Marine Biology 8th Edition by Peter Castro,Michael Huber

Exercise 1

Eelgrass communities in Europe and the eastern coast of North America were severely affected by a still-unknown disease. The so-called eelgrass blight or wasting disease of the 1930s caused many eelgrass beds to disappear. What changes would you expect to take place if an eelgrass community vanishes from a given area? Consider changes to the substrate, the benthos, and other types of marine animals. Are there any possible changes among animals living on land? What type of community do you think replaced the eelgrass communities after they disappeared?