Análisis de la productividad de Thalassia testudinum Banks ex Köenig y su relación con los factores ambientales de la Reserva de la Biósfera Los Petenes, Campeche

Abstract

Seagrasses are angiosperm that composes the only group of vascular plants with the morphological and physiological characteristics necessary to carry out their entire life cycle submerged in seawater. These ecosystems fulfill a wide variety of ecological functions, including interactions with coral reefs and mangroves that modify the hydrodynamics of the environment, production of direct and indirect sources of food, stabilization of nutrients, production and stabilization of sediments, and high primary productivity. The objective of this study was to determine the primary productivity of Thalassia testudinum in the Los Petenes Campeche Biosphere Reserve (RBLP by its initials in Spanish) and identify the environmental factors involved in the process. In order to do this, the environmental conditions of the reserve were observed over the course of one year and the health status of T. testudinum was characterized on the basis of maximum quantum yield. While the productivity was estimated by the reconstruction technique. Finally, the environmental factors that influenced it were identified. It was found that T. testudinum has an average Fv/Fm fluorescence measurement of 0.75 ± 0.03 that indicates healthy, non-stressed plants. This is also reflected in its average total biomass of 1,519.28 gPS/m 2 , with 22% in flower and productivity of 25.84 leaves per year per plant. The highest productivity was presented in stations A2, A3, A4 and B1, whose zone is characterized by being shallow, high temperatures, lower salinity and higher concentration of nutrients, mainly PTporewater.Likewise, the RBLP has optimal environmental conditions for growth of the species under study, which is reflected in its high productivity when compared with other studies in the Gulf of Mexico and Yucatan peninsula. Seagrasses are excellent indicators of the health of marine ecosystems, which is why monitoring them is of vital importance to know the status of the environment and thus establish proposals for management, restoration and conservation.