On the Biology of Eelgrass in Alaska.

• Main Author: McRoy,C. Peter
• Other Authors: ARCTIC INST OF NORTH AMERICA WASHINGTON D C
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1972
• Subjects: Biology; (*PLANTS(BOTANY); *ALASKA); (*MARINE BIOLOGY; PLANTS(BOTANY)); DISTRIBUTION; ARCTIC REGIONS; ECOLOGY; CLASSIFICATION; CHEMICAL ANALYSIS; FOOD; ZOSTERA MARINA; AQUATIC PLANTS; *SEA GRASSES; *EELGRASS; Arctic; Pacific; Alaska
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/AD0745776; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=AD0745776

A collection of essays is presented on the biology of eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) in Alaska. The distribution of the plant in Alaska is disjunct and extends from Kotzebue Sound to the southern border of the state. The present circumboreal distribution is thought to be the result of dispersal from a west Pacific origin around the Pacific rim and through the Arctic into the Atlantic. Ten widely scattered eelgrass populations in Alaska have been sampled for quantitative comparison. The highest standing stocks were found in Kinzarof and lzembek lagoons on the Alaska Peninsula. The caloric content, chlorophyll a concentration, turion density, and leaf size varied greatly among the populations. The eelgrass in Safety Lagoon survives the arctic winter under one meter of se ic in conditions of extremely low light intensity and anoxic water. (Author) Prepared in cooperation with Alaska Univ., College. Inst. of Marine Science Rept. no. R72-1.