Evaluating the Efficacy of a Seagrass Nutrient Pollution Index for Native and Invasive Seagrasses of Puerto Rico
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Marine angiosperms, collectively known as seagrasses are a foundation of healthy marine ecosystems providing important ecosystem services. Seagrasses are often considered sentinel species for nutrient pollution because they are long term integrators of environmental conditions including nutrients (C, N &P). Additionally, in some areas including the Caribbean, colonization by non-native seagrasses can disrupt ecosystem structure and function. We explore how seagrasses influence ecosystem services and how those services can be disrupted by both nutrients and non-native species. We then outline our project to evaluate the efficacy of a seagrass Nutrient Pollution Index (NPI) as an early indicator of nutrient impairment and to evaluate if there is a relationship between high nutrients and successful colonization by H. stipulacea. This presentation is an outreach effort as part of an EPA Regional Applied Research Effort (RARE) and SSWR projects to evaluate how seagrasses may be used as an indicator of nutrient availability as well as how nutrient conditions may influence non-native seagrass colonization.