CONTENTS 



Paae 



PREFACE iii 



FIGURES vi 



TABLES vii 



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS viii 



CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION 1 



1.1 Seagrass Ecosystems 1 



1.2 Climatic Environment 4 



1.3 Geologic Environment 6 



1.4 Regional Seagrass Distribution 7 



1.5 Seagrasses of South Florida 7 



CHAPTER 2. AUTECOLOGY OF SEAGRASSES 11 



2.1 Growth 11 



2.2 Reproductive Strategies 11 



2.3 Temperature 12 



2.4 Salinity 14 



2.5 Sediments 14 



2.6 Current Velocity 17 



2.7 Oxygen 17 



2.8 Solar Radiation 17 



2.9 Zonation 18 



2.10 Exposure 19 



CHAPTER 3. PRODUCTION ECOLOGY 20 



3.1 Biomass 20 



3.2 Productivity 22 



3.3 Productivity Measurement 22 



3.4 Nutrient Supply 25 



3.5 Seagrass Physiology 26 



3.6 Plant Constituents 29 



CHAPTER 4. THE SEAGRASS SYSTEM 33 



4.1 Functions of Seagrass Ecosystems 33 



4.2 Succession and Ecosystem Development 34 



4.3 Species Succession 34 



4.4 The Central Position of the Seagrasses to the 



Seagrass Ecosystem 38 



4.5 Structural and Process Succession in Seagrass 39 



iv 



