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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

Archived data

Archived file:
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 coverage
ISW, 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]
ISW, Mozambique, Inhaca [Marine Regions]
ISW, Tanzania, Zanzibar [Marine Regions]

Temporal coverage
March 1997
February 1998

Taxonomic coverage
Thalassia 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

Contributors
Koninklijk Nederlands Instituut voor Onderzoek der Zee; NIOZ Yerseke, moredata owner

Dataset status: In Progress
Data type: Data
Data origin: Research: field survey
Metadatarecord created: 2007-03-22
Information last updated: 2014-01-10
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