Biomass-dependent seagrass resilience to sediment eutrophication

Highlights

• Estuary eutrophication enriches sediment pore water with bioavailable N.
• Sediment pore water N was experimentally enriched in 6 seagrass meadows.
• Seagrass morphological characteristics were measured 8 weeks after enrichment.
• Enrichment negatively affected seagrass at 2 of the 6 sites.
• Resilience to enrichment was attributed to high seagrass biomass.

Keywords

Eutrophication, Intertidal, Estuary, Zostera muelleri, Macrofauna community, New Zealand