Warner, A.L.; Hesp, P.A.; Keane, R., and Gontz, A.M., 2022. Ground penetrating radar of paleoblowouts and transgressive dunes, Younghusband Peninsula, South Australia. Journal of Coastal Research, 38(5), 885–895. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.

Ground penetrating radar (GPR) can be used to elucidate the spatial and temporal relationships of paleoshorelines and dunefield evolution and aid in understanding past landscapes in order to help predict future evolutionary pathways of barrier development. GPR was used on the Younghusband Peninsula coast of Southern Australia at a location known as 42 Mile Crossing. The barrier is on the longest beach in Australia and hosts a Holocene transgressive dunefield system. The site also contains many active, modern, and stabilized blowouts. This study aimed to image buried (paleo) blowouts, analyze the subsurface strata of the area, and attempt to relate these findings to the past transgressive dunefield processes, phases, and architecture. The study was able to characterize the buried blowout's shape, size, and dominant wind direction, and the site's stratigraphic evolution.

Jose, F. and Carlin, F., 2022. Storm-driven morphodynamics of a sandy beach in Florida. Journal of Coastal Research, 38(5), 896–907. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.

Barrier islands and sandy beaches are considered important economic and environmental assets. Florida's gulf coast has one of the most morphologically diverse barrier island systems in the world, with a delicate balance between tidal and wave-generated processes that rapidly bring about morphological changes on this low-energy coast. Significant morphological response can evolve in the coastal zone because of natural phenomena such as hurricanes and tropical storms, as well as anthropogenic activities and coastal engineering projects (Davis and Barnard, 2003). The study uses LIDAR data and historical Google Earth images to assess the long-term morphological and volumetric evolution of Casey Key in Sarasota County, Florida, in response to major storms and anthropogenic activities. Casey Key overall has proven resilient to erosion, especially an 8-km-long middle segment, despite being battered during the 2004 hurricane season, when it is estimated that 608,094 m³ of sand was lost. The key appears to be mostly stable, and it has since recovered the loss and even received benefits from failed nourishment projects to the north. However, the northernmost 2.5-km shoreline of the key is highly vulnerable, with as much as 50 m of retreat in some areas that threatens houses and beach development. Construction of jetty at the south end of the island resulted in enormous progradation of the beach at the expense of excessive downdrift erosion and retreat of the barrier island just south of Casey Key.

Finkl, C.W. and Makowski, C., 2022. Classification of coastal belts in the Argentine subpolar southeast coast of Tierra del Fuego using the BCCS (Biophysical Cross-shore Classification System). Journal of Coastal Research, 38(5), 908–924. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.

The Biophysical Cross-shore Classification System (BCCS) was experimentally applied to the southeast coast of Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, by compartmentalizing the coast into seven discrete coastal belts that retained a degree of homogeneity from 2 km offshore to about 5 km inland. By interpreting satellite imagery, coastal belts were subdivided into cross-shore transects with alongshore spread to produce codified concatenations that characterized specific eco-geomorphological sequences comprising domains. Different types of domains were identified by archetypes that specified a particular Dominant Catenary Sequence (DCS), which in turn was refined by the inclusion of subarchetypes to produce a Coastal Ecological Sequence (CES). The seven coastal belts comprising a 58.5 km stretch of shore contained 39 CES transects that averaged about 1.5 km of shore length, but ranged from 0.8 km to 3.3 km in alongshore stretch. Dominant offshore, inshore, and onshore classificatory units included Rock (R), Beach (Be), and Cliff (Cl) catenas, which were followed inland by Wetland (W), Lake (Lk), Channel (Ch), and Upland (U) archetypical sequences. Delta (De) and Beach Ridge (Br) archetypes were noted as minor features in some cross-shore transects. Common trisequent DCS transects included R-Be-Cl and Be-Cl-U, which subsequently incorporated landward variations with Lagoon (L), Lake (Lk), and Wetland (W) archetypes. Results of this experiment showed that the BCCS comprehended how subpolar periglacial and paraglacial coastal belts dominantly comprised by glacial outwash have ground surface manifestations that are recognizable in satellite imagery by recurring spectral patterns. This cold tundra coastal region is thus largely characterized by rocky offshores and gravelly beaches backed by cliffs (composed of unconsolidated materials) and channeled wetland (peatland) hinterlands with coastal marine lakes and forested uplands. In accordance with the BCCS, this classification can be concised to CES subarchetype code sequences such as R_rr-Be_si-Cl_se-W_mr-Ch_md-Lk_cm-U_fo. This study demonstrates that codification of cross-shore eco-geomorphological transects using the BCCS provides a shorthand notation for classifying coastal belts in high-latitude regions.

Kong, H.; Shen, J.; Zhao, Y., and Sun, Q., 2022. Assessment of sea-area benchmark pricing: Using Chinese aquaculture to evaluate and revise the price structure of resources. Journal of Coastal Research, 38(5), 925–936. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.

China has implemented a system of paid use of sea areas and has in recent years promoted their market-oriented allocation to ameliorate the efficiency and to realize their intensive and economical use. Estimations of the sea-area benchmark price can reveal the differences in sea areas, quality, and efficiency. This study introduces a framework to assess the benchmark price of the sea areas, applied to open aquaculture in Lianjiang County (Fujian Province, China). The assessment results show that the sea area used for bottom-sowing aquaculture in Lianjiang County was classified as Grade 2, whereas the sea area used for raft aquaculture and net cage aquaculture was classified as Grade 4. Upon comprehensive consideration of the theoretical value and the actual demand for sea-area management, the benchmark price of three types of open aquaculture sea areas is evaluated. The benchmark prices for bottom-sowing culture sea areas were found to be RMB 65–117/mu/year; for raft culture sea areas, they were RMB 20–252/mu/year; and for net cage culture, sea areas were RMB 100–800/mu/year. Overall, this study constructed a revised system of sea-area benchmark pricing, considering the natural conditions of the sea area, policy factors, transportation and infrastructure, culture conditions, and development degree. These results could be used as the guiding prices of the government to transfer sea-area resources and could ensure the realization of the economic interests of the government as owner of the sea area. Furthermore, this approach can provide a novel way to evaluate sea-area prices in other coastal areas.

Aangri, A.; Hakkou, M.; Krien, Y., and Benmohammadi, A., 2022. Predicting shoreline change for the Agadir and Taghazout coasts (Morocco). Journal of Coastal Research, 38(5), 937–950. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.

Prediction of the long-term shoreline change under the effect of natural and anthropogenic factors is a fundamental goal for coastal managers. This paper presents a simple model for predicting the shoreline change for the Agadir and Taghazout coasts, which consist of several sandy beaches, in the horizons 2050 and 2100; this coastal area plays a vital economic role in this region. The anticipation of its protection against erosion is necessary in view of the effects of climate change, and it will preserve its potential for tourism and urban development in the long term through the establishment of the construction setback line. The approach proposed here combines the long-term extrapolations of historical shoreline changes (1969–2020) in the future, and the estimate of the shoreline retreat due to sea level rise (SLR) by using Bruun's rule, using the severe RCP 8.5 scenario, and taking into account the contribution of vertical land movements. The model used has been calibrated through incorporating a correction factor (F), calculated by comparing observed and predicted data over a long period. The analysis of the predictions results provided in this work showing a potential risk of erosion threatening all seaside tourist and urban infrastructures along this coast. The average retreat is estimated at 12 m by 2050 and 51 m by 2100.

Leandro, P.; Knuteson, S.L., and Bartholomew, A., 2022. The vegetation of the United Arab Emirates Gulf coast: Description and analysis. Journal of Coastal Research, 38(5), 951–967. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.

This geobotanical study describes the United Arab Emirates (UAE) mangrove and coastal halophyte plant communities in the intertidal areas and coastal salt flats along part of the UAE Arabian Gulf coast. Nine coastal vegetation association/community groups have been identified with TWINSPAN: Association 1, Avicennietum marinae Chapman, J. 1970.; Association 2, Salicornietum fruticosi Br. Bl. 1928; Association 3, Arthrocnemo macrostachi–Halocnemetum strobiliaci assoc. nova; Association 4, Suaedetum verae (fruticosae) Br. Bl. ex O. Bolós and Molinier 1958; Association 5, Tetraenetum qatarensis assoc. nova; Community 6, Calotropis procera; Community 7, Heliotropium bacciferum and Cornulaca monacantha; Community 8, Prosopis cineraria, and two new communities associated with anthropogenic disturbance; Community 9a, Avicennia marina with Sesuvium portulacastrum; and Community 9b, Avicennia marina with Salicornia fruticosa. Vegetation profiles of each community are presented. Canonical correspondence analysis revealed that the A. marina communities are associated with: higher salinity of the soil, higher soil CaCO₃ content, and higher soil ion concentrations (K⁺, Mg⁺⁺, Na⁺, Cl^–). Coastal development has modified the UAE Gulf coast extensively in recent years, and this study describes the coastal plant association/communities, which will be useful for botanists, ecologists, and managers involved in coastal restoration efforts.

Engin, S. and Altan, O., 2022. Comparing the growth performance and fatty acid profile of brown trout (Salmo trutta macrostigma) and rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) reared in concrete ponds and net cages. Journal of Coastal Research, 38(5), 968–975. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.

This study aimed to compare the growth performance and fatty acid profiles of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and brown trout (Salmo trutta macrostigma) fry reared in concrete ponds and net cages. In the study, which lasted for 270 days under commercial production conditions, an initial live weight of 5.03 g per fish was used and placed in concrete ponds and net cages in two replications and equal numbers. The specific growth rate ranged between 1.78 and 1.81%, but there was no significant difference among the experimental groups (p >0.05). In the study, although the feed conversion ratio varied between 1.04 and 1.06, no significant difference was determined among the experimental groups (p >0.05). On the contrary, daily average weight gain was higher for both species in net cages and was significantly different from that of fish in the pond (p <0.05). As a result of the fatty acid analysis of the study, it was determined that the saturated fatty acid, monounsaturated fatty acid, and polyunsaturated fatty acid values were different among the groups (p <0.05). The results show that brown trout in fish farm conditions succeeded as an efficient aquaculture business at least as much as rainbow trout.

Giraud-Renard, E.; Dolique, F.; Collin, A.; James, D.; Gairin, E.; Courteille, M.; Beaufort, O.; René-Trouillefou, M.; Dulormne, M.; Jeanson, M., and Lecchini, D., 2022. Long-term evolution of the Guadeloupean shoreline (1950–2017). Journal of Coastal Research, 38(5), 976–987. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.

Insular environments have long been recognized as sensitive to issues linked to natural forces that occur every day (swells, currents, and winds) or that are exceptional (storms and cyclones). However, over the past few decades, additional pressure has arisen throughout many already-fragile islands: anthropization, the modification of natural areas by humans and for human usage. Since the 1970s, the number of tourists visiting Guadeloupe Island has strongly increased, driving coastline modifications (building of houses, hotels, diving clubs, etc.). Using panchromatic and high-resolution aerial imagery, the evolution of the coastline from 1950 to 2017 of 19 Guadeloupean beaches was assessed. This evolution was compared with a coastal vulnerability index to determine the sensitivity to morphological, hydrodynamic, and anthropic factors of each studied beach. The results showed that the Guadeloupe coast has become increasingly urbanized since the 1950s, with a transition from 4% of manmade structures along the shoreline in 1950 to 18% in 2017 across the study sites. Across all beaches, coastal erosion was noted and was caused by the simultaneous action of natural factors (hydrodynamics, storms, etc.) or anthropogenic factors (mass tourism, economic development, etc.). Overall, this study highlights the issue of coastal artificialization in Guadeloupe. To avoid irreversible detrimental effects of coastal degradation on the local population and the country's economy, new decisions favoring natural coastal environment buffers must be made rapidly.

□ ABSTRACT IN NATIVE LANGUAGE □

Les milieux insulaires sont depuis longtemps reconnus comme sensibles aux problématiques liées aux processus naturels quotidiens (houles, courants, vents) et exceptionnels (tempêtes, cyclones). Cependant, au cours des dernières décennies, une pression supplémentaire s'est ajoutée sur ces milieux insulaires déjà fragiles: l'anthropisation. Depuis les années 1970, l'archipel Guadeloupéen a connu chaque année une augmentation significative du nombre de touristes, ce qui a entraîné des modifications du littoral. Grâce aux imageries aériennes panchromatiques et à haute résolution, l'évolution du littoral de 19 plages guadeloupéennes de 1950 à 2017 a été évaluée. Cette évolution a été comparée à un indice de vulnérabilité côtière afin de déterminer la sensibilité aux facteurs morphologiques, hydrodynamiques et anthropiques de chaque plage étudiée. Les résultats ont montré que le littoral Guadeloupéen s'est fortement urbanisé depuis les années 1950, passant d'un littoral rocheux (18% en 1950 et 19% en 2017), sableux (28% en 1950 et 19% en 2017) ou de mangroves (50% en 1950 et 42% en 2017) à un littoral fortement anthropisé dans les années 2000 (4% en 1950 et 18% en 2017). Sur l'ensemble des plages étudiées, une érosion côtière a été constatée causée par l'action simultanée de facteurs naturels (hydrodynamisme, tempêtes, etc.), de facteurs anthropiques (tourisme de masse, développement économique, etc.) et des effets du changement climatique (élévation du niveau de la mer). Globalement, cette étude met en évidence la problématique de l'artificialisation du littoral en Guadeloupe, problématique répandue à l'échelle mondiale. Afin d'éviter des effets néfastes irréversibles sur la population locale et l'économie du pays lié à la dégradation du littoral, de nouvelles décisions favorisant les zones tampons naturelles du milieu côtier doivent être rapidement mises en place.

Han, Z.; Li, H.; Xie, H.; Yang, H.; Ouyang, Q., and Gong, S., 2022. Dredging of the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link in the Pearl River Estuary, China: Short-term siltation mechanism for a trial trench. Journal of Coastal Research, 38(5), 988–998. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.

Understanding the short-term, particularly daily, siltation mechanism of a dredged trench is critical for immersed tunnel construction, as well as for offshore engineering and coastal management. This study explored the short-term siltation mechanism of the trial trench dredged for the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link in the Pearl River Estuary, China. Monthly silting characteristics over a period of ∼11 months indicate that the silting intensity during the flood season was much larger than during the dry season. Local suspended sediment concentrations (SSCs) also varied on a flood–dry seasonal cycle, which were impacted by the suspended load from the Pearl River. Daily silting characteristics indicate that the silting intensity during spring tides were higher than during neap and moderate tides and that the local SSCs and flow velocities also varied on a spring–neap tidal cycle, which was dominated by periodic variations in the astronomical tide. The flow velocity deceased substantially from the surface to the bottom of the trench, and flow circulation occurred at the bottom of the trench, which aided the silting process. Seasonal changes in the sediment load from the Pearl River were the dominant cause of the changes in suspended sediment around the trench, which produced seasonal siltation changes in the trench. Daily changes in trench siltation were directly caused by the amount of sediment that entered the trench, which was affected by changes in the flow velocity and bottom SSC around the trench during the neap–spring tidal cycle. Although the high-siltation intensity during the flood season was unhelpful, the low-siltation intensity during neap and moderate tides was helpful for the construction of immersed tunnel during the flood season.

Manimekalai, D.; Srinivasan, A.; Padmavathy, P.; Jawahar, P.; George, R., and Arisekar, U., 2022. Acute and chronic toxicity effects of the heptachlor pesticide on tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus): Impact to behavioral patterns and histopathological responses. Journal of Coastal Research, 38(5), 999–1010. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.

Heptachlor is an organochlorine (cyclodiene) insecticide that enters water bodies and affects aquatic organisms such as fishes and shellfishes. Due to its persistent nature, it spreads from the source of its use and pollutes the area. The toxic effect of heptachlor on histopathological changes in the gill, liver, kidney, and muscles of tilapia Oreochromis mossambicus were studied. The experimental fish were exposed to four concentrations of heptachlor, viz., 0.756, 1.513, 3.025, and 6.050 ppm, for a period of 96 hours during an acute toxicity test. In the current study, the lethal concentration (LC₅₀) value of heptachlor on tilapia at 96 hours was calculated as 4.006 ppm. Fish were subjected to three different concentrations of heptachlor (0.2003, 0.4006, and 0.8012 ppm) based on the LC₅₀ value to study the long-term effect of heptachlor. Histological changes such as lamellar fusion, lamellar cell hyperplasia, degenerated secondary gill lamellae; Bowman's space dilation and renal tubules detachment; hepatic cells death, melanomacrophage formation, and multifocal degeneration of myocytes; and myoepithelium vacuolation were observed in the gill, kidney, liver, and muscles, respectively, during acute and chronic exposure to heptachlor. The toxicity study revealed that the heptachlor pesticide is highly toxic to tilapia even at a minimum concentration of 0.756 ppm. Hence, it is suggested that care must be taken not to allow the entry of pesticides into the habitat of fishes.

Zhan, Y.; Aarninkhof, S.G.J.; Wang, Z., and Zhou, Y., 2022. Monitoring yearly change patterns of the surface tidal trail (STT) in tidal flats: A novel morphological indicator extracted from a near-infrared terrestrial laser scanner. Journal of Coastal Research, 38(5), 1011–1020. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.

Tidal flats play an important role in the geomorphological and biological dynamics of coasts. Research on the morphological evolution of tidal flats constitutes one of the key research issues pertaining to the sustainability of coastal ecosystems and related coastal defense issues. In this work, a novel indicator, the surface tidal trail (STT), was extracted from a near infrared terrestrial laser scanner and studied. The results show that the area intensity and size of STTs decline yearly. Meanwhile, the position shift of the peak value on the STT curves presents a similar pattern of hydrodynamic force in response to the seawall, which has been studied in previous works. Although no direct correlation between the STT intensity and the deposition rate was found, the corresponding hydrodynamic force data were not available in this work. The change process of STTs still provides a possible speculation that hydrodynamic force and the softness of tidal surfaces are two main factors that form and influence STTs. For future research, establishing the direct quantitative relationships among hydrodynamic force, topography, and STTs on different temporal and spatial scales would help to better understand this novel indicator.

Yu, J.J.; Kim, D.W.; Lee, E.J., and Son, S.W., 2022. Mid- and short-term monitoring of sea cliff erosion based on structure-from-motion (SfM) photogrammetry: Application of two differing camera systems for 3D point cloud construction. Journal of Coastal Research, 38(5), 1021–1036. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.

Sea-level rise due to climate change is influencing coastal areas globally, which represent an important food and recreational resource for humanity. Accordingly, coastal monitoring is of vital importance. Recently, coastal erosion monitoring has been performed using various methods related to structure-from-motion (SfM) photogrammetry. In coastal topography, sea cliffs can have high elevations and uneven surfaces, making them challenging to model using SfM photogrammetry when capturing images using a single device from one direction owing to occluded areas during the construction of a three-dimensional point cloud (3D PCD). Therefore, in this study, two types of cameras were used to construct an appropriate 3D PCD of sea cliffs. Sea cliffs were photographed by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and by terrestrial cameras, and the resulting 3D PCD was constructed using fusion and integration methods during image processing. Sea cliff monitoring was performed separately for mid- (9 mo) and short-term (pre- and posttyphoon) periods, during which geomorphological changes could be monitored using the multiscale model-to-model cloud comparison (M3C2) technique. The proposed method effectively reduced the occluded area while sufficiently detecting geomorphological changes in the sea cliffs.

Yang, S.; Ren, L., and Gou, L., 2022. An empirical study on the environmental carrying capacity of marine resources based on the entropy-weight TOPSIS model. Journal of Coastal Research, 38(5), 1037–1049. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.

The sustainable development of the marine economy has drawn increasing attention from the countries of the world. To realize the compatibility between marine resources and environmental carrying capacity and marine economic development, it is important to fully understand the environmental carrying capacity of marine resources and its evolutionary trends. After an in-depth discussion on the definition of marine resources and environmental carrying capacity, an assessment system was constructed, incorporating 28 indicators that cover the development of the marine economy, marine resources carrying capacity, and the marine environmental carrying capacity. Following this, the entropy-weight Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) model and the kernel density estimation method were used to assess the environmental carrying capacity and internal carrying capacity of Qingdao's marine resources from 2007 to 2018. The empirical results show that the environmental carrying capacity of marine resources in Qingdao presented a declining trend between 2007 and 2010, followed by a noticeable upward trend from 2011 to 2014, and then another downward trend in 2015. These findings suggest that both the carrying capacity of marine resources and environmental carrying capacity are still under threat, as indicated by a low capacity assessment score overall. Specifically, whereas the development of the marine economy progressed steadily, marine resources carrying capacity fluctuated, reaching a maximum value of 0.3251 in 2007, and the overall marine environmental carrying capacity presented a fluctuating upward trend, which was generally consistent with the changes in marine resources and environmental carrying capacity. The results show that the model can consider many factors simultaneously, evaluate the marine resources and environmental carrying capacity, and provide valuable insights into the study of marine carrying capacity and policy implications for achieving sustainable development in the marine sector.

Ghosh, S. and Vase, V., 2022. Deciphering the dynamics of reproduction and diet for bigeye ilisha (Ilisha megaloptera) from the Saurashtra coast, northeastern Arabian Sea. Journal of Coastal Research, 38(5), 1050–1060. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.

With no exhaustive information available for Ilisha megaloptera, the present study aimed at elucidating the reproductive and feeding dynamics from 764 individuals landed by gillnetters at Veraval, India, in the northeastern Arabian Sea. Standard length ranged from 18.4 cm to 35.2 cm. Growth was isometric in males and negatively allometric in females. Sex ratio (F:M) was 1.22, with significant dominance of females at most size classes. Maturity sizes for females and males were 24.21 cm and 24.92 cm. Observation showed that Ilisha megaloptera spawned throughout the year with major and minor peaks occurring from February to May and November to December, respectively. The monthly percentage contribution of spawning females and males ranged from 16.0 to 72.22 and 22.22 to 73.68, and the gonadosomatic index for females varied between 3.59 and 7.68. Absolute fecundity ranged from 22,875 eggs to 121,013 eggs. Asynchronous ovarian development with three distinct modes in egg distribution indicated multiple spawning events. Feeding intensity was low, with 26.05% exhibiting part-full stomachs and 7.20% full stomachs. Feeding activity was lowest during spawning peaks and highest in fishes measuring 26.0–29.9 cm. Below 22.0 cm, feeding was solely on zooplankton, dominated by copepods. Feeding henceforth was mostly on nekton: crustaceans (39.35%) and teleost juveniles (38.72%). Ontogenetic shifts and seasonal variations in prey signified optimal foraging. Precipitation and salinity significantly impacted the monthly gonadosomatic index and predator–prey weight ratio. The present study provides a detailed report on bionomics for Ilisha megaloptera and could contribute to the management of Ilisha spp. stocks in the Indian Ocean, considering the paucity of information available for other species in this genus.

Stalter, R. and Lonard, R.I., 2022. Biological flora of coastal wetlands: Sporobolus cynosuroides (L.) P.M. Peterson & Saarela. Journal of Coastal Research, 38(5), 1061–1069. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.

Sporobolus cynosuroides (L.) P.M. Peterson & Saarela = Spartina cynosuroides (L.) Roth is a temperate zone rhizomatous grass that often is a dominant species in coastal brackish marshes on the Gulf coast and Atlantic coasts of the United States where salinity ranges from 0 to 10 psu. Sporobolus cynosuroides (L.) P.M. Peterson & Saarela = Spartina cynosuroides (L.) Roth is usually absent where salinity values are >12 psu. Sporobolus cynosuroides occurs in coastal habitats characterized by infrequent tidal flooding and moderate nutrient levels. Also known as big cordgrass, it may account for net productivity in high marshes that rivals productivity of Sporobolus alterniflorus = Spartina alterniflora the dominant species in saline low marsh environments. Sporobolus cynosuroides and a limited number of cohorts are threatened by climate change and rising sea levels. This species provides important ecological services. In addition, S. cynosurodes provides cover and nutrition for wildlife, and has fair forage potential for livestock.