Seagrass meadows

Unsworth, Richard K. F.; Cullen-Unsworth, Leanne C.

doi:10.1016/j.cub.2017.01.021

Cited by 20 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Dugongs are particularly dependent on seagrass habitats (marine phanerogams) as food resources, which are also essential to the subsistence of many human coastal communities. Globally, seagrass habitats are declining at a rate of 7%/year due to long-term or acute environmental degradation 4 . Such a decline is alarming given the great contribution of seagrass habitats to carbon sequestration, recognized as a Nature-Based Solution to climate change by the IPCC 5 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although considered seagrass community specialists’ 2 dugongs exhibit some flexibility in their dietary characteristics, as they occasionally exploit macroalgae and macro-invertebrates 15 , 32 . As dugongs have been shown to play an important functional role in the growth, resilience, and dispersal of seagrass habitats 4 , 16 , 19 , 33 , acquiring a better understanding of their diet variability in response to extrinsic and intrinsic factors is crucial to both dugong and seagrass conservation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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C and N stable isotopes enlighten the trophic behaviour of the dugong (Dugong dugon)

Thibault,

Letourneur,

Cleguer

et al. 2024

Sci Rep

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The dugong (Dugong dugon), a large marine mammal herbivore of the Indo-Pacific, is vulnerable to extinction at a global scale due to a combination of human-related threats including habitat degradation. The species forages on seagrass habitats (marine phanerogams) and plays a key role in the functioning and sensitivity of these declining coastal ecosystems. The trophic behaviour and plasticity of dugong populations in response to extrinsic and intrinsic factors are therefore crucial features to both dugong and seagrass conservation. Yet, this knowledge remains limited to few visual observations and analyses of mouth, stomach or faecal contents of stranded individuals. We take advantage of a long-term monitoring of stranded individuals from the endangered New Caledonian population to depict features of dugongs’ trophic ecology from Carbon and Nitrogen stable isotopes. A total of 59 dugong skin samples were used to portrait the stable isotope niche of dugongs according to their sex and maturity. In light of previous work conducted in New Caledonia, a subset of these samples was used to model the trophic mix of dugong males and females. Our stable isotope mixing models used C and N isotope values of 10 taxa bbelonging to five divisions of metazoans, plants, and chromists. Our results represent the first estimate of the species dietary niche in the isotopic space. They suggest that the diet of dugong calves overlaps more with that of adult females (δ13C: − 6.38 ± 1.13 ‰; δ15N: 2.49 ± 1.10 ‰) than males (δ13C: − 5.92 ± 1.10 ‰; δ15N: 3.69 ± 1.28 ‰). Further, we highlight differences in the expected trophic mix of dugong adult males and females. From these, we formulate a sex-specific foraging behaviour hypothesis in dugongs, whereby lactating females could forage over smaller spatial ranges but more diverse food sources thanmales. The study emphasizes the importance of long-term stranding monitoring programs to study the ecology of marine mammals.. Finally, it depicts an ecological feature that may contribute to the sensitivity of vulnerable dugongs to ongoing changes on tropical coastal ecosystems.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

C and N stable isotopes enlighten the trophic behaviour of the dugong (Dugong dugon)

Thibault,

Letourneur,

Cleguer

et al. 2024

Sci Rep

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“…These banquettes not only protect beaches from erosion, stabilize sand dunes, and enrich underlying sediments with nitrogen but also harbor various aquatic and terrestrial organisms (Boudouresque et al, 2016). Because of such significant modification of the environment, P. oceanica is considered an ecosystem engineer (Unsworth & Cullen‐Unsworth, 2017), which forms a complex system composed of living seagrass and its exported detritus, as well as the rich community of organisms associated with its different habitats (Boström et al, 2006; Mazzella et al, 1989).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Meiofauna is an important, yet often overlooked, component of biodiversity in the ecosystem formed by Posidonia oceanica

García‐Gómez

García‐Herrero

Sánchez

et al. 2022

Invertebrate Biology

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The ecosystem formed by the marine flowering plant Posidonia oceanica is a biodiversity reservoir and provides many ecosystem services in coastal Mediterranean regions. Marine meiofauna is also a major component of that biodiversity, and its study can be useful in addressing both theoretical and applied questions in ecology, evolution, and conservation. We review the meiofaunal diversity in the meadow ecosystem of P. oceanica by combining a literature review and a case study. First, we gathered records of 672 species from 71 published studies, as well as unpublished sources, highlighting 4 species exclusive to this ecosystem. Eighteen of those studies quantified the spatial and temporal changes in species composition, highlighting habitat‐specific assemblages that fluctuate following the annual changes experienced by these meadows. Hydrodynamics, habitat complexity, and food availability, all three inherently linked to the seagrass phenology, are recognized in the literature as the main factors shaping the complex distribution patterns of meiofauna in the meadows. These drivers have been identified mainly in studies of Copepoda and Nematoda, and their effect may depend ultimately on species‐specific preferences. Second, we tested the generality of these observations using marine mites as a model group, showing that similar ecological preferences might be found in other less abundant meiofaunal groups. Overall, our study highlights the high diversity of meiofauna in meadows of P. oceanica compared with algae and sessile macrofauna associated with this seagrass and shows the complexity of the interactions and habitat use by meiofauna associated with the seagrass.

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“…Banquettes are fundamental in protecting beaches from erosion, stabilising the sand dune, and enriching underlying sediments with nitrogen (Boudouresque et al, 2016). Due to such significant and multifaceted modification of the environment, P. oceanica is considered as an ecological engineer (Unsworth & Cullen-Unsworth, 2017), which forms a complex ecosystem composed of living seagrass and its exported detritus, as well as the rich community of organisms associated to its different habitats (Mazzella et al, 1989;Boström et al, 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Meiofauna is an important, yet neglected, component of biodiversity ofPosidonia oceanica

García‐Gómez

García‐Herrero

Sánchez

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Posidonia oceanica meadows are biodiversity reservoirs and provide many ecosystem services in coastal Mediterranean regions. Marine meiofauna, on the other hand, not only represents a major component of regional marine biodiversity, but also a useful tool to address both theoretical and applied questions in ecology, evolution, and conservation. We review the meiofaunal diversity in the P. oceanica ecosystem combining a literature review and a case study. First, we gathered records of 664 species from 69 published studies as well as unpublished sources, including few species exclusive from this ecosystem. Eighteen of those studies quantified the spatial and temporal changes of species composition, highlighting habitat-specific assemblages that fluctuate following the annual changes experienced by P. oceanica. Hydrodynamics, habitat complexity, and food availability, all three inherently linked to the seagrass phenology, are recognised as the main factors at shaping the complex distribution patterns of meiofauna in the meadows. These drivers have been identified mainly from Copepoda and Nematoda, and depend ultimately on species-specific preferences. Second, we tested the generality of these observations using marine mites as a model group, showing that the same processes might be in place also for other less abundant meiofaunal groups. Overall, our study highlights an outstanding diversity of meiofauna in P. oceanica and shows its potential for future research, not only focused on exploring and describing new species of neglected meiofaunal organisms, but also providing a more complete understanding on the functioning of the iconic Mediterranean ecosystem created by P. oceanica.

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Seagrass meadows

Cited by 20 publications

References 12 publications

C and N stable isotopes enlighten the trophic behaviour of the dugong (Dugong dugon)

C and N stable isotopes enlighten the trophic behaviour of the dugong (Dugong dugon)

Meiofauna is an important, yet often overlooked, component of biodiversity in the ecosystem formed by Posidonia oceanica

Meiofauna is an important, yet neglected, component of biodiversity ofPosidonia oceanica

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