Print Report

CEGL006167 Ruppia maritima Acadian/Virginian Zone Temperate Aquatic Vegetation

Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available

Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Widgeongrass Acadian/Virginian Zone Temperate Aquatic Vegetation

Colloquial Name: North Atlantic Coast Widgeongrass Bed

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: This brackish/saline tidal community of the central and northern Atlantic coast is dominated by Ruppia maritima. It occurs in large beds in estuarine bays as well as small patches within brackish tidal creeks. Substrates are sand or muck, and salinity is generally brackish. Ruppia maritima has a wide range of salinity tolerance and overlaps with other species, although generally not in the same locations. Common associates include Zannichellia palustris, Stuckenia pectinata, and Potamogeton perfoliatus in brackish/fresh areas or Zostera marina as waters get deeper and more saline. There can also be a diverse array of macroalgae.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: Ruppia maritima tends to occur in shallower and slightly less saline waters than Zostera marina (Orth and Moore 1988). The range of this type is consistent with the "Virginian Province" and "Acadian Province" of Cowardin et al. (1979).

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available

Floristics: Ruppia maritima is strongly dominant in this association. It has a wide range of salinity tolerance and overlaps with other species, although generally not in the same locations. Common associates include Zannichellia palustris, Stuckenia pectinata (= Potamogeton pectinatus), and Potamogeton perfoliatus in brackish to fresh areas and Zostera marina as waters get deeper and more saline. There can also be a diverse array of macroalgae. This association grades into eelgrass beds as salinity increases. As salinity decreases, Ruppia maritima becomes less prominent, and the community grades into fresh/brackish subtidal associations.

Dynamics:  In several habitats, this association occurs where water levels and salinity can fluctuate with daily tides.
Environmental Description:  This association occurs in habitats that are continuously flooded by brackish water; it occurs in subtidal situations, deepwater pools and pannes, tidal creeks, and flats within salt marshes, or along tidal rivers. It also occurs in coastal salt ponds with polyhaline to mesohaline salinity levels. Except in pannes or pools, which are more irregularly flooded, water levels fluctuate with diurnal tides and are generally less than 2 m deep at low tide, although certain areas may be exposed at extremely low tides. Substrate varies from sand to mud.
Geographic Range: This association occurs along the mid- and northern Atlantic coast from Maine to North Carolina.

Nations: US

States/Provinces:  CT, DE, MA, MD, ME, NC?, NH, NJ, NY, RI, VA


Confidence Level: Low - Poorly Documented

Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: GNR

Greasons: No Data Available
Type Name Database Code Classification Code
Class 5 Aquatic Vegetation Class C05 5
Subclass 5.A Saltwater Aquatic Vegetation Subclass S09 5.A
Formation 5.A.3 Benthic Vascular Saltwater Vegetation Formation F054 5.A.3
Division 5.A.3.Wf Temperate Estuarine & Inland Brackish Aquatic Vegetation Division D065 5.A.3.Wf
Macrogroup 5.A.3.Wf.1 Widgeongrass - Horned Pondweed Saline Aquatic Vegetation Macrogroup M186 5.A.3.Wf.1
Group 5.A.3.Wf.1.b Widgeongrass - Horned Pondweed Seagrass Bed Group G383 5.A.3.Wf.1.b
Alliance A1769 Widgeongrass Western Atlantic Seagrass Alliance A1769 5.A.3.Wf.1.b
Association CEGL006167 Widgeongrass Acadian/Virginian Zone Temperate Aquatic Vegetation CEGL006167 5.A.3.Wf.1.b
Concept Lineage: No Data Available

Predecessors: No Data Available

Obsolete Names: No Data Available

Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Ruppia maritima Acadian-Virginian Zone Temperate Herbaceous Vegetation (Bartgis 1986)
= Ruppia maritima Herbaceous Vegetation (Bowman 2000)
= Ruppia maritima permanently flooded vegetation (Metzler and Barrett 2006)
? Ruppia Community (Moore et al. 2000)
? Southern New England & Gulf of Maine Saline/ Brackish Subtidal Estuarine Community (Rawinski 1984a)
Concept Author(s): Eastern Ecology Group

Author of Description: S.L. Neid and L.A. Sneddon

Acknowledgements: No Data Available

Version Date: 05-13-02
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