Previous exposure mediates the response of eelgrass to future warming via clonal transgenerational plasticity

DuBois, Katherine; Williams, Susan L.; Stachowicz, John J.

doi:10.1002/ecy.3169

Cited by 28 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 76 publications

(107 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Here, we showed that elevated temperatures in the fall can intensify the damaging effects of grazing disturbance in the winter. Consistent with previous findings, warming and clipping independently reduced the density and biomass of Zostera assemblages ( warming : DuBois et al., 2020; Kim et al., 2020; Moreno‐Marín et al., 2018; Reynolds et al., 2016; clipping : Hughes, 2006; N.M. Kollars & J.J. Stachowicz, unpubl. data; Ruesink et al., 2012), but these reductions were more severe when the assemblages experienced both disturbance types (Figure 1, Table 1).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

“…Warming × clipping interaction: F = 3.6, p = 0.07 elevated temperatures in the fall can intensify the damaging effects of grazing disturbance in the winter. Consistent with previous findings, warming and clipping independently reduced the density and biomass of Zostera assemblages (warming: DuBois et al, 2020;Kim et al, 2020;Moreno-Marín et al, 2018;Reynolds et al, 2016;clipping: Hughes, 2006;N.M. Kollars & J.J. Stachowicz, unpubl.…”

Section: F I G U R Esupporting

confidence: 89%

“…We hypothesize that warming and clipping interact such that warming reduces the plant's tolerance to clipping via physiological effects on below‐ground (storage) resources. Warming often causes plants to increase allocation to above‐ground production at the cost of below‐ground biomass to compensate for increased respiration rates (in seagrass: Clausen et al., 2014; Dubois et al., 2020; reviewed for plants more generally in Lin et al., 2010). Consequently, warming of Zostera reduces rhizome elongation (Reynolds et al., 2016) and carbon storage (Moreno‐Marín et al., 2018) and warming events that immediately precede winter light limitation may intensify these reductions (Moreno‐Marín et al., 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For the first part of the experiment, we grew the plants in 20 outdoor flow‐through seawater tanks (60 cm L × 30 cm W × 60 cm H; a volume of 113 L; flow rate approximately 60 L/hr) at the Bodega Marine Laboratory (see also DuBois et al., 2020; Reynolds et al., 2016). In all, 10 tanks received seawater at ambient temperature and 10 received seawater passed through a sump tank with titanium heaters (Process Technologies 1000W immersion heaters).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…‘warm blob’) in the NE Pacific (Gentemann et al., 2017) exposed Zostera populations in Bodega Harbor, CA to temperature anomalies between 2°C and 4°C above the climatic mean (Sanford et al., 2019). Experimental mesocosms simulating this warming event revealed that the negative effects of warming events on Zostera productivity are often delayed and prolonged (Reynolds et al., 2016), individual genotypes vary in their sensitivity to warming (DuBois et al., 2019; Reynolds et al., 2016), the relative performance of genotypes shifts after warming events (DuBois et al., 2019), and warming can alter Zostera morphology with transgenerational consequences to clonal offspring (DuBois et al., 2020). Seasonal, but less extreme, warming occurs each year in late summer and early fall (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Sequential disturbances alter the outcome of inter‐genotypic interactions in a clonal plant

2020

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Multiple disturbances can have contrasting or interactive effects on biodiversity. When disturbances result in reductions in abundance beyond the ability for a species to recover, regime shifts or local extinctions may result (reviewed in Buma, 2015; Paine et al., 1998; Turner, 2010). Disturbance can also affect diversity by reducing the average fitness differences between species, which reduces the impact of competition and delays (but does not prevent) exclusion (Chesson, 2000). However, the occurrence of multiple different types of disturbances can help promote the long-term coexistence of species if they create opportunities for niche differentiation in space or time (e.g. Chesson, 2000; Chesson & Huntly, 1997). This occurs if the different disturbances favour alternative ecological strategies such that the existence of multiple disturbances has a stabilizing effect on diversity (sensu Chesson, 2000), for example by creating a fluctuating environment in which no species is favoured for long enough to achieve

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Section: F I G U R Esupporting

confidence: 89%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Sequential disturbances alter the outcome of inter‐genotypic interactions in a clonal plant

2020

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Thermally Primed Zostera muelleri Seeds Exhibit Higher Germination Rates Than Those From Ambient Conditions

Moir,

Huggett,

Smith

et al. 2024

Ecology and Evolution

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Seagrasses provide critical ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, sediment stabilisation and nursery habitat for juvenile fish. Zostera muelleri is ubiquitous within Australian and New Zealand estuaries, however, as a species is relatively understudied. We sourced seeds from a thermally affected east Australian estuary and investigated whether germination rates differed between ambient and thermally affected seeds over a variety of temperatures (16°C–28°C) to determine how seagrass systems might react in a warming climate. Germination for the experiment was low and totalled 5% of all seeds; however, similar numbers are typical in seed germination studies. Germination was highest at 16°C and was enhanced through the simulation of a 48‐h freshwater pulse. Thermally affected sites germinated faster and had greater mean maximum germination when compared to control sites regardless of experimental temperature. These findings indicate that Z. muelleri in this system may be exhibiting transgenerational plasticity due to the thermal stress the parent experiences. This result provides an alternate viewpoint to the current literature by suggesting that unknown transgenerational effects may provide Z. muelleri with greater germination plasticity against temperatures expected under predicted climate change scenarios than previously expected.

show abstract

The role of short‐term temperature variability and light in shaping the phenology and characteristics of seagrass beds

Wong,

Dowd

2023

Ecosphere

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Seagrass beds inhabit highly heterogeneous temperature regimes that characterize the marine nearshore. Temperature directly influences seagrasses and also provides indirect information on other ecologically relevant environmental variables. Multiple temperature processes operate on seasonal and sub‐seasonal timescales (i.e., hours to months) and include variation from seasonal air–sea heat fluxes, advective heat transport from upwelling and tidal circulation, and daily heating and cooling of shallow waters. Despite this, seagrass–temperature studies typically only examine a single isolated temperature process, often seasonal heating/cooling or marine heatwaves. Furthermore, elucidation of relationships between different short‐term temperature processes and seagrass metrics could provide insights into biologically relevant temperature metrics for seagrasses. Here, we examine the effects of multiple short‐term temperature processes on Zostera marina beds in Atlantic Canada, by describing the seasonal phenology of bed characteristics, plant morphology, and physiology across different temperature regimes and by identifying relationships between different temperature and seagrass metrics. We also include water depth as a proxy for light availability. Four distinct short‐term temperature processes (median temperature, growing degree day [heat accumulation], daily temperature range, and time in the optimal temperature range [5–23°C]) were used to categorize temperature regimes across our study sites as warm and highly variable, or cool and less variable. We found that both temperature regime and light availability were important for leaf area index (LAI) and shoot density, which both decreased with increasing depth yet had the strongest seasonal differences and maximum rates of increase (shoot density) or lowest values and maximum rates of decrease (LAI) in warm and highly variable temperature regimes. These temperature regimes were also associated with seasonal patterns in number of leaves, reduced leaf lengths and number of leaves per shoot, and thinner rhizomes with less carbohydrate storage. Generalized additive models (GAMs) for each seagrass metric using the four temperature processes indicated that while median temperature displayed expected relationships with almost every seagrass metric, inclusion of other temperature processes revealed additional insights not evident from median temperature alone. Our study shows that different sources of short‐term temperature variation influence seagrass properties and that accounting for these will improve our understanding of the temperature–seagrass interaction.

show abstract

Previous exposure mediates the response of eelgrass to future warming via clonal transgenerational plasticity

Cited by 28 publications

References 76 publications

Sequential disturbances alter the outcome of inter‐genotypic interactions in a clonal plant

Sequential disturbances alter the outcome of inter‐genotypic interactions in a clonal plant

Thermally Primed Zostera muelleri Seeds Exhibit Higher Germination Rates Than Those From Ambient Conditions

The role of short‐term temperature variability and light in shaping the phenology and characteristics of seagrass beds

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About