Vol. 6, No. 2, 94-100, 2007

Classification of seagrass habitat structure as a response to wave exposure at Etoile Cay, Seychelles
Sarah Hamylton and Tom Spencer

Abstract
Physical processes are thought to be a critical control on shallow water communities in the tropics. Past studies of seagrass community patterns have tended to be qualitative and failed to empirically link observed structures with the processes that govern them. Remote sensing technology, in the form of imagery acquired using a Compact Airborne Spectrographic Imager (CASI), has been used to construct a habitat map of seagrass communities at Etoile Cay, Amirantes, Seychelles. A simple definition of seagrass habitat structure, incorporating measures of complexity and heterogeneity, has been investigated along a wave exposure gradient via moving window analysis over the classified habitat map. Both complexity and heterogeneity values are greatest at high to moderate levels of wave impact, supporting the intermediate disturbance hypothesis.

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History
Submitted: 10 June 2007
Revised: 05 Nov 2007
Accepted: 14 Nov 2007
Published: 15 Nov 2007
Responsible editor: Gurcan Buyuksalih

Citation
Hamylton S & T Spencer, 2007. Classification of seagrass habitat structure as a response to wave exposure at Etoile Cay, Seychelles. EARSeL eProceedings, 6(2): 94-100

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EARSeL European Association of Remote Sensing Laboratories, Strasbourg, France

   
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BIS-Verlag
BIS Library and Information System, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg

 

ISSN 1729-3782