20201129 11313000 1.0 TRUE TRUE Eelgrass <div style='text-align:Left;font-size:12pt'><div><div><p><span style='font-size:16pt'><span>Maine's seagrass meadows, particularly eelgrass, form an important marine and estuarine coastal aquatic habitat for the state. Along with other plants, eelgrass forms the base of food production in the sea. Eelgrass provides shelter for juvenile fish, and invertebrates, is a site for primary settlement of the larvae of some bivalve mollusks, and in certain locations helps to stabilize unconsolidated sediments and shorelines. Aerial imagery was acquired during the peak aboveground biomass growing season, typically June to August. Photography was timed near low tides with low wind velocity, and good water clarity. These factors aid in the detection of the subtidal portion a bed. Polygons delineating stands of seagrass were screen digitized and coded using a four category scale of percent cover. Cover Class values: 1 = 0% to 10% cover, 2 = 10% to 40% cover, 3 = 40% to 70% cover, 4 = 70% to 100% cover. Verification was carried out by boat, on foot, and by plane. Though dense patches of seagrass approximately 6 meters in diameter and less can be identified under good conditions and in some cases were mapped, a conservative estimate of the minimum mapping unit is 100-150 square meters depending on the year. </span></span></p></div></div></div> dep environment Maine Maine DEP MaineDEP state of maine biota BIOLOGY coastal submerged aquatic vegetation Zostera marina eelgrass oceans habitat Maine's seagrass meadows, particularly eelgrass, form an important marine and estuarine coastal aquatic habitat for the state. Along with other plants, eelgrass forms the base of food production in the sea. Maine DEP iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAASwAAADICAYAAABS39xVAAAAAXNSR0IB2cksfwAAAAlwSFlzAAAO xAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAqpJREFUeJzt1DENADAMwLAd5U+5o7BvimQjyJXZ3T0AAfM7AOCVYQEZhgVk GBaQYVhAhmEBGYYFZBgWkGFYQIZhARmGBWQYFpBhWECGYQEZhgVkGBaQYVhAhmEBGYYFZBgWkGFY QIZhARmGBWQYFpBhWECGYQEZhgVkGBaQYVhAhmEBGYYFZBgWkGFYQIZhARmGBWQYFpBhWECGYQEZ hgVkGBaQYVhAhmEBGYYFZBgWkGFYQIZhARmGBWQYFpBhWECGYQEZhgVkGBaQYVhAhmEBGYYFZBgW kGFYQIZhARmGBWQYFpBhWECGYQEZhgVkGBaQYVhAhmEBGYYFZBgWkGFYQIZhARmGBWQYFpBhWECG YQEZhgVkGBaQYVhAhmEBGYYFZBgWkGFYQIZhARmGBWQYFpBhWECGYQEZhgVkGBaQYVhAhmEBGYYF ZBgWkGFYQIZhARmGBWQYFpBhWECGYQEZhgVkGBaQYVhAhmEBGYYFZBgWkGFYQIZhARmGBWQYFpBh WECGYQEZhgVkGBaQYVhAhmEBGYYFZBgWkGFYQIZhARmGBWQYFpBhWECGYQEZhgVkGBaQYVhAhmEB GYYFZBgWkGFYQIZhARmGBWQYFpBhWECGYQEZhgVkGBaQYVhAhmEBGYYFZBgWkGFYQIZhARmGBWQY FpBhWECGYQEZhgVkGBaQYVhAhmEBGYYFZBgWkGFYQIZhARmGBWQYFpBhWECGYQEZhgVkGBaQYVhA hmEBGYYFZBgWkGFYQIZhARmGBWQYFpBhWECGYQEZhgVkGBaQYVhAhmEBGYYFZBgWkGFYQIZhARmG BWQYFpBhWECGYQEZhgVkGBaQYVhAhmEBGYYFZBgWkGFYQIZhARmGBWQYFpBhWECGYQEZhgVkGBaQ YVhAhmEBGYYFnIoLreIHHblfYqUAAAAASUVORK5CYII=