Flowering of the seagrass Posidonia oceanica in NW Mediterranean: is there a link with solar activity?

Montefalcone, Monica; Giovannetti, Elisa; Morri, Carla; Peirano, Andrea; Bianchi, Carlo Nike

doi:10.12681/mms.529

Cited by 19 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…To date, only two studies have evaluated the influence of sunspot activity on seagrasses. First, solar activity seems to be the main trigger of massive flowering events in Posidonia oceanica meadows; a common stress response in plants (Montefalcone et al 2013). Second, in a tropical Halodule wrightii meadow, seagrass canopy height and shoot density were negatively related to solar activity at high sunspots numbers (Marques et al 2015).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Temporal variability of a protected multispecific tropical seagrass meadow in response to environmental change

Aller

Eklöf

Gullström

et al. 2019

Environ Monit Assess

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In a changing environment, there is an increasing interest to monitor ecosystems to understand their responses to environmental change. Seagrass meadows are highly important ecosystems that are under constant pressure from human activities and climate impacts, with marked declines observed worldwide. Despite increasing efforts, monitoring of multispecific tropical seagrass meadows is scarce, particularly in low-income regions. Based on data from a monitoring programme in a marine protected area in Zanzibar (Tanzania), we assessed temporal changes in seagrass cover and species composition during a 10-year period in relation to local variability in environmental variables. We observed a strong, gradual decline in seagrass cover and changes in species composition, followed by a period of recovery. However, the timing and length of these temporal patterns varied in space (between transects). Multiple environmental variables—cloud cover, temperature, storm occurrence, sunspot activity, and tidal amplitude and height—influenced seagrass cover, although only to a minor extent, suggesting that the monitored seagrass meadow may be influenced by other unmeasured factors (e.g. water currents and sediment movement). Our results show that seagrass meadows can be highly dynamic at small (10–50 m) spatial scales, even in the absence of major local anthropogenic impacts. Our findings suggest that high-resolution monitoring programmes can be highly valuable for the detection of temporal changes in multispecific seagrass meadows; however, to understand the causes of change, there is a need of long-term (> 10 years) data series that include direct measurements of environmental variables and extreme events.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s10661-019-7977-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Temporal variability of a protected multispecific tropical seagrass meadow in response to environmental change

Aller

Eklöf

Gullström

et al. 2019

Environ Monit Assess

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“…For example, the phenology of flowering of P . oceanica would be facilitated in a warmer Mediterranean Sea (Diaz‐Almela et al ., ; but see Montefalcone et al ., , for a critical view), yet vegetative growth may be hampered (Marbà and Duarte, ; Jordà et al ., ). Plant vitality has also declined in coincidence with recent positive, climatic anomalies (Pergent et al ., ).…”

Section: Future Research Directionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…All these effects are expected to influence P. oceanica meadows in various ways, but predictions are difficult because synergisms, interactions and feedbacks will complicate their impacts compared to direct influences alone. For example, the phenology of flowering of P. oceanica would be facilitated in a warmer Mediterranean Sea (Diaz-Almela et al, 2007; but see Montefalcone et al, 2013, for a critical view), yet vegetative growth may be hampered (Marbà and Duarte, 2010;Jordà et al, 2012). Plant vitality has also declined in coincidence with recent positive, climatic anomalies (Pergent et al, 2014).…”

Section: Future Research Directionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biogeomorphology of the Mediterranean Posidonia oceanica seagrass meadows

Vacchi

Falco

Simeone

et al. 2016

Earth Surf Processes Landf

100

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Here we review the multiple interactions between the endemic Mediterranean seagrass, Posidonia oceanica, and coastal geomorphologic processes as an outstanding example of biogeomorphology, taking into account recent advances in the field. Seagrass meadows are among the most important elements for the functioning of marine coastal ecosystems, and represent a major focus for research and conservation. Being considered a priority habitat, P. oceanica meadows are protected by several European Union directives and national laws. In this paper we examine: the role of sedimentary features in controlling the development of the meadows; the interplay between P. oceanica leaf litter (i.e. beached necromass) cast ashore and erosional-depositional processes on the beaches; the interactions between meadows and nearshore hydrodynamics, and; possible linkages between geomorphological features of the seafloor and the architecture of meadows. Finally, we provide perspectives for future research on P. oceanica and other Mediterranean seagrass meadows in a biogeomorphological context with specific reference to climate change.

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“…While the investigated patches were at a similar depth only tens of metres apart and thus were exposed to corresponding environmental cues (i.e. temperature and light availability; Inglis & Smith 1998;Diaz-Almela et al 2006;Montefalcone et al 2013), they presented contrasting flower abundances. The main hypotheses considered to explain the observed patterns and the potential mechanisms of flower synchronization within and among patches included: (i) clone identity and clone synchronization (internal clock); (ii) variation in nutrient availability per individual patch, potentially caused by spatial heterogeneity in herbivory rates or nutrient re-location via clonal integration (resource budget); or (iii) kin selection and sibling synchronization.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Should we sync? Seascape‐level genetic and ecological factors determine seagrass flowering patterns

et al. 2015

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Summary Spatial and temporal heterogeneity in flowering occur in many plant species with abiotic pollination and may confer fitness advantages through mechanisms such as predator satiation or pollination efficiency. Environmental factors such as light quality or quantity and temperature play an important role in inducing synchronization on wide geographic scales. On a smaller geographic scale, external factors such as resource availability and herbivory are theorized to trigger flowering, while genetic factors may also play an important role. In this study, we assessed the importance of ecological and genetic factors in shaping seascape‐level spatial heterogeneity in flowering of the seagrass Posidonia oceanica. By investigating spatially close sites (<20 km) with similar seascape configurations and depth, we assume that major environmental drivers (temperature and light) were equivalent. We assessed four ecological factors (productivity, leaf nitrogen and carbon content and herbivory) and three genetic factors (heterozygosity, relatedness and clonality) to assess three hypotheses for synchronized flowering in P. oceanica: (i) clone synchronization (internal clock hypothesis), (ii) variation in nutrient availability, potentially caused by spatial heterogeneity in herbivory rates or nutrient translocation via clonal integration (resource budget hypothesis) or (iii) kin selection and sibling synchronization. Internal relatedness and heterozygosity had a significant positive effect on the abundance of flowers. Moreover, productivity and genotypic richness (clonality) were negatively associated with flower density, although at a lower level of significance. In addition, we found that clones were almost exclusively shared among mass‐flowering patches and patches without mass‐flowering, respectively. Synthesis. The results shed new light on seagrass flowering patterns and on the mechanisms of flower synchronization at the patch level within a wider spatial scale. We found support for the kin selection hypothesis and indirect evidence for the resource budget hypothesis. Thus, a combination of mainly genetic but also ecological factors causes the observed heterogeneous flowering patterns in Posidonia oceanica seascapes. In addition, we found a strong positive relationship between the number of flowers and heterozygosity, adding evidence to the controversial association between heterozygosity and fitness when a limited number of loci are used. To our knowledge, this study is the first to link both ecological and genetic factors with flower abundance in a species with a presumed masting strategy.

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Flowering of the seagrass Posidonia oceanica in NW Mediterranean: is there a link with solar activity?

Cited by 19 publications

References 39 publications

Temporal variability of a protected multispecific tropical seagrass meadow in response to environmental change

Temporal variability of a protected multispecific tropical seagrass meadow in response to environmental change

Biogeomorphology of the Mediterranean Posidonia oceanica seagrass meadows

Should we sync? Seascape‐level genetic and ecological factors determine seagrass flowering patterns

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