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Groundwater effects on diversity and abundance of lagoonal seagrasses in Kenya and on Zanzibar Island (East Africa)
Citation
Kamermans P., Soetaert K. 1998:Groundwater effects on diversity and abundance of lagoonal seagrasses in Kenya and on Zanzibar Island (East Africa). Netherlands Institute of Ecology; Centre for Estuarine and Marine Ecology, Netherlands. Metadata available at http://mda.nioo.knaw.nl/imis.php?module=dataset&dasid=1170. https://marineinfo.org/id/dataset/1170
Availability: Restricted The data are withheld from general circulation and disclosure but access may be obtained on a case-by-case basis through negotiation
Notes: Restrictions available at contact person
Description
Seagrass species diversity and abundance were studied in East African back-reef lagoons with contrasting groundwater-outflow rates. The selection of the lagoons was based on a groundwater flow model. more
A total of ten seagrass species was observed at all sites together. Sites with a higher groundwater outflow displayed a lower species diversity than sites with a lower groundwater outflow. Thalassodendron ciliatum dominated at sites with high groundwater outflow rates, while Thalssia hemprichii showed higher coverage at sites with low groundwater outflow. Porewater salinities were significantly lower at locations with high groundwater-outflow rates indicating supply of freshwater. Nitrogen stable isotope signatures of seagrass leaves showed a significant increase with increased groundwater-outflow rates. This suggests that the nitrogen source for these plants was, at least for a part, groundwater. In addition, lagoons with high densities of the human population had highest 15N values, indicative of anthropogenic nitrogen inputs. Differences in optimum salinity for growth between species and competition for nitrogen may explain the observed pattern in species diversity and abundance.
Scope Themes: Biology, Biology > Plants, Geology - Geophysics - Sedimentation, Geology - Geophysics - Sedimentation > In-situ (near) seafloor data, Geology - Geophysics - Sedimentation > Sediments - rocks - pore waters
Keywords: Marine/Coastal, Abundance, Modelling, Nitrogen, Salinity, Seagrass, Species diversity, Tropical environment, ISW, Kenyan Coast, ISW, Mozambique, Inhaca, ISW, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Thalassia hemprichii (Ehrenberg) Ascherson, 1871, Thalassodendron ciliatum (Forsskål) Hartog, 1970
Geographical coverageISW, Kenyan Coast Stations
[Marine Regions]zone 1 Coordinates: MinLong: 39,8776; MinLat: -3,234 - MaxLong: 40,5514; MaxLat: -2,4192 [WGS84] Coordinates: MinX: 597500; MinY: 9642500 - MaxX: 672500; MaxY: 9732500 [UTM37S] zone 2 Coordinates: MinLong: 39,473; MinLat: -4,1389 - MaxLong: 40,1924; MaxLat: -3,098 [WGS84] Coordinates: MinX: 552500; MinY: 9542500 - MaxX: 632500; MaxY: 9657500 [UTM37S] zone 3 Coordinates: MinLong: 39,1127; MinLat: -4,7271 - MaxLong: 39,6981; MaxLat: -3,9578 [WGS84] Coordinates: MinX: 512500; MinY: 9477500 - MaxX: 577500; MaxY: 9562500 [UTM37S]
Taxonomic coverageThalassia hemprichii (Ehrenberg) Ascherson, 1871 [WoRMS]
Thalassodendron ciliatum (Forsskål) Hartog, 1970 [WoRMS]
Parameters
% seagrass coverage Current velocity water Dry weight biomass Median grain size Organic carbon (OC) Salinity
ContributorsKoninklijk Nederlands Instituut voor Onderzoek der Zee; NIOZ Yerseke , more, data owner
Dataset status: In Progress
Data type: Data
Data origin: Research: field survey
Metadatarecord created: 2007-03-22
Information last updated: 2014-01-10
All data in the Integrated Marine Information System (IMIS) is subject to the VLIZ privacy policy
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