Benthic Ecology From Space: Optics and Net Primary Production in Seagrass and Benthic Algae Across the Great Bahama Bank

Authors

Heidi M. Dierssen
Richard C. Zimmerman, Old Dominion UniversityFollow
Lisa A. Drake, Old Dominion University
David J. Burdige, Old Dominion UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2010

DOI

10.3354/meps08665

Publication Title

Marine Ecology Progress Series

Volume

411

Pages

1-15

Abstract

Development of repeatable and quantitative tools are necessary for determining the abundance and distribution of different types of benthic habitats, detecting changes to these ecosystems, and determining their role in the global carbon cycle. Here we used ocean color remote sensing techniques to map different major groups of primary producers and estimate net primary productivity (NPP) across Great Bahama Bank (GBB). Field investigations on the northern portion of the GBB in 2004 revealed 3 dominant types of benthic primary producers: seagrass, benthic macroalgae, and microalgae attached to sediment. Laboratory measurements of NPP ranged from barely net autotrophic for grapestone sediment with thin microalgal biofilm to highly productive for dense accumulations of brown macroalgae. A logarithmic relationship between NPP and green seafloor reflectance described the general trend in NPP across various benthic constituents. Using a radiative transfer-based approach, satellite-derived estimates of NPP for the region totaled similar to ~2 x 10¹³ gC yrˉ¹ across the GBB. The prevailing benthic habitat was mapped as sediment with little to no microalgal biofilm. Moderate to dense seagrass meadows of Thalassia testudinumwere the dominant primary producers and contributed over 80% of NPP in the region. If the vast majority of seagrass leaves decompose in the primarily carbonate sediments, carbonate dissolution processes associated with this decomposition may result in sequestration of seagrass above- and below-ground carbon into the bicarbonate pool (2.4 x 10¹³ gC yrˉ¹), where it has a residence time on the order of tens of thousands of years.

Original Publication Citation

Dierssen, H.M., Zimmerman, R.C., Drake, L.A., & Burdige, D. (2010). Benthic ecology from space: Optics and net primary production in seagrass and benthic algae across the Great Bahama Bank. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 411, 1-15. doi: 10.3354/meps08665

Repository Citation

Dierssen, Heidi M.; Zimmerman, Richard C.; Drake, Lisa A.; and Burdige, David J., "Benthic Ecology From Space: Optics and Net Primary Production in Seagrass and Benthic Algae Across the Great Bahama Bank" (2010). OES Faculty Publications. 71.
https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/oeas_fac_pubs/71