A study of factors influencing eelgrass (Zostera marina) around Mount Desert Island, Maine

Taylor, Ashley; Farrell, Anna; Disney, Jane

From the introduction: "For the past decade, staff, students, and volunteers of the Community Lab at MDI Biological Laboratory have been mapping eelgrass (Zostera marina) populations around Mount Desert Island (MDI), Maine as part of the mission of the Community Lab to monitor, study, and conserve these essential habitats, with a focus on nine study sites around MDI (Figure 1). Eelgrass has declined statewide, and knowing where populations are and how they are changing are important factors in conservation efforts. The Department of Marine Resources and Maine Office of GIS previously mapped and published two statewide datasets of eelgrass distribution, one in 1997 and one in 2010 (MeDMR). Each dataset took multiple years to compile and complete. In the 2010 dataset, the Mount Desert Island region was mapped in 2008, which was the last formal state-led assessment of eelgrass in the region. Aside from anecdotal observations, there have not been formalized calculations of the distribution of the remaining eelgrass populations in the region since then. Recognizing the need to maximize efficiency and utilize advancing technologies, the Community Lab began using new mobile tools to map eelgrass with updated and improved mapping systems, resulting in highly accurate maps of eelgrass in several of the nine study sites, which could then be compared to historic eelgrass beds."