P. Felisberto1, S.M. Jesus1, F. Zabel2, R. Santos3, J. Silva3 , S. Gobert4, S. Beer5, M. Bjork6, S. Mazzuca7, G. Proaccini8, J. Runcie9, W. Champenois10 and A.V. Borges10
Abstract:
Acoustic data were acquired in October 2011 over a Posidonia oceanica meadow in the Bay of
la Revellata, Calvi, Corsica. The purpose was to develop an acoustic system for monitoring the oxygen
(O2) production of an entire seagrass meadow. In a shallow water area (<38 m), densely covered by
Posidonia oceanica, a sound source transmitted signals in 3 different bands (400-800Hz,
1.5-3.5kHz and 6.5-8.5kHz) towards three self-recording hydrophones at a distance of 100 m, over
the period of one week. The data show a high correlation between the diel cycle of the acoustics signals'
energy received by the hydrophones and the temporal changes in water column O2 concentration as measured
by optodes. The results thus show that a simple acoustic acquisition system can be used to monitor the
O2 -based productivity of a seagrass meadow at the ecosystem level with high temporal resolution. The
finding of a significant production of O2 as bubbles in seagrass ecosystems suggests that net primary
production is underestimated by methods that rely on the mass balance of dissolved O2 measurements.