Comparison of ecosystem structure and function of created and natural seagrass habitats in Laguna Madre, Texas : annual report

The goal of this project is to determine how long it takes for created seagrass habitats to function like natural habitats. Two approaches are taken. The first is a synoptic study of mitigated sites of different ages, the second is a multi-year monitoring of a recent mitigation site. Ecosystem structure and function is assessed by measuring select variables. Community metabolism and nutrient regeneration are key variables, which indicate the functioning of an ecosystem. Benthic community structure is a key variable that indicates the habitat utilization of an ecosystem. The mitigation sites are compared to three natural reference sites that have been studied since 1989.