The impacts of anchoring and mooring in seagrass, Studland Bay, Dorset, UK
The impacts of anchoring and mooring in seagrass, Studland Bay, Dorset, UK
Studland Bay, Dorset, on the central south coast of England is shallow and well protected from the prevailing south-west winds, making it an ideal habitat for a dense seagrass bed of Zostera marina. The shelter and proximity to the port of Poole make it a popular anchorage. Bare patches in the seagrass habitat associated with boat anchoring and mooring are described. Shear vane stress of the seabed was measured in situ by SCUBA divers. When comparing the undisturbed seagrass sediment with the bare, impacted areas, the latter sediments are less cohesive, contain less organic material and have a lower silt fraction, infaunal organism number and taxa. A mechanism for the progression of an anchor scar is suggested, involving storm wave induced mobilisation and dispersion of the impacted sediments exposing the underlying rhizome mat, which is further undermined by crabs. Results from this work and studies on other seagrass species suggest that the recovery is far from straightforward. It may take many years, leading to the decline of the Studland Bay seagrass habitat and associated species.
117-123
Collins, K.J.
9c436eb8-add5-460e-9900-5d1d128dc63d
Suonpää, A.M.
5d7b64a8-dc87-4533-b1b7-78dc9f4b9610
Mallinson, J.J.
1b52541f-d3fa-44de-854d-dddb611fa02e
November 2010
Collins, K.J.
9c436eb8-add5-460e-9900-5d1d128dc63d
Suonpää, A.M.
5d7b64a8-dc87-4533-b1b7-78dc9f4b9610
Mallinson, J.J.
1b52541f-d3fa-44de-854d-dddb611fa02e
Collins, K.J., Suonpää, A.M. and Mallinson, J.J.
(2010)
The impacts of anchoring and mooring in seagrass, Studland Bay, Dorset, UK.
Underwater Technology, 29 (3), .
(doi:10.3723/ut.29.117).
Abstract
Studland Bay, Dorset, on the central south coast of England is shallow and well protected from the prevailing south-west winds, making it an ideal habitat for a dense seagrass bed of Zostera marina. The shelter and proximity to the port of Poole make it a popular anchorage. Bare patches in the seagrass habitat associated with boat anchoring and mooring are described. Shear vane stress of the seabed was measured in situ by SCUBA divers. When comparing the undisturbed seagrass sediment with the bare, impacted areas, the latter sediments are less cohesive, contain less organic material and have a lower silt fraction, infaunal organism number and taxa. A mechanism for the progression of an anchor scar is suggested, involving storm wave induced mobilisation and dispersion of the impacted sediments exposing the underlying rhizome mat, which is further undermined by crabs. Results from this work and studies on other seagrass species suggest that the recovery is far from straightforward. It may take many years, leading to the decline of the Studland Bay seagrass habitat and associated species.
Text
Collins_UnderwaterTech_2010.pdf
- Other
Restricted to Repository staff only
Request a copy
More information
Published date: November 2010
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 168113
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/168113
ISSN: 1756-0543
PURE UUID: dc0124fb-9ec8-4709-b316-e5daeed4a7e3
Catalogue record
Date deposited: 24 Nov 2010 11:51
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 02:17
Export record
Altmetrics
Contributors
Author:
A.M. Suonpää
Author:
J.J. Mallinson
Download statistics
Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.
View more statistics