PIE LTER abundances of macroalgae and Ruppia maritima in six high marsh ponds, Rowley, MA, during the summer of 2016.

We characterized the abundance of macroalgae and submerged grass in six ponds in three regions of the PIE-LTER marshes during summer 2016. Macroalgal communiteis were dominated by Ulva while Ruppia maritima was the only submerged grass present. Our goal was to determine whether macrophyte abundances varied predictably with pond dimensions (e.g., surface area, volume) or geographic attributes (e.g., elevation, distance from upland, marsh region). Samples were collected from several locations in each pond in order to capture spatial heterogeneity.