Eelgrass is the predominant aquatic plant within embayments of southwestern Alaska and provides an important habitat for birds, fish, and invertebrates. The USGS has conducted extensive research on the status, trends, and use of eelgrass by migratory birds in southwestern Alaska primarily at the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge.
Return to Ecosystems
Along the coast of southwestern Alaska in sheltered embayments, eelgrass (Zostera marina) forms some of the largest seagrass meadows in the world. These meadows support a rich diversity of marine organisms, including virtually the entire population of Pacific black brant (Brant bernicla) outside of their summer breeding season. Black brant feed on the eelgrass to meet energy demands in fall for transoceanic migrations south, and in spring for coastal migrations north and egg-laying during breeding. In winter, an increasing number of black brant that do not migrate south, rely on eelgrass for winter forage. The USGS has conducted assessments of eelgrass abundance and distribution throughout southwestern Alaska (see map) to better understand the status and trends of this important habitat.
Information and data from these assessments can be found in the Data and Publications tabs above.
Related Research
A list of other USGS work on the distribution, health, and importance of eelgrass in Alaska is below.
- Overview
Eelgrass is the predominant aquatic plant within embayments of southwestern Alaska and provides an important habitat for birds, fish, and invertebrates. The USGS has conducted extensive research on the status, trends, and use of eelgrass by migratory birds in southwestern Alaska primarily at the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge.
Return to Ecosystems
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.Carol Damberg (USFWS) conducting survey of eelgrass (Zostera marina) in Izembek Lagoon, Alaska, 2015. Along the coast of southwestern Alaska in sheltered embayments, eelgrass (Zostera marina) forms some of the largest seagrass meadows in the world. These meadows support a rich diversity of marine organisms, including virtually the entire population of Pacific black brant (Brant bernicla) outside of their summer breeding season. Black brant feed on the eelgrass to meet energy demands in fall for transoceanic migrations south, and in spring for coastal migrations north and egg-laying during breeding. In winter, an increasing number of black brant that do not migrate south, rely on eelgrass for winter forage. The USGS has conducted assessments of eelgrass abundance and distribution throughout southwestern Alaska (see map) to better understand the status and trends of this important habitat.
Information and data from these assessments can be found in the Data and Publications tabs above.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.Map of where eelgrass assessments have been done in Southwest Alaska.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.Map of where eelgrass assessments have been done in Baja Mexico. Related Research
A list of other USGS work on the distribution, health, and importance of eelgrass in Alaska is below.
- Data
- Multimedia
- Publications