Twenty-first century climate change and submerged aquatic vegetation in a temperate estuary: the case of Chesapeake Bay

Introduction: The Chesapeake Bay was once renowned for expansive meadows of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV). However, only 10% of the original meadows survive. Future restoration efforts will be complicated by accelerating climate change, including physiological stressors such as a predicted mea...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales:	Thomas M. Arnold, Richard C. Zimmerman, Katharina A. M. Engelhardt, J. Court Stevenson
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Taylor & Francis Group 2017
Materias:	Submerged aquatic vegetation climate temperature coastal acidification Chesapeake Bay Ecology QH540-549.5
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/1b9791466f7546819ef8322b3eff02b8
Etiquetas:	Agregar Etiqueta Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!

id	oai:doaj.org-article:1b9791466f7546819ef8322b3eff02b8
record_format	dspace
spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:1b9791466f7546819ef8322b3eff02b82021-12-02T14:20:58ZTwenty-first century climate change and submerged aquatic vegetation in a temperate estuary: the case of Chesapeake Bay2096-41292332-887810.1080/20964129.2017.1353283https://doaj.org/article/1b9791466f7546819ef8322b3eff02b82017-07-01T00:00:00Zhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1080/20964129.2017.1353283https://doaj.org/toc/2096-4129https://doaj.org/toc/2332-8878Introduction: The Chesapeake Bay was once renowned for expansive meadows of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV). However, only 10% of the original meadows survive. Future restoration efforts will be complicated by accelerating climate change, including physiological stressors such as a predicted mean temperature increase of 2–6°C and a 50–160% increase in CO2 concentrations. Outcomes: As the Chesapeake Bay begins to exhibit characteristics of a subtropical estuary, summer heat waves will become more frequent and severe. Warming alone would eventually eliminate eelgrass (Zostera marina) from the region. It will favor native heat-tolerant species such as widgeon grass (Ruppia maritima) while facilitating colonization by non-native seagrasses (e.g., Halodule spp.). Intensifying human activity will also fuel coastal zone acidification and the resulting high CO2/low pH conditions may benefit SAV via a “CO2 fertilization effect.” Discussion: Acidification is known to offset the effects of thermal stress and may have similar effects in estuaries, assuming water clarity is sufficient to support CO2-stimulated photosynthesis and plants are not overgrown by epiphytes. However, coastal zone acidification is variable, driven mostly by local biological processes that may or may not always counterbalance the effects of regional warming. This precarious equipoise between two forces – thermal stress and acidification – will be critically important because it may ultimately determine the fate of cool-water plants such as Zostera marina in the Chesapeake Bay. Conclusion: The combined impacts of warming, coastal zone acidification, water clarity, and overgrowth of competing algae will determine the fate of SAV communities in rapidly changing temperate estuaries.Thomas M. ArnoldRichard C. ZimmermanKatharina A. M. EngelhardtJ. Court StevensonTaylor & Francis GrouparticleSubmerged aquatic vegetationclimatetemperaturecoastal acidificationChesapeake BayEcologyQH540-549.5ENEcosystem Health and Sustainability, Vol 3, Iss 7 (2017)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Submerged aquatic vegetation climate temperature coastal acidification Chesapeake Bay Ecology QH540-549.5
spellingShingle	Submerged aquatic vegetation climate temperature coastal acidification Chesapeake Bay Ecology QH540-549.5 Thomas M. Arnold Richard C. Zimmerman Katharina A. M. Engelhardt J. Court Stevenson Twenty-first century climate change and submerged aquatic vegetation in a temperate estuary: the case of Chesapeake Bay
description	Introduction: The Chesapeake Bay was once renowned for expansive meadows of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV). However, only 10% of the original meadows survive. Future restoration efforts will be complicated by accelerating climate change, including physiological stressors such as a predicted mean temperature increase of 2–6°C and a 50–160% increase in CO2 concentrations. Outcomes: As the Chesapeake Bay begins to exhibit characteristics of a subtropical estuary, summer heat waves will become more frequent and severe. Warming alone would eventually eliminate eelgrass (Zostera marina) from the region. It will favor native heat-tolerant species such as widgeon grass (Ruppia maritima) while facilitating colonization by non-native seagrasses (e.g., Halodule spp.). Intensifying human activity will also fuel coastal zone acidification and the resulting high CO2/low pH conditions may benefit SAV via a “CO2 fertilization effect.” Discussion: Acidification is known to offset the effects of thermal stress and may have similar effects in estuaries, assuming water clarity is sufficient to support CO2-stimulated photosynthesis and plants are not overgrown by epiphytes. However, coastal zone acidification is variable, driven mostly by local biological processes that may or may not always counterbalance the effects of regional warming. This precarious equipoise between two forces – thermal stress and acidification – will be critically important because it may ultimately determine the fate of cool-water plants such as Zostera marina in the Chesapeake Bay. Conclusion: The combined impacts of warming, coastal zone acidification, water clarity, and overgrowth of competing algae will determine the fate of SAV communities in rapidly changing temperate estuaries.
format	article
author	Thomas M. Arnold Richard C. Zimmerman Katharina A. M. Engelhardt J. Court Stevenson
author_facet	Thomas M. Arnold Richard C. Zimmerman Katharina A. M. Engelhardt J. Court Stevenson
author_sort	Thomas M. Arnold
title	Twenty-first century climate change and submerged aquatic vegetation in a temperate estuary: the case of Chesapeake Bay
title_short	Twenty-first century climate change and submerged aquatic vegetation in a temperate estuary: the case of Chesapeake Bay
title_full	Twenty-first century climate change and submerged aquatic vegetation in a temperate estuary: the case of Chesapeake Bay
title_fullStr	Twenty-first century climate change and submerged aquatic vegetation in a temperate estuary: the case of Chesapeake Bay
title_full_unstemmed	Twenty-first century climate change and submerged aquatic vegetation in a temperate estuary: the case of Chesapeake Bay
title_sort	twenty-first century climate change and submerged aquatic vegetation in a temperate estuary: the case of chesapeake bay
publisher	Taylor & Francis Group
publishDate	2017
url	https://doaj.org/article/1b9791466f7546819ef8322b3eff02b8
work_keys_str_mv	AT thomasmarnold twentyfirstcenturyclimatechangeandsubmergedaquaticvegetationinatemperateestuarythecaseofchesapeakebay AT richardczimmerman twentyfirstcenturyclimatechangeandsubmergedaquaticvegetationinatemperateestuarythecaseofchesapeakebay AT katharinaamengelhardt twentyfirstcenturyclimatechangeandsubmergedaquaticvegetationinatemperateestuarythecaseofchesapeakebay AT jcourtstevenson twentyfirstcenturyclimatechangeandsubmergedaquaticvegetationinatemperateestuarythecaseofchesapeakebay
_version_	1718391533827260416

Twenty-first century climate change and submerged aquatic vegetation in a temperate estuary: the case of Chesapeake Bay

Ejemplares similares