Dr. Kenneth L. Heck, Jr.

Research Interests

Seagrass ecosystems serve as essential nursery areas for a wide variety of species in coastal waters, including many economically important finfish and shellfish. They are also among the most productive environments known, and support abundances of animals that are frequently 10 to 100 times those of nearby unvegetated bottoms. During the past two decades there have been unprecedented declines in seagrass ecosystems along the Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific coastlines.

Despite the recognized importance of seagrasses, the critical environmental factors limiting the seagrasses meadows are poorly understood, as are the biological interactions that directly and indirectly affect the health of seagrass ecosystems. We employ a team approach to problem solving and are carrying out both laboratory and field studies of seagrass-dominated ecosystems at the population and community levels. Our goals are to better understand the relative importance of physico-chemical and biological factors as they influence the health of seagrass meadows and to obtain an increased understanding of how such high levels of plant and animal productivity are sustained in seagrass ecosystems.

Impacts of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Releases on the Functional Integrity of Salt Marshes and Seagrass Meadows and Associated Fauna

Document the Impacts of Oil Intrusion on the Health of Critical Nursery Habitats and Habitat Utilization Patterns of the Young of Economically Important Fishes (NGI,BP-GRI)