Evidence for the influence of seagrasses on the benthic nitrogen cycle in a coastal plain estuary near Beaufort, North Carolina (USA).

A study was undertaken to evaluate the interrelationship between the presence of seagrasses, Zostera marina and Halodule wrightii, and the physical and chemical properties of sediments in a coastal plain estuary near Beaufort, North Carolina. In sediments underlying a cover of seagrass, silt-clay, organic matter, exchangeable ammonium, ammonium dissolved in pore waters and total nitrogen were larger than in unvegetated profiles. The magnitude of the physical and chemical properties of sediments varied according to the location of the station in relation to the vegetation, as well as the continuity in the distribution of the seagrass.

The stable carbon isotope ratio of some components of an eelgrass, Zostera marina, bed.

Living and dead Zostera marina blades, plankton samples, sediments, and several animal components of an eelgrass bed near Beaufort, N.C. were collected and analyzed for C/C ratios (δ C).

Identity and regulation of nutrients limiting phytoplankton production in the shallow estuaries near Beaufort, N.C.

Inorganic nutrients limiting phytoplankton production in the shallow estuarine system near Beaufort, N. C., were identified by nutrient enrichment techniques.