Zostera marina meadows from the Gulf of California: conservation status
Abstract
© 2016, Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht. Eelgrass (Zostera marina) population
estimates show a decreasing trend worldwide in the second half of the twentieth century.
Mexico lacks long-term time series to determine trends for major eelgrass populations
and has made no conservation efforts. Therefore, we present the first report on the
historic presence of this annual coastal ecosystem in two wetlands of the Gulf of
California (GC), the Infiernillo Channel (CIF, largest Z. marina population inside
GC) and Concepcion Bay (BCP, the only eelgrass population along GC’s west coast),
combining field surveys (1999–2010), aerial photography (2000–2010), satellite imagery
(1972–2005), and published reports (1994–2007). Three parameters were used as indicators
of conservation status: shoot density, seed banks, and aerial coverage. Average shoot
density in the CIF (741 shoots m−2) was 3.8 times higher than in BCP (194 shoots m−2),
and average seed bank density was similar in both wetlands (17,442 seeds m−2 vs. 17,000
seeds m−2). Opportunistic seagrass Ruppia maritima was observed in both wetlands,
with higher abundance in summer when Z. marina disappears due to high water temperatures.
Eelgrass coverage was three orders of magnitude greater in the CIF (9725 ha) than
in BCP (3 ha). The striking difference between these wetlands is the lack of environmental
protection for BCP and the protection of the CIF by the Seri indigenous community,
which increases human pressure in the former, putting it at high risk of disappearing.
Conservation of eelgrass meadows is not only necessary to preserve their ecosystem
services but to insure the survival of migratory populations (Pacific brant goose,
Branta bernicla), endangered species (Black turtle, Chelonia mydas), and fisheries-related
species.
Type
Journal articleSubject
Science & TechnologyLife Sciences & Biomedicine
Biodiversity Conservation
Ecology
Environmental Sciences
Biodiversity & Conservation
Environmental Sciences & Ecology
Seagrass meadows
Northwest Mexico
Thematic classification
Landsat images
Ecosystem services
COASTAL ECOSYSTEMS
EELGRASS
BRANT
TEMPERATURE
POPULATIONS
ABUNDANCE
SALINITY
CLIMATE
MEXICO
MODEL
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/18617Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1007/s10531-016-1045-6Publication Info
Basurto, Xavier; Lopez-Calderon, JM; Riosmena-Rodríguez, R; Torre, J; & Meling, A (2016). Zostera marina meadows from the Gulf of California: conservation status. Biodiversity and Conservation, 25(2). pp. 261-273. 10.1007/s10531-016-1045-6. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/18617.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Show full item recordScholars@Duke
Xavier Basurto
Associate Professor of Sustainability Science
I am interested in the fundamental question of how groups (human and non-human) can
find ways to self-organize, cooperate, and engage in successful collective action
for the benefit of the common good. To do this I strive to understand how the institutions
(formal and informal rules and norms) that govern social behavior, interplay with
biophysical variables to shape social-ecological systems. What kind of institutions
are better able to govern complex-adaptive systems? and how can societies (la

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