The historic decline of submersed aquatic vegetation (SAV) in mesohaline regions of Chesapeake Bay, United States involved a diversity of plant species. The recent modest recovery is mostly, however, associated with a single, prolific but ephemeral species, Ruppia maritima. Two previously abundant and more stable species, Potamogeton perfoliatus and Stuckenia pectinata, have shown virtually no evidence of recovery. Based on previous studies that demonstrated the ability of R. maritima stands to enhance water clarity and nutrient conditions for SAV growth, we hypothesized that these beds would serve as effective "nursery" areas to incite transplant success for other SAV. We conducted experiments in a two-phase study at small and large spatial scales designed to explore this "nursery effect" as a restoration approach to increase plant species diversity. The first phase was conducted at small spatial scales to test effects of patch density by planting P. perfoliatus and S. pectinata into bare, sparse, and densely vegetated areas within three similar R. maritima beds in a tributary of Chesapeake Bay. Mean seasonal percent survivorship and shoot density were significantly higher in bare patches compared to vegetated patches. In the second phase of the study, P. perfoliatus was transplanted into separate R. maritima beds of different densities to test the effect of bed scale plant density on P. perfoliatus survival and growth. Transplant success of P. perfoliatus was positively correlated with the density of R. maritima among all sites.
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