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Defining the Zostera marina (Eelgrass) Niche from Long-Term Success of Restored and Naturally Colonized Meadows: Implications for Seagrass Restoration

  • Special Issue: Seagrasses Tribute to Susan Williams
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Abstract

Seagrass restoration can help reverse global meadow loss and restore ecosystem services, including habitat provision for commercial fish and shellfish, carbon sequestration, and improved water quality. However, restoration projects are generally expensive, and site selection remains a challenge due to uncertainty about how environmental variables affect the survival and spread of seedlings. Long-term Zostera marina (eelgrass) success/failure and expansion data from the Virginia Coast Reserve can be used to determine whether the factors that control seedling survival also explain the regional distribution of seagrass meadows. We tracked plant survival and failure within restoration plots and at natural recruitment sites from 2001 to 2015 and used machine learning methods to identify the relative importance of multiple environmental predictors, including water residence time, fetch distance, water temperature, depth, and sediment grain size. Low water residence time was the best predictor of survival, but short fetch length best explained the natural recruit distribution, consistent with hydrodynamic control of seed dispersal. Restoration plot data suggests that the eelgrass fundamental niche covers > 100 km2 within this system, triple both the current extent and the realized niche predicted by the observed natural spread. Our results corroborate historical records that eelgrass was formerly widespread in areas where it has not spread naturally, likely due to insufficient seed delivery. Additional seeding in these areas would, therefore, increase total seagrass coverage and accelerate recovery. Mapping the total habitable area can help managers maximize the extent of seagrass and other bottom uses, including shellfish aquaculture.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank the editor and the two anonymous reviewers for their constructive feedback. This is contribution no. 3971 of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, College of William and Mary.

Funding

This study was supported by Virginia Sea Grant, the University of Virginia Jefferson Scholars Foundation, and the National Science Foundation Virginia Coast Reserve Long Term Ecological Research Grant DEB-1237733 and DEB-1832221. Contributions by R.J.O. and D.J.W. were supported by the Coastal Programs of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality funded by Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, as amended, administered by NOAA’s Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, the Virginia Recreational Fishing License Fund, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act with funding to NOAA, Grant NA09NMF4630308, Virginia Sea Grant, The Nature Conservancy, and the US Army Corps of Engineers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia, 291 McCormick Road, Charlottesville, VA, 22904-4123, USA

    Matthew P. J. Oreska, Karen J. McGlathery & Patricia L. Wiberg

  2. Virginia Institute of Marine Science, 1375 Greate Road, Gloucester Point, VA, 23062, USA

    Robert J. Orth & David J. Wilcox

Authors
  1. Matthew P. J. Oreska
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  2. Karen J. McGlathery
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  3. Patricia L. Wiberg
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  4. Robert J. Orth
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  5. David J. Wilcox
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Correspondence to Matthew P. J. Oreska.

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Communicated by Melisa C. Wong

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Oreska, M.P.J., McGlathery, K.J., Wiberg, P.L. et al. Defining the Zostera marina (Eelgrass) Niche from Long-Term Success of Restored and Naturally Colonized Meadows: Implications for Seagrass Restoration. Estuaries and Coasts 44, 396–411 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-020-00881-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-020-00881-3

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