Desiccation index: a measure of damage caused by adverse aerial exposure on intertidal eelgrass ( Zostera marina) in an Oregon (USA) estuary

Eelgrass ( Zostera marina) leaf necrosis resulting from intertidal aerial exposure is described. A desiccation index was developed and tested to quantitatively assess damage across intertidal Z. marina beds in Yaquina Bay, Newport, OR, USA. Results suggest that higher intertidal plants have more desiccation damage than those growing lower in the intertidal. This damage may partially explain why high intertidal plants tend to have shorter canopy heights as leaves tended to break at desiccation damage points.