Record Display for the EPA National Library Catalog

RECORD NUMBER: 456 OF 580

Main Title Seagrass Communities of the Gulf Coast of Florida: Status and Ecology.
Author Dawes, C. J. ; Phillips, R. C. ; Morrison, G. ;
CORP Author University of South Florida, Tampa. ;Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas, Sevastopol (USSR). ;Environmental Protection Commission of Hillsborough County, Tampa, FL.
Publisher Aug 2004
Year Published 2004
Stock Number PB2005-104727
Additional Subjects Sea grasses ; Gulf Coast ; Florida ; Ecology ; Marine biology ; Fisheries ; Biological communities ; Aquatic plants ; Biodiversity ; Habitats ; Production ; Invertebrates ; Environmental impacts ; State government ; Local government ;
Holdings
Library Call Number Additional Info Location Last
Modified
Checkout
Status
NTIS  PB2005-104727 Some EPA libraries have a fiche copy filed under the call number shown. 07/26/2022
Collation 84p
Abstract
The waters along Florida's Gulf of Mexico coastline, which stretches from the tropical Florida Keys in the south to the temperate Panhandle in the north, contain the most extensive and diverse seagrass meadows in the United States. Seagrass meadows rival or exceed most kinds of agriculture in their productivity and also provide unique aesthetic and recreational opportunities. The importance of seagrasses as food, shelter, and essential nursery habitats for commercial- and recreational-fishery species and for the many other organisms that live and feed in seagrass beds is well known. A single acre of seagrass can produce over 10 tons of leaves per year and can support as many as 40 thousand fish and 50 million invertebrates. This high level of production and biodiversity has led to the view that seagrass communities are the marine equivalent of tropical rainforests.