Marine Biology 10th Edition by Peter Castro,Michael Huber

Exercise 2

Eelgrass communities in Europe and the eastern coast of North America were severely affected by wasting disease in the 1930s, which caused many eelgrass meadows to disappear. What changes would you expect to take place if an eelgrass community vanished 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 would replace the eelgrass communities after they disappeared?