2008 Alaska Park Science Symposium
October 14, 2008
Eelgrass in Beringia: Past and Future Changes
C. Peter McRoy1, Maribeth Murray2
1International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, USA, ffcpm@uaf.edu
2Department of Anthropology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, USA
Eelgrass (Zostera marina) is a submerged marine flowering plant that forms extensive meadows in shallow, protected seawaters from the Alaska Peninsula to Cape Espenberg, the northern limit, in the Chukchi Sea. Eelgrass meadows from Pacific populations colonized the coastal Bering and Chukchi seas after the rise of sea level to its more or less present stand, about 4000 ybp. Where they occur, eelgrass stands enrich local food webs and biological diversity. The northernmost eelgrass stands developed in concert with early human occupation of the Seward Peninsula. The biological structure and growth of the plant leads to creation of anoxic sediments that can be a repository of evidence, as such sediments are known to be, of past conditions, human activity and biological communities. The eelgrass meadow at Cape Espenberg is poised to be a source for new populations in the Arctic as climate warming alters the coast.
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