You are here:
DROUGHT-INDUCED DECLINE OF SUBMERGED AQUATIC VEGETATION IN ESCAMBIA BAY, FL.
Citation:
Lores, E M. AND D. Specht. DROUGHT-INDUCED DECLINE OF SUBMERGED AQUATIC VEGETATION IN ESCAMBIA BAY, FL. GULF OF MEXICO SCIENCE 19(2):161-164, (2001).
Description:
Locally, the recent decline of SAV was first noticed in Blackwater Bay, FL by N. Craft of Northwest Florida Aquatic Preserves (personal communication). High salinity persisted throughout the summer and fall of 2000 due to a severe drought that has affected much of the southeast U.S. Data from EPA's Gulf Ecology Division monthly monitoring of water quality parameters in profile at a station near the mouth of Escambia River (location indicated on Figure 1) indicate that salinity was above 12 at the surface from October, 1999 thru February, 2000 and above 15 at the surface during each of the monthly visits from June, 2000 through November, 2000 (Table 1). This exceeds the V. americanasalinity tolerance of 12 reported by Twilley and Barko (1990) and 15 reported by Kraemer et al. (1999). As a result, most of the area that was previously covered by SAV beds (Lores et al 2000) is now bare sand/mud bottom.