Spatial Patterns of Bacterial Abundance in a Seagrass Restoration Site on the Eastern Shore of Virginia (USA)

Establishing monitoring efforts of (and then subsequently tracking) spatial distribution patterns of microorganisms and sediment properties in restored seagrass meadows is crucial to understanding the redevelopment and reestablishment of ecosystem processes and function of these systems. In this study, spatial distribution patterns of bacterial abundance and selected sediment properties were examined in a restored Zostera marina seagrass bed in South Bay at the Virginia Coast Reserve - Long Term Ecological Research site. Two twelve - meter - long transects were established within a restored seagrass bed such that three vegetation zones were captured by each transect: a vegetated zone, an unvegetated zone, and a zone where vegetated sediment transitions into vegetated sediment. Small sediment cores (approximately 6 - 8 cm3with a depth ofapproximately 7-8 cm) and water column samples (approximately 40 ml) were taken at 0.

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