Print Report
M186 Ruppia maritima - Zannichellia palustris Saline Aquatic Vegetation Macrogroup
Type Concept Sentence: This subtidal brackish submerged vegetation occurs widespread in temperate and tropical areas. It grows on the shallow bottom of upper reaches of estuaries and lower reaches of tidal creeks, bayous and rivers.
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Widgeongrass - Horned Pondweed Saline Aquatic Vegetation Macrogroup
Colloquial Name: Ditchgrass Saline Aquatic Vegetation
Hierarchy Level: Macrogroup
Type Concept: This macrogroup occurs globally in tropical and temperate brackish estuarine waters. In the western Atlantic Ocean, this widely distributed macrogroup includes estuarine and marine beds of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, from New England to Texas and Florida. Ruppia maritima is the only seagrass capable of growing in freshwater and is therefore often found in the oligohaline to mesohaline (i.e., brackish) upper reaches of estuaries and lower reaches of tidal creeks, bayous and rivers. Because it often behaves as an annual, the distribution and abundance of Ruppia maritima is often shifting both spatially and temporally. Other species characteristic of the brackish to fresh estuarine waters, include Zannichellia palustris and Stuckenia pectinata, which also occur globally. Rarely, some salt-tolerant species of otherwise freshwater genera may occur.
Diagnostic Characteristics: This macrogroup occurs in tropical and temperate brackish (oligohaline to mesohaline) estuarine waters, and is usually dominated by Ruppia maritima. Zannichellia palustris- and Stuckenia pectinata-dominated vegetation may occur in subtidal freshwater situations, such as the bottoms of tidal creeks.
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: Ruppia maritima occurs as a complex, including diploids, tetraploids, and hybrids (Ito et al. 2010). Plants along the Atlantic coast of North America are diploids (Ito et al. 2010).
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: Submerged aquatic herbaceous vegetation.
Floristics: Ruppia maritima is the dominant species in oligohaline to mesohaline (i.e., brackish) conditions. It occurs as a complex, including diploids, tetraploids, and hybrids (Ito et al. 2010). Other species, characteristic of the brackish to fresh estuarine waters include Zannichellia palustris, Potamogeton perfoliatus, and Stuckenia pectinata.
Dynamics: Because it often behaves as an annual, the distribution and abundance of Ruppia maritima is often shifting both spatially and temporally. It is tolerant of freshwater, so can grow in the oligohaline conditions that other seagrasses cannot tolerate. Zannichellia palustris is an annual plant that completes its life cycle in the spring and early summer. In some areas it can complete a second life cycle in the fall.
Environmental Description: Climate: This macrogroup occurs in tropical and temperate brackish estuarine waters. Soil/substrate/hydrology: This submerged vegetation is found in upper reaches of estuaries and lower reaches of tidal creeks, bayous and rivers. It is mainly found at depths of 2-4 m (Kantrud 1991).
Geographic Range: This macrogroup occurs in temperate and tropical coastal brackish waters. Its range includes coastal areas of the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, Baltic Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Adriatic Sea, Pacific Ocean, Sea of Japan, and Indian Ocean (Ito et al. 2010).
Nations: AU,CA,CN,DE,DK,EE,ES,FK,FR,GB,HR,IN,JP,KR,MA,MX,RU,SE,TW,US,VU
States/Provinces: AL, CT, DE, FL, GA, LA, MA, MD, ME, MS, NC, NH, NJ, NY, RI, SC?, TX, VA
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.860708
Confidence Level: Low
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 |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Ruppia maritima Herbaceous Vegetation (Biotic Community) Unique Identifier: 1032 (FGDC 2012)
>< Ruppia-Najas Alliance (Lindsay and Horwith 1997)
>< Ruppion maritimae (Braun-Blanquet 1932)
> Ruppion maritimae Alliance (Borhidi 1991)
= Class 7 Ruppietea J. Tüxen 1960 emend. Den Hartog & Segal 1964, Order A Zannichellio-Ruppietalia J. Tüxen 1960 emend. Den Hartog 1981 (Den Hartog 2003) [A global classification.]
= Widgeon grass bed (MSNHP 2006)
>< Ruppia-Najas Alliance (Lindsay and Horwith 1997)
>< Ruppion maritimae (Braun-Blanquet 1932)
> Ruppion maritimae Alliance (Borhidi 1991)
= Class 7 Ruppietea J. Tüxen 1960 emend. Den Hartog & Segal 1964, Order A Zannichellio-Ruppietalia J. Tüxen 1960 emend. Den Hartog 1981 (Den Hartog 2003) [A global classification.]
= Widgeon grass bed (MSNHP 2006)
- Borhidi, A. 1991. Phytogeography and vegetation ecology of Cuba. Akademiai Kiado. Budapest, Hungary. 858 pp. plus color plates and map by A. Borhidi and O. Muniz (1970) inside of back cover.
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- Ito, Y., T. Ohi-Toma, J., Murata, and N. Tanaka. 2010. Hybridization and polyploidy of an aquatic plant, Ruppia (Ruppiaceae), inferred from plastid and nuclear DNA phylogenies. American Journal of Botany 97:1156-1167. [http://www.amjbot.org/content/97/7/1156.full.pdf+html]
- Kantrud, H. A. 1991. Wigeongrass (Ruppia maritima L.): A literature review. USDI Fish and Wildlife Service, Fish and Wildlife Research 10. Jamestown, ND. Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center Home Page. [http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/literatr/ruppia/ruppia.htm] (version 16 July 1997).
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- MSNHP [Mississippi Natural Heritage Program]. 2006. Ecological communities of Mississippi. Museum of Natural Science, Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, Jackson, MS. 9 pp.
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- Wieland, R. G. 1994a. Marine and estuarine habitat types and associated ecological communities of the Mississippi Coast. Museum Technical Report 25. Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, Museum of Natural Science, Jackson, MS. 270 pp.