Historical and present distribution of Zostera marina in the high north (Troms County, northern Norway) – a decline over the last century
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Nina M. Jørgensen
und
Trine Bekkby
Abstract
Eelgrass meadows (Zostera marina) have been mapped in Troms (Norway), in the temperate northeast Atlantic, north of the polar circle, from 2008 to 2011. In this region, there is little knowledge of the distribution of the eelgrass meadows. Northern Norway has an extensive coastline with many pressures and stakeholders. Old records (back to 1900) have been revisited and new locations surveyed based on a combination of spatial modeling, using digital information on depth, slope, and wave exposure and stakeholder recommendations. The results showed that 42% of the previously mapped locations had disappeared. However, we found Z. marina meadows at seven locations where they had not previously been recorded. Most meadows (66%) were smaller than 10,000 m2. The largest meadow covered an area of 325,000 m2, and was located in Balsfjorden. The results clearly show that Z. marina is able to form actively growing stands even at ∼70°N. Three of the meadows were first registered over 100 years ago, indicating long-lived stands in stable conditions. This study cannot explain the causes for the observed decline, and only discusses possible relations. The eelgrass meadows are genetically isolated but yet diverse. Management at fjord range level is required to maintain healthy and stable stands of eelgrass meadows in this region.
We wish to thank the Ministry of the Environment, the Ministry of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs, and the Ministry of Defence for funding through the National Program for Mapping of Biodiversity-Coast. The maps are available through the website www.naturbase.no. We also wish to thank Chris Emblow for the GIS work, and Bjørn Erik Bye, Lars-Henrik Larsen, Chris Emblow, Hector Andrade, Rune Palerud, and Barbara Voegele for helping with the field mapping.
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©2013 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin Boston
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Masthead
- Masthead
- Research articles
- Ecological dynamics of Zostera marina (eelgrass) in three adjacent bays in Atlantic Canada
- Historical and present distribution of Zostera marina in the high north (Troms County, northern Norway) – a decline over the last century
- Tolerance to air exposure: a feature driving the latitudinal distribution of two sibling kelp species
- Colpomenia bullosa crust (Phaeophyceae) stressed less by grazing than by abiotic factors in high intertidal rockpools in southeast Australia
- Assessment of Fucus virsoides distribution in the Gulf of Trieste (Adriatic Sea) and its relation to environmental variables
- Long-term changes in sublittoral macroalgal assemblages related to water quality improvement
- Linking macroalgal δ15N-values to nitrogen sources and effects of nutrient stress on coral condition in an upwelling region
- Non-coralline crustose algae associated with maerl beds in Portugal: a reappraisal of their diversity in the Atlantic Iberian beds
- Hydrolithon abyssophila sp. nov. (Hydrolithoideae, Corallinales), a bisporic coralline from the insular shelf edge of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands (US)
- The first record of Grateloupia subpectinata from the New Zealand region and comparison with G. prolifera, a species endemic to the Chatham Islands
- Neosiphonia baliana sp. nov. and N. silvae sp. nov. (Rhodomelaceae, Rhodophyta) from Bali, Indonesia
- Effects of density and substrate type on recruitment and growth of Pyropia torta (Rhodophyta) gametophytes
- Morphology and life stages of the potentially pinnatoxin-producing thecate dinoflagellate Vulcanodinium rugosum from the tropical Mexican Pacific
- Short communication
- Fungal endophytes of the seagrasses Halodule wrightii and Thalassia testudinum in the north-central Gulf of Mexico
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Masthead
- Masthead
- Research articles
- Ecological dynamics of Zostera marina (eelgrass) in three adjacent bays in Atlantic Canada
- Historical and present distribution of Zostera marina in the high north (Troms County, northern Norway) – a decline over the last century
- Tolerance to air exposure: a feature driving the latitudinal distribution of two sibling kelp species
- Colpomenia bullosa crust (Phaeophyceae) stressed less by grazing than by abiotic factors in high intertidal rockpools in southeast Australia
- Assessment of Fucus virsoides distribution in the Gulf of Trieste (Adriatic Sea) and its relation to environmental variables
- Long-term changes in sublittoral macroalgal assemblages related to water quality improvement
- Linking macroalgal δ15N-values to nitrogen sources and effects of nutrient stress on coral condition in an upwelling region
- Non-coralline crustose algae associated with maerl beds in Portugal: a reappraisal of their diversity in the Atlantic Iberian beds
- Hydrolithon abyssophila sp. nov. (Hydrolithoideae, Corallinales), a bisporic coralline from the insular shelf edge of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands (US)
- The first record of Grateloupia subpectinata from the New Zealand region and comparison with G. prolifera, a species endemic to the Chatham Islands
- Neosiphonia baliana sp. nov. and N. silvae sp. nov. (Rhodomelaceae, Rhodophyta) from Bali, Indonesia
- Effects of density and substrate type on recruitment and growth of Pyropia torta (Rhodophyta) gametophytes
- Morphology and life stages of the potentially pinnatoxin-producing thecate dinoflagellate Vulcanodinium rugosum from the tropical Mexican Pacific
- Short communication
- Fungal endophytes of the seagrasses Halodule wrightii and Thalassia testudinum in the north-central Gulf of Mexico
