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RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN WATER AND SEDIMENT CHARACTERISTICS AND BENTHIC GREEN MACROALGAE ABUNDANCE IN YAQUINA BAY, OREGON: 1999-2000
Citation:
Young, D R., R J. Ozretich, D T. Specht, J O. Lamberson, R. S. Caldwell, G. I. Hansen, AND B Stoffey. RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN WATER AND SEDIMENT CHARACTERISTICS AND BENTHIC GREEN MACROALGAE ABUNDANCE IN YAQUINA BAY, OREGON: 1999-2000. Presented at Phycological Society of America, Gleneden Beach, Oregon, June 14-19, 2003.
Description:
"Green tides" or blooms of ulvoid green algae are frequent in Yaquina Bay Estuary on the central Oregon coast, USA. Measurements of their biomass were made from late spring to early winter in 1999 at six intertidal sites in the estuary and were continued throughout the winter of 2002 at two sites that showed the greatest accumulation. The dominant blooming species were Enteromorpha linza, Ulva fenestrata, E. flexuosa, and E. intestinalis. Red and brown algal abundance was negligable. Nutrients in the central channel were monitored, along with incident light and water column absorbance, and sediment temperature. The abundance of benthic amphipods was negatively correlated with the concentration of dissolved sulfides in porewaer. Additional correlations were sought between the variables measured in an effort to suggest or negate major cause and effect relationships. This research is relevant to discerning the effects of eutrophication as a stressor on estuarine processes, and could contribute toward an understanding of anthropogenic impacts on biological communities in coastal ecosystems.