Conceptual diagrams used in publication on nutrient dynamics of seagrass meadows.

Yucatan conceptual diagramA recent article in Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science (64: 191-199) by Tim Carruthers, Brigit van Tussenbroek, and Bill Dennison uses conceptual diagrams to synthesize the results of a project carried out in the eastern Yucatan peninsula. The study assessed the tissue nutrients and δ15N of Thalassia testudinum growing in the Nichupte Lagoon adjacent to Cancun, and then adjacent to and distant from submarine vent sites within the Puerto Morelos Lagoon. Greater seagrass tissue nitrogen and a high δ15N ratio indicated that sewage nitrogen was high close to Cancun, whereas seagrass near to submarine vents in the Puerto Morelos Reef Lagoon indicated a greater availability of phosphorus to the seagrass. This paper is an example of how conceptual diagrams created with the IAN symbol libraries can be used to provide graphical representations of system processes in the published literature.