Abstract Detail

Strategies for healing our coast lines: Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, erosion and urban degradation: progress for the North American future marine macro-plants

Thorhaug, Anitra [1].

The Subtropical/Tropical USA Seagrasses in Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic USA Coastal Areas: Healing the biodiversity by Restoration Under a Variety of Pollution sources including Oil, and Dispersed Oil.

There are 95,142 ha of seagrass in Texas, plus 1,092,651 ha in Florida, 4,511 ha in Louisiana, 298 ha in Mississippi, and less than 200 ha in Alabama with additional large populations on the USA Atlantic Seacoast from north Carolina to Maine on soft bottoms. This is estimated to be far less than 50% of the pre-World War II seagrass extent so that a large loss of biodiversity has occurred. Additionally, the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico is one of the most intense petroleum extraction and transport sites in the world, with a large percentage of the US, Mexican and Venezuelan oil drilling transiting the area along with additional oil transport from the Middle East and oil through the Panama Canal. When seagrasses are restored biodiversity of its ecosystem has been seen by a variety of investigators to reassemble epiphytes, invertebrates, and vertebrates in general. The Gulf of Mexico basin's and Florida projects to heal the biodiversity of damaged seagrass communities, number in the thousands of restored seagrass hectares and are among in the earliest global efforts of seagrass restoration. A discussion of healing biodiversity post-seagrass-restoration in the face of ongoing various pollutants will be presented focusing on Thalassia testudinum, Halodule wrightii, and Ruppia maritima in a particular review of investigations of restoration efforts on the 2010 oil spill species. A second discussion of the investigations of responses of dominant seagrass species Thalassia testudinum and Halodule wrightii to various oils and dispersed oils in laboratory and field will occur, as well as a discussion of seagrass ecosystem responses to a series of large-scale spills in the Greater Caribbean Basin. The healing of biodiversity of seagrasses in the face of industrial, infrastructure building and diversion of water ( Mississippi and Florida), the urban and agricultural runnoff, and point source pollutants from mining, power plants and sewerage is remarkable and will be examined.

Broader Impacts:

1 - Yale University, School of Forestry and Environmental Sciences, 359 Prospect St., New Haven , Ct. , 06901, USA

Keywords:
Thalassia testudinum
Halodule wrightii
seagrass restoration
seagrass and dispersed oil
seagrass and oil
Ruppia maritima
damaged seagrass.

Presentation Type: Symposium or Colloquium Presentation
Session: SY13
Location: Lindell D/Chase Park Plaza
Date: Wednesday, July 13th, 2011
Time: 3:30 PM
Number: SY13004
Abstract ID:860