Abstract

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Paper
Temporal variation in Depth Distribution of Coastal Submerged Vegetation
Track: Ecology and Conservation
Author(s): Hyun Jung Cho, Christopher May, John Young

Annual transect distribution of Ruppia maritima, a coastal submerged macrophyte, in Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana, was visualized using dynamic segmentation. The temporal and spatial variations of vegetation coverage were related to the varying environmental conditions to determine key controlling factors. Transect vegetation survey data was stored as text files and imported into ArcMap 8.1. Ruppia patches on the five survey transects were added as line events onto routes (transect lines) as linear features. Depth measurements, made at three-meter intervals, for each year were interpolated into a grid surface, and the water depth levels were reclassified into seven classes of depth intervals. Ruppia distribution along the line transects was overlaid on the grid surface. Annual Ruppia abundance and distribution changes were primarily controlled by water clarity. The patchiness was related to sandbar structures.

Hyun Jung Cho
Jackson State University
Biology
1400 Lynch St.
Jackson , MS 39217
US
Phone: 601-979-3912
Fax: 601-979-5853
E-mail: hyun.j.cho@jsums.edu

Christopher May
Mississippi Department of Marine Resources - Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve
6005 Bayou Heron Rd.
Moss Point , MS 39562
US
Phone: 228-475-7047
Fax: 228-475-8097
E-mail: chris.may@dmr.state.ms.us

John Young
Jackson State University
e-Center
Jackson , MS 39217
US
Phone: 601-979-8249
E-mail: john.h.young@jsums.edu