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Dependence of estuarine productivity on anomalies in mean sea level
Author(s) -
Morris James T.,
Kjerfve Björn,
Dean John M.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
limnology and oceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.7
H-Index - 197
eISSN - 1939-5590
pISSN - 0024-3590
DOI - 10.4319/lo.1990.35.4.0926
Subject(s) - intertidal zone , salt marsh , productivity , estuary , spartina alterniflora , shrimp , sea level , environmental science , habitat , salinity , oceanography , fishery , mangrove , marsh , ecology , biology , geology , wetland , economics , macroeconomics
The annual aboveground productivity of Spartina alterniflora in a South Carolina salt marsh varies by a factor of two and correlates positively ( r 2 = 0.99, P < 0.001) with anomalies in mean sea level during the growing season. The effect of sea‐level anomalies on the salinity of intertidal sediments probably accounts for the observed changes in primary production. We also show that commercial landings of shrimp and menhaden from the southeastern U.S. Atlantic and central Gulf of Mexico are positively correlated with sea‐level anomalies. These species use salt‐marsh habitats as juveniles, and we attribute this correlation to effects of sea‐level anomalies on habitat availability or food production.