OCEAN LECTURE SERIES 2008

"Submersed Plants of the Indian River Lagoon: A Floristic Inventory and Field Guide"
• Drs. Diane Littler, Mark Littler, and Dennis Hanisak

About the Lecture - 2008

The Indian River Lagoon system (IRL), the longest barrier-island/tidal-inlet system in the continental United States, spans more than one-third of Florida's east coast. While the importance of seagrasses in the IRL is widely recognized, macroscopic algae have largely been overlooked, with existing checklists based on limited studies, primarily in the 1960s and 1970s. Given the rapidly changing environments of the IRL, it is essential that a biodiversity inventory and baseline be established for submersed plants.

Our intensive sampling of habitats throughout the IRL has resulted in a field guide of nearly 250 species of submersed plants. In the newly published Submersed Plants of the Indian River Lagoon: A Floristic Inventory and Field Guide, the description, along with distribution, taxonomic, and other information, and multiple underwater color macro-images, are presented for each plant on a single page, often richly illustrated with photomicrographs and line drawings depicting the habit and anatomical features. The field guide identifies a number of range extensions of algae into the IRL and new records for Florida and the Western Atlantic.

Besides substantially adding to what is currently known about these ecologically important organisms, the field guide should stimulate additional research and interest on submersed marine plants by resource managers, conservationists, and the broad scientific community, and serve as educational/ recreational tools for the interested public.

Publication of this field guide was made possible from the sale of Save Our Seas specialty license plates.

About the Speakers

Drs. Diane & Mark Littler are marine scientists who have developed a unique husband and wife collaborative relationship. Backed with an array of research accomplishments, the Littlers are experts in the study of marine plant life. Their research has taken them around the globe, including field work in the Mediterranean, South Pacific, Galapagos Islands, Indian Ocean, and Caribbean Sea. The Littlers each have over 30 years of research experience, with more than 180 papers and books published in a wide range of disciplines.

Diane is an Adjunct Scientist at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute and a Research Associate at the Smithsonian Institution. Mark is a Senior Scientist at the Smithsonian Institution. Their home base is in Washington, D.C.; however, the couple spends at least four months a year conducting field research in Florida and the Florida Keys, with comparable time spent on ongoing projects in the Bahamas, Belize, and Panama.

Dr. Dennis Hanisak is a Research Professor at HBOI, Director of its Coastal Ecosystems Research Center, and Director of Education. He has 30 years of experience in marine biology and ecology, with emphasis on marine plants, particularly macroalgae (seaweeds) and seagrasses. He has worked at Harbor Branch since 1977, conducting research on marine plants in Indian River Lagoon and in other parts of Florida, the Bahamas, and the Caribbean. Dr. Hanisak is the author of over 70 scientific publications, a frequently invited participant at national and international meetings and workshops, a past President of the International Phycological Society, and a past President and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Phycological Society of America.