Seagrass growth rates and physical characteristics and measures of water temperature and salinity during a simulated green turtle grazing experiment in The Bahamas, 1999 – 2000.

This data set contains data from an experiment in which green turtle grazing was simulated in a Thalassia testudinum seagrass meadow in The Bahamas from July 1999 until December 2000. Measurements of water temperature and salinity were collected weekly. Seagrass meadow physical characteristics--blade length, blade width, number of blades per shoot, shoot density, and leaf area index--along with growth rates (both linear growth and production) were measured at various temporal intervals. Measurements were made in each of three treatments: 1) an unclipped reference treatment (representing ungrazed seagrass) in which measurements began in July 1999, 2) an experimentally clipped treatment (representing grazing) in which measurements began in July 1999, and 3) an experimentally clipped treatment (representing grazing) in which measurements began in February 2000. Data were used to investigate relationships between water temperature and salinity on seagrass growth and physical characteristics and how these relationships are affected by green turtle grazing.