppia maritima L. s.l. and Halodule wrightii Aschers. and the biomass of associated macrophytes in two south Texas estuaries : final report to the Texas Water Development Board

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dc.contributorPort Aransas Marine Laboratory
dc.contributorTexas Water Development Board
dc.contributorUniversity of Texas at Austin. Marine Science Institute
dc.creatorDunton, Kenneth H.
dc.date.accessioned2017-04-05T22:11:03Z
dc.date.available2017-04-05T22:11:03Z
dc.date.issued1989
dc.descriptionDecember 1989en_US
dc.descriptionSeries number on the title page of the report is incorrect. Series number should read: no. TR/89-013
dc.description.abstractSeasonal growth and production dynamics of Ruppia maritima L. s.l. were compared over a three year period in two south Texas estuaries that were characterized by different salinity and nitrogen regimes as a result of freshwater inputs. Continuous measurements of shoot production in the higher saline Nueces Estuary (32 - 38 %₀) and the lower saline Guadalupe Estuary (0 - 25 %₀) revealed no major differences in the magnitude of growth, but the plant populations differed significantly in the seasonality of growth, the time of flowering and the persistance of an overwintering population. During the period of rapid shoot development, from March to August, growth rates usually ranged from 2-4 mm day⁻¹ (0.04 to 0.08 mg dry wt mg shoot⁻¹ day⁻¹), although peak growth rates of up to 8 mm day⁻¹ were also recorded. At the high nutrient site in Guadalupe Estuary, a combination of heavy fouling by epiphytic macroalgae and wave exposure prevented the establishment of an overwintering population compared to the less exposed higher saline site in Nueces Estuary. As a result, R maritima was a strict opportunist, with a monocarpic reproductive pattern, yearly colonizing bare areas and completing its entire growth cycle in four months. Halodule wrightii Aschers. was absent from Guadalupe Estuary, but simultaneous measurements of growth in H wrightii in the Nueces Estuary revealed a nearly opposite strategy which included the presence of large overwintering populations, with a significant proportion of the plant's total biomass contributed by its roots and rhizomes. For R maritima these results indicate that large changes in salinity and nutrient regimes, as caused by increased freshwater inflow, have little direct effect on the growth of this euryhaline species, but could, under extreme conditions, produce an environment that prohibits its establishment as a result of fouling by epiphytic algae.en_US
dc.description.departmentMarine Scienceen_US
dc.identifierdoi:10.15781/T2NZ80V8Q
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2152/46343
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.publisherThe University of Texas at Austin, Marine Science Instituteen_US
dc.relation.ispartofMSI Technical Reportsen_US
dc.relation.ispartofseriesTechnical report (University of Texas at Austin. Marine Science Institute); no. TR/89-013
dc.rights.restrictionOpenen_US
dc.subjectRuppia maritimaen_US
dc.subject.lcshRuppia maritima
dc.subject.lcshHalodule wrightii Aschers
dc.subject.lcshEstuarine ecology--Texas--San Antonio Bay
dc.subject.lcshEstuarine ecology--Texas--Corpus Christi Bay
dc.titleProduction ecology of Ruppia maritima L. s.l. and Halodule wrightii Aschers. and the biomass of associated macrophytes in two south Texas estuaries : final report to the Texas Water Development Boarden_US
dc.title.alternativePart I : Production ecology of Ruppia maritima L. s.l. and Halodule wrightii Aschers. and the biomass of associated macrophytes in two south Texas estuaries : final report to the Texas Water Development Boarden_US
dc.title.alternativeMacrophyte biomass and production and surface and underwater irradiance in San Antonio and Corpus Christi Bays
dc.typeTechnical reporten_US

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