Ecology of eelgrash meadows in the Pacific Northwest: a community Profile

Nearly half the population of the United States lives adjacent to coastal waters or to the shores of the Great Lakes. The recreational and economic pressures that accompany this residential pattern are invariably exerted on the nearshore coastal environment and its estuaries. Until recently, we have been accustomed to viewing the oceanic province as being immune to adverse impacts resulting from mild human activity. However, since the large-scale decline of eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) in the North Atlantic in the 1930's, caused by a natural rise in water temperature, we are aware that dramatic and important chances can and do occur in marine ecosystems.