Relative Impacts of Natural Stressors on Life History Traits Underlying Resilience of Intertidal Eelgrass (Zostera marina L.)

Yang, Sylvia; Wheat, Elizabeth E.; Horwith, Micah; Ruesink, Jennifer L.

doi:10.1007/s12237-013-9609-0

Cited by 28 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…Experimental infections also were more successful on older shoots compared to younger shoots on a single ramet (Groner et al 2014). While trade-offs between shoot length and shoot density are common (Olesen & Sand-Jensen 1994a, Yang et al 2013, our model suggests that disease risk may be higher in areas with increased biomass (e.g. beds with short shoots or low density sites with long shoots).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

“…Many questions remain about what other biotic or abiotic factors contribute to or are necessary for disease expression in Pacific Northwest eelgrass meadows. Other potential risk factors have not been fully evaluated in Pacific eelgrass meadows, including temperature, light, salinity, nutrients, and hydrogen sulfide toxicity (Holmer & Bondgaard 2001, Dooley et al 2013, Yang et al 2013, Kaldy 2014. Moreover, while our survey provides data on wasting disease prevalence across 11 sites, it is a single snapshot in time.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Plant characteristics associated with widespread variation in eelgrass wasting disease

Groner¹,

Burge²,

Kim³

et al. 2016

Dis. Aquat. Org.

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Seagrasses are ecosystem engineers of essential marine habitat. Their populations are rapidly declining worldwide. One potential cause of seagrass population declines is wasting disease, which is caused by opportunistic pathogens in the genus Labyrinthula. While infection with these pathogens is common in seagrasses, theory suggests that disease only occurs when environmental stressors cause immunosuppression of the host. Recent evidence suggests that host factors may also contribute to disease caused by opportunistic pathogens. In order to quantify patterns of disease, identify risk factors, and investigate responses to infection, we surveyed shoot density, shoot length, epiphyte load, production of plant defenses (phenols), and wasting disease prevalence in eelgrass Zostera marina across 11 sites in the central Salish Sea (Washington state, USA), a region where both wasting disease and eelgrass declines have been documented. Wasting disease was diagnosed by the presence of necrotic lesions, and Labyrinthula cells were identified with histology. Disease prevalence among sites varied from 6 to 79%. The probability of a shoot being diseased was higher in longer shoots, in patches of higher shoot density, and in shoots with higher levels of biofouling from epiphytes. Phenolic concentration was higher in diseased leaves. We hypothesize that this results from the induction of phenols during infection. Additional research is needed to evaluate whether phenols are an adaptive defense against Labyrinthula infection. The high site-level variation in disease prevalence emphasizes the potential for wasting disease to be causing some of the observed decline in eelgrass beds.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plant characteristics associated with widespread variation in eelgrass wasting disease

Groner¹,

Burge²,

Kim³

et al. 2016

Dis. Aquat. Org.

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“…Once synthesized, these data will result in incremental improvements in quantifying our understanding of the role and mechanisms of climate change effects on seagrasses, improved predictive capabilities, and interpretation of long-term variation and ultimate viability of restored seagrass meadows (i.e. The success of eelgrass globally, as supported by its morphology and reproductive capabilities, suggests that it is a resilient species (e.g., Thom et al, 2012;Yang et al, 2013). The success of eelgrass globally, as supported by its morphology and reproductive capabilities, suggests that it is a resilient species (e.g., Thom et al, 2012;Yang et al, 2013).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The ONI correlated with mean sea surface temperature (0.5−2.0m depth, May−August) from measurements made near Gedney Island located ~5 km east of Clinton ( Figure 6B). Yang et al, 2013) to a 2.7-fold increase of mean shoot size (i.e. Higher MSL during the more extreme ONI conditions would be expected, and this could have resulted in lower shoot densities because of lower levels of irradiance reaching the plots.…”

Section: Temporal Variation In Eelgrass and Climate Indicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate-linked Mechanisms Driving Spatial and Temporal Variation in Eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) Growth and Assemblage Structure in Pacific Northwest Estuaries, U.S.A.

Thom

Southard

Borde

2014

Journal of Coastal Research

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“…Distal leaf material in white is greater when shoots retain more intact leaves, used to calculate leaf condition. Superscripts in panel (C) refer to supporting citations: 1 Enquist et al 1999, 2 Pommerening andMuszta 2016, 3 Gaeckle et al 2006, 4 Koch 2001, Lee et al 2007, Yang et al 2013. RGR = relative growth rate; P:B = production per biomass.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Form–function relationships in a marine foundation species depend on scale: a shoot to global perspective from a distributed ecological experiment

Ruesink

Stachowicz

Reynolds

et al. 2017

Oikos

Self Cite

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Form–function relationships in plants underlie their ecosystem roles in supporting higher trophic levels through primary production, detrital pathways, and habitat provision. For widespread, phenotypically‐variable plants, productivity may differ not only across abiotic conditions, but also from distinct morphological or demographic traits. A single foundation species, eelgrass Zostera marina, typically dominates north temperate seagrass meadows, which we studied across 14 sites spanning 32–61°N latitude and two ocean basins. Body size varied by nearly two orders of magnitude through this range, and was largest at mid‐latitudes and in the Pacific Ocean. At the global scale, neither latitude, site‐level environmental conditions, nor body size helped predict productivity (relative growth rate 1–2% day‐1 at most sites), suggesting a remarkable capacity of Z. marina to achieve similar productivity in summer. Furthermore, among a suite of stressors applied within sites, only ambient leaf damage reduced productivity; grazer reduction and nutrient addition had no effect on eelgrass size or growth. Scale‐dependence was evident in different allometric relationships within and across sites for productivity and for modules (leaf count) relative to size. Zostera marina provides a range of ecosystem functions related to both body size (habitat provision, water flow) and growth rates (food, carbon dynamics). Our observed decoupling of body size and maximum production suggests that geographic variation in these ecosystem functions may be independent, with a future need to resolve how local adaptation or plasticity of body size might actually enable more consistent peak productivity across disparate environmental conditions.

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Relative Impacts of Natural Stressors on Life History Traits Underlying Resilience of Intertidal Eelgrass (Zostera marina L.)

Cited by 28 publications

References 45 publications

Plant characteristics associated with widespread variation in eelgrass wasting disease

Plant characteristics associated with widespread variation in eelgrass wasting disease

Climate-linked Mechanisms Driving Spatial and Temporal Variation in Eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) Growth and Assemblage Structure in Pacific Northwest Estuaries, U.S.A.

Form–function relationships in a marine foundation species depend on scale: a shoot to global perspective from a distributed ecological experiment

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