Use of digital multispectral videography to assess seagrass distribution in San Quintín Bay, Baja California, Mexico

Apparent threats to the spatial distribution of seagrass in San Quintín Bay prompted us to make a detailed assessment of habitats in the bay. Six coastal habitats and three seagrass subclasses were delineated using airborne digital multispectral videography (DMSV). Eelgrass, Zostera marina, was the...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autores: Ward, DH, Lee-Tibbitts, T, Morton, A, Carrera-González, E, Kempka, R
Formato: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2004
País:México
Recursos:Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur
Repositorio:Repositorio Institucional de la UABCS
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:repositorioinstitucional.uabc.mx:20.500.12930/7353
Acesso em linha:https://www.cienciasmarinas.com.mx/index.php/cmarinas/article/view/121
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palavra-chave:San Quintín Bay
airborne digital multispectral videography
seagrass distribution
Ruppia maritima
Zostera marina
Bahía San Quintín
videografía multiespectral digital
distribución de pastos marinos
Descrição
Resumo:Apparent threats to the spatial distribution of seagrass in San Quintín Bay prompted us to make a detailed assessment of habitats in the bay. Six coastal habitats and three seagrass subclasses were delineated using airborne digital multispectral videography (DMSV). Eelgrass, Zostera marina, was the predominant seagrass and covered 40% (1949 ha) of the areal extent of the bay in 1999. Eelgrass grew over a wide range of tidal depths from about –3.0 m mean lower low water (MLLW) to about 1.0 m MLLW, but greatest spatial extent occurred in intertidal areas –0.6 m to 1.0 m MLLW. Exposed-continuous (i.e., high density) eelgrass was the most abundant habitat in the bay. Widgeongrass, Ruppia maritima, was the only other seagrass present and covered 3% (136 ha) of the areal extent of the entire bay. Widgeongrass grew in single species stands in the upper intertidal (≥ 0.4 MLLW) and intermixed with eelgrass at lower tidal depths. Overall accuracy of the six habitat classes and three subclasses in the DMSV map was relatively high at 84%. Our detailed map of San Quintín Bay can be used in future change detection analyses to monitor the health of seagrasses in the bay.