1. Estuarine seagrass ecosystems in North Carolina and Florida
Seagrass Ecology
Estuarine seagrass ecosystems in North Carolina and Florida

2. Seagrasses
Angiosperms (flowering plants) that live life entirely underwater
Primary productivity is among the highest measured ( g C/m2/year)
Important feeding and refuge habitat for fishery species (shrimp, scallops, fishes)
Seagrasses act as sediment stablizers help to filter water

3. Major polyhaline seagrass species

4. Major oligohaline aquatic macrophytes

5. Seagrass productivity

6. Habitat Complexity Habitat complexity is high in seagrass/SAV
Predators are inhibited by complexity because the prey have many places to hide
Densities of many invertebrates (infaunal and epifaunal) and small fishes are greater in SAV than in nearby unvegetated areas
Seagrass provides a refuge from predation

7. Types of animals in seagrass
Infauna: bury in sediment.
Polychaete worms, amphipods, clams, benefit from root and rhizome mat which protects from predators
deeper-living animals survive better than shallow-living (Mercenaria > Chione)
Epifauna: Live on surface of blades and sediment
Meiofauna (harpacticoid copepods), macrofauna (amphipods. isopods), tube-dwelling sessile polychaetes, gastropods, decapods
Shoot and leaf complexity provides refuge
Mobile fauna: Live in water over canopy
fishes swim above canopy, dive into it when predator