MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 345:83-92 (2007) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps07004 Response and recovery dynamics of seagrasses Thalassia testudinum and Syringodium filiforme and macroalgae in experimental motor vessel disturbances K. K. Hammerstrom1,*, W. J. Kenworthy2, P. E. Whitfield2, M. F. Merello3 1Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, 8272 Moss Landing Road, Moss Landing, California 95039, USA 2Center for Coastal Fisheries and Habitat Research, NCCOS, NOS, NOAA, 101 Pivers Island Road, Beaufort, North Carolina 28516, USA 3Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, 100 Eighth Avenue SE, St. Petersburg, Florida 33701, USA *Email: khammerstrom@mlml.calstate.edu ABSTRACT: Shallow seagrass beds worldwide are being negatively impacted by human activities. Damage by boats includes anchor scars, propeller scars, and hull groundings. In some Thalassia testudinum-dominated systems, vessel damage may persist for years or decades, and even small scars may leave seagrass habitat susceptible to severe erosion by wind and wave-driven currents and storms. Cost-effective techniques for restoration in these erosion-prone systems must include sediment replacement and stabilization to best enhance seagrass recovery. We conducted 2 experiments to address the effects of excavation depth and sediment filling on seagrass and macroalgal recovery into small-scale disturbances such as propeller scars. Recovery in excavations ≥20 cm deep took 2 to 5 yr longer than recovery in shallower disturbances (10 cm). Seagrasses were able to grow in native limestone fill material (diameter 0.6 cm), although the compensatory response of Syringodium filiforme was dampened. KEY WORDS: Seagrass · Restoration · Damage · Disturbance · Recovery · Thalassia testudinum · Syringodium filiforme Full text in pdf format PreviousNextCite this article as: Hammerstrom KK, Kenworthy WJ, Whitfield PE, Merello MF (2007) Response and recovery dynamics of seagrasses Thalassia testudinum and Syringodium filiforme and macroalgae in experimental motor vessel disturbances. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 345:83-92. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps07004 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 345. Online publication date: September 13, 2007 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2007 Inter-Research.