SEA 



SCIENCE 



School of the Environment in Beaufort, is 

 quite familiar with the area waters. Some 

 North Carolina species rely on eelgrass 

 habitat for part of their lives, she says. 



"North Carolina is looking at how all 

 submerged aquatic vegetation figure in 

 coastal habitat protection plans (CHPPs) 

 being developed by the N.C. Department of 

 Environment and Natural Resources 

 (DENR)," says Selberg. 



North Carolina is taking a unique approach 

 with these plans, and other states are interested 

 in seeing how the process works, she says. 

 Results from studies, such as Touchette's, 

 could shed an important light on seagrass 

 systems — what they contribute to the overall 

 fish habitat, and how they are impacted by 

 human activities, Selberg points out. 



Mike Street, chief of the habitat protection 

 section for the N.C. Division of Marine 

 Fisheries, is coordinating the CHRP effort. 



He says submerged aquatic vegetation, 

 such as eelgrass, are important for food, 

 cover, spawning and migration corridors. 

 Known in scientific shorthand as SAVs, they 

 are one of the six habitat types that are being 

 considered as DENR develops protection 

 plans. Other habitat types are the water 

 column, shell bottoms, wetlands, ocean hard 

 bottoms, and soft estuarine and riverine 

 bottoms. 



"We want to show the links between 

 each habitat, habitat function and the lifecycle 

 of fish," Street says. "It's a huge task. But it 

 is extremely important to develop habitat 

 protection plans that can be used as manage- 

 ment tools." 



Reliable scientific data to support each 

 area is vital, he says. 



Mark Fonseca, research ecologist at the 

 NOAA Beaufort Lab, agrees with other 

 colleagues who consider seagrasses "the 

 canaries in the estuaries." 



"If the seagrasses are in good shape, it's 

 a pretty good sign that the water quality is in 

 good shape," Fonseca points out. "In North 

 Carolina, they seem to be in relatively good 

 shape, except in localized trouble spots with 

 high population and land runoff problems." 



Interestingly, North Carolina is on the 



boundary of two types of important 

 seagrasses — the southernmost boundary for 

 eelgrass and the northernmost boundary for 

 shoal grass. 



This is the only place Fonseca knows of 

 where these subtropical and temperate 

 species overlap growing seasons. 



He has studied and published on a 

 variety of seagrass-related topics, ranging 

 from faunal utilization to economics and 

 hydrodynamics. 



Like Touchette, he is fascinated with the 

 physiology of seagrasses. "Here they are, 

 downstream of everything — their roots fixed 

 in a bottom of sediments that have sulfides that 

 are naturally toxic to rooted plants. Yet, they 

 somehow manage to produce," Fonseca says. 



Unsolved mysteries 



Touchette agrees that, when it comes to 

 submerged aquatic vegetation, there is cause 

 for wonder — and a need for additional 

 studies. 



"Seagrasses have evolved to tolerate 

 harsh environmental conditions. And, while 

 there is a wealth of literature about terrestrial 

 plants, comparatively little is known about 



seagrasses," Touchette observes. 



The necessary adaptations for survival 

 and growth probably have altered many 

 physiological processes in these plants. He 

 would like to have a hand in finding the 

 scientific explanations for remaining eelgrass 

 mysteries, including photosynthesis and 

 carbon metabolism; the role of carbohydrates; 

 and the role of carbon storage. 



"I would like to culture seagrass in the 

 lab and look at how the genes involved in 

 nitrogen uptake are regulated," he says. 

 "Under lab conditions, you might begin to get 

 a handle on the nitrogen carbon interrelations 

 and perhaps determine if what you are seeing 

 is genetic- or energy-related." 



Touchette loves research and loves 

 teaching. To him, they are interrelated: His 

 students' curiosity inspires research, and his 

 research results find their way into his 

 teaching. □ 



For information, email Touchette at 

 btouchette@elon.edu. To read his journal 

 articles, go online to the Center for 

 Applied Aquatic Ecology homepage at 

 www.pfiesteria.org and click on publications. 



COASTWATCH 25 



