Ruppia maritima L. seed bank viability at the Everglades-Florida Bay ecotone

Strazisar, Theresa; Koch, Marguerite S.; Dutra, Elizabeth; Madden, Christopher J.

doi:10.1016/j.aquabot.2013.08.003

Cited by 16 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…Although it has been shown that most species are able to produce seeds, vegetative reproduction among aquatic plants is more frequent than sexual reproduction (Grace, ). Nevertheless, seed banks might play an important role in population maintenance (Hong, Liu, Shi, & Zhang, ; Kaplan, Šumberová, Formanová, & Ducháček, ; Strazisar, Koch, Dutra, & Madden, ), especially where the longevity of asexual plant parts is shorter than that of their seeds (Li, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes in sediment seed‐bank composition of invaded macrophyte communities in a thermal river

Vojtkó

Mesterházy²,

Süveges

et al. 2017

Freshwater Biology

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Thermal waters, characterised by high water temperatures throughout the year, harbour a special flora atypical of temperate climatic conditions that are adapted to the combination of high water temperatures and low oxygen and carbonate contents. However, these ecosystems are susceptible to the invasion of tropical macrophytes because conditions in thermal waters are similar to those of in warmer latitudes. We studied the vegetation and viable seed bank in an alien‐dominated upstream section of a thermal river in Hungary, and a native‐dominated downstream section of the same river where temperature was cooler and less stable. Our hypotheses were as follows: (1) alien and native plant species are clearly separated along the river, and this separation is driven by environmental factors (water temperature, conductivity and sediment characteristics); and (2) the species composition of seed banks reflects that of the established macrophytes, and thus, the seed‐bank composition would differ in the up‐ and downstream reaches. We defined 20 sampling units in two sections of the Hévíz River in West Hungary. The vegetation was surveyed in every sampling unit, and environmental variables (sediment and water) were recorded. Five sediment cores were taken from each sampling unit and incubated in a greenhouse under waterlogged conditions. The mean seed‐bank density was lower than any of the previously published values for aquatic plant communities. In total, fewer species germinated from the seed bank than the number of species observed in the vegetation. Moreover, the Sørensen similarity index, comparing the vegetation and seed‐bank species composition, was extremely low. The lowest seed‐bank density and diversity were detected in the alien‐dominated upstream river section, where significantly fewer native species were present in the seed bank. Despite favourable conditions for alien macrophytes to establish in this thermal river, they did not build up considerable persistent seed banks. We conclude that the dominance of aliens modified the species composition of both the vegetation and the seed bank, mainly by depleting the seed bank of native species. Therefore, future efforts to restore native vegetation from the seed bank may require a number of different strategies.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes in sediment seed‐bank composition of invaded macrophyte communities in a thermal river

Vojtkó

Mesterházy²,

Süveges

et al. 2017

Freshwater Biology

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“…All of the samples were brought back to laboratory and sieved using 0.7-mm meshes. The R. sinensis seeds were then selected by hand and we counted the numbers of the different seed types ( Riddin and Adams, 2009 ; Strazisar et al, 2013 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tolerance of Ruppia sinensis Seeds to Desiccation, Low Temperature, and High Salinity With Special Reference to Long-Term Seed Storage

Zhou

Song

et al. 2018

Front. Plant Sci.

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Seeds are important materials for the restoration of globally-threatened marine angiosperm (seagrass) populations. In this study, we investigated the differences between different Ruppia sinensis seed types and developed two feasible long-term R. sinensis seed storage methods. The ability of R. sinensis seeds to tolerate the short-term desiccation and extreme cold had been investigated. The tolerance of R. sinensis seeds to long-term exposure of high salinity, cold temperature, and desiccation had been considered as potential methods for long-term seed storage. Also, three morphological and nine physiological indices were measured and compared between two types of seeds: Shape L and Shape S. We found that: (1) wet storage at a salinity of 30–40 psu and 0°C were the optimal long-term storage conditions, and the proportion of viable seeds reached over 90% after a storage period of 11 months since the seeds were collected from the reproductive shoots; (2) dry condition was not the optimal choice for long-term storage of R. sinensis seeds; however, storing seeds in a dry condition at 5°C and 33 ± 10% relative humidity for 9 months had a relatively high percentage (74.44 ± 2.22%) of viable seeds, consequently desiccation exposure could also be an acceptable seed storage method; (3) R. sinensis seeds would lose vigor in the interaction of extreme cold (-27°C) and desiccation; (4) there were significant differences in seed weight, seed curvature, and endocarp thickness between the two types of seeds. These findings provided fundamental physiological information for R. sinensis seeds and supported the long-term storage of its seeds. Our results may also serve as useful reference for seed storage of other threatened seagrass species and facilitate their ex situ conservation and habitat restoration.

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“…If seeds produced by plants of a species are in poor quality, it is difficult for the plants to successfully produce seedlings, and consequently, the population growth and persistence of the species cannot be realized easily2434353637383940. Some studies have demonstrated that the weak population growth and spatial colonization of Phragmites australis, Ruppia maritima, Zostera marina can be attributed to the low viability of seeds363941. In our study, as soon as the seeds in the capsules on S. variegata plants matured, the seeds were collected immediately to examine their germinability.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seed sojourn and fast viability loss constrain seedling production of a prominent riparian protection plant Salix variegata Franch

Ayi

Zeng

Liu

et al. 2016

Sci Rep

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Salix variegata Franch, a prominent plant applied in riparian shelter vegetation in Three Gorges reservoir region of China, produces many seeds every year but generates only a few or no seedlings. Whether the low seedling production of S. variegata is caused by seed sterility or by rapid loss of seed viability remains unknown. We investigated the sojourn time of mature seeds in capsules produced in early, mid, and late reproductive season and the germinability of mature seeds fresh or stored after different period of time. The sojourn time of seeds in capsules was 2.89, 3.95, and 4.72 days in early, mid, and late reproductive season, respectively. The maximal germination percentage of non-stored fresh seeds produced in early, mid, and late reproductive season was 93.33%, 78.67%, and 40%, respectively, which indicates mature seeds were not sterile. The longest viability-retaining time of seeds produced in early, mid, and late reproductive season was only 8, 16, 16 days, respectively, indicating that mature seeds of S. variegata lost viability very rapidly. Mature seeds possessed good viability, but their rapid viability loss caused the low seedling production and hampered the population growth of S. variegata in the riparian area of Three Gorges reservoir region.

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Ruppia maritima L. seed bank viability at the Everglades-Florida Bay ecotone

Cited by 16 publications

References 54 publications

Changes in sediment seed‐bank composition of invaded macrophyte communities in a thermal river

Changes in sediment seed‐bank composition of invaded macrophyte communities in a thermal river

Tolerance of Ruppia sinensis Seeds to Desiccation, Low Temperature, and High Salinity With Special Reference to Long-Term Seed Storage

Seed sojourn and fast viability loss constrain seedling production of a prominent riparian protection plant Salix variegata Franch

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