Website

http://www.pinellascounty.org/environment/watershed/monitoring.htm

Region(s)

SW

Summary

Seagrass ecology, water quality, water clarity. Braun-blanquet method: 1998-2005, 14 fixed transects and 2006 - current randomized sampling design in Clearwater Harbor and St Joseph Sound; 1998 – current, 11 fixed transects in Boca Ciega Bay and 2 fixed transects in Feather Sound. 30m transects are lain generally north-to-south. At 0m, 5m, 10m, 15m, 20m, 25m and 25m and 30m, species present, % coverage, visual appearance, depth, epiphytic coverage and type and sediment are recorded. At 0m, 15m and 30m, 3 10cmX10cm square short shoot counts are made for each species present and 5 blade lengths are measured. Hydrolabtm data is collected at each site and field observations are made of weather, tide, secchi. Lat/Longs are recorded from the GPS.

Parameters

Species present, Percent cover (%), blade length, shoot count, epiphytes present, sediment types, depth (m), algae present, pH, temperature (C), salinity (ppt), dissolved oxygen (mg/L), transmissivity, light attenuation

Notes

Seagrass beds are monitored as part of a regional program administered by the Tampa Bay Estuary Program.

Application

To provide scientists, resource managers, legislators, and other stakeholders a summary of the status of seagrasses in coastal waters of Western Pinellas County, Florida.

Publications

https://www.pinellascounty.org/environment/watershed/pdf/Pinellas_County_Seagrass_Report_1998-2010.pdf SIMM Report - https://myfwc.com/media/11889/western-pinellas-county-coastal-waters.pdf

Start

1998

End

Current

Frequency

Annual

Method

30m transects are lain generally north-to-south. At 0m, 5m, 10m, 15m, 20m, 25m and 25m and 30m, species present, % coverage, visual appearance, depth, epiphytic coverage and type and sediment are recorded. At 0m, 15m and 30m, 3 10cmX10cm square short shoot counts are made for each species present and 5 blade lengths are measured.

Discontinuity

2006 sampling design was modified in Clearwater Harbor and St Joseph Sound. Alternating annual sampling started in 2020.

Data Location

By Request

Data Format

excel

Habitats

Submerged Aquatic Vegetation

SEACAR Citation

Pinellas County (Florida); Department of Environmental Management; Tampa Bay Estuary Program (TBEP). (2019). Western Pinellas County Seagrass Monitoring. Updated 06/30/2020. Distributed by: SEACAR Data Discovery Interface, Office of Resilience and Coastal Protection, Florida Department of Environmental Protection. https://data.florida-seacar.org/programs/details/564

Alternative Citation

indicates priority attributes