The Detritic Compartment in aPosidonia oceanicaMeadow: Litter Features, Decomposition Rates, and Mineral Stocks

Romero, Javier; Pergent, Gérard; Pergent-Martinì, Christine; Mateo, Miguel-Ángel; Regnier, Cécile

doi:10.1111/j.1439-0485.1992.tb00341.x

Cited by 126 publications

(108 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…1). The C contents of intermediate leaves was greater than in adult leaves in all stations, in agreement with Romero et al (1992). The recorded values (37.32-49.07%) were similar to those obtained by Augier et al (1982) in France (31-45%) and Enriquez et al (1995) in Spain (38.12%).…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 76%

“…The leaves and their epiphytes sustain a large number of organisms that either actively feed on them or eat their remains, which enter the food chain (Romero et al, 1992;Mateo and Romero, 1997). Among grazers, a major role is played by the fish Sarpa salpa (Velimirov, 1984;Francour, 1997), the urchin Paracentrotus lividus (Ott and Maurer, 1977;Kirkman and Young, 1981), and the isopods Idotea spp.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Seasonal grazing and food preference of herbivores in a Posidonia oceanica meadow

Peirano¹,

Niccolai²,

Mauro³

et al. 2001

Sci. Mar.

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SUMMARY: Seasonal grazing of the fish Sarpa salpa (L.), the urchin Paracentrotus lividus Lamarck and the isopods Idotea spp. was compared with the C/N ratio of adult and intermediate leaves and epiphytes of Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile, collected at three different depths. Despite seasonal differences in grazing, herbivores showed preferences throughout the year for adult leaves with more epiphyte and higher N contents. The maximum grazing on adult and intermediate leaves was observed in September and in June for fish and in March for urchins, whereas it was irregular for isopods. Grazing by the three herbivores was not related to their preference for leaves or epiphytes, notwithstanding the seasonal differences in their C and N contents. We concluded that herbivores show no preference for food type throughout the year and that seasonal consumption of P. oceanica is related mainly to herbivore behaviour.Key words: grazing, C/N ratio, seagrass, epiphytes. *Received February 16, 2000. Accepted May 15, 2001. 1996 and showed that the percentage of leaf production removed by herbivores in summer was correlated with both leaf specific growth rates and leaf production per shoot (Cebrian and Duarte, 1998).Differences in grazing might also be explained by different behaviour of the grazers. Massive schools of the fish S. salpa actively feed on P.oceanica leaves in Summer to accumulate reserves for reproduction. In winter, adults migrate to greater depths, whereas young fish, in shallow waters, eat preferentially small crustaceans (Bini, 1968;Tortonese, 1975, Francour, 1997 and turf epilithic algae (Havelange et al., 1997).P. lividus forms true populations in P. oceanica meadows, where high densities may have a heavy impact on the meadow (Kirkman and Young; Nedelec and Verlaque, 1984). Even though the urchins reproduce throughout the year (Tortonese, 1965;Fenaux 1968), major spawning is concentrated in spring and summer (Fenaux 1968;Azzolina and Willsie, 1987) and is related to the lowest consumption of seagrass (Semroud and Kada, 1987). While the young urchins feed on both rhizomes and leaves, the adults (>2 cm diameter) have a low-specialised diet and graze preferentially, on the highly epiphytized distal part of the leaves at nigth (Nedelec and Verlaque, 1984;Zupo and Fresi, 1984).Little is known about the behaviour of the isopods. The diet of the isopods I. baltica balsteri was investigated by Lorenti and Fresi (1982), who observed prolonged survival of the animal feeding on living leaves of P. oceanica.Until now, it is not clear whether seasonal grazing is related to leaf or epiphyte quality of food or depends on other factors. The aim of the present work is to assess the relationships between grazing pressure and food availability and C and N contents, both in time and space. For this purpose three stations along a depth gradient were observed during one year. Two levels of food were considered: a) leaves (adult and intermediate) and b) epiphytes (divided into major taxa). Seasonal variations in food quality were ...

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 76%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal grazing and food preference of herbivores in a Posidonia oceanica meadow

Peirano¹,

Niccolai²,

Mauro³

et al. 2001

Sci. Mar.

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“…The present in situ experiment investigated the colonization of provisional dead seagrass detritus, hereafter referred to as macrophytodetritus. The majority of the macrophytodetritus accumulates on bare sand patches close to seagrass meadow and is decomposed within a few days to several months, depending on the chemical composition and biotic and abiotic fragmentation speed (Romero et al 1992;Mateo and Romero 1997). These accumulations thereby support high values of secondary production in the receiving communities (Vetter 1995;Mateo and Romero 1997).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How do harpacticoid copepods colonize detrital seagrass leaves?

et al. 2015

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An experiment was carried out investigating the colonization ability and specific pattern of copepods towards a provisional benthic habitat. Since copepods are known to disperse passively and actively, the experiment aimed to investigate the pool of colonizers of macrophytodetritus and the species-specific active colonization pathways. The experiment was performed in a Mediterranean seagrass Posidonia oceanica meadow on defaunated macrophytodetritus accumulations (mainly dead seagrass leaves) for two time intervals (24 h and 96 h). Active colonization by copepods, independently of their adjacent potential source pool habitat (bare sandy sediments, P. oceanica canopy, water column and macrophytodetritus) occurred within 24 h. Natural densities (as in the control treatments) were only reached by active colonization through the water column. Both neither diversities nor species composition of natural macrophytodetritus were ever reached by one single migratory pathway, therefore only a combination of interstitial migration and water column migration can explain the species occurrence under natural condition. Moreover, every potential adjacent source pool habitat, contributed species to the newly colonized macrophytodetritus. However, the main colonizers were mostly species with good swimming capabilities. The diverse pool of species present in the newly colonized macrophytodetritus underlines the complex communities and dispersion capabilities of copepods. Hence, macrophytodetritus possesses the potential ability to be a colonizer source pool for every adjacent habitat and thus behaves as a copepod hub for the entire seagrass ecosystem

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“…It involves an initial phase of abiotic leaching of fast-cycling components, consisting of low molecular weight (LMW) phenolic and carbohydrate compounds, followed by microbial and detritivorous breakdown of more refractory materials (Kenworthy and Thayer 1984;Harrison 1989;Peduzzi and Hernle 1991;Enríquez et al 1993;Opsahl and Benner 1993;Mateo and Romero 1996). The second (biotic) decomposition phase is a much slower process (Romero et al 1992), and allows the more refractory tissues to accumulate in mats. The mechanism behind this slow biotic decomposition after P. oceanica detritus enters the mat is largely unknown, but the likely candidates are anoxic conditions and biochemical stability of the organic matter (Mateo et al 1997;Pedersen et al 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Molecular composition of plant parts and sediment organic matter in a Mediterranean seagrass (Posidonia oceanica) mat

et al. 2016

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Molecular composition of plant parts and sediment organic matter in a Mediterranean seagrass (Posidonia oceanica) mat.Aquatic Botany http://dx.doi.org/10. 1016/j.aquabot.2016.05.009 This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. Graphical abstract Highlights-Analytical pyrolysis applied to Posidonia seagrass organs and marine mat deposit -Posidonia phenolic composition dominated by p-hydroxybenzoic acids -Peat-like mat deposits composed predominantly of root, rhizome and sheath materials -We suggest a link between Posidonia chemistry and C accumulation in mats AbstractPosidonia oceanica forms extensive peat-like deposits (mats) in Mediterranean coastal waters, which have a potential as carbon sinks and archives of environmental change.Nonetheless, the organic chemistry of both P. oceanica plant materials, as well as the environmental and diagenetic effects on the composition of its detritus, is poorly understood.We analyzed plant organs of P. oceanica and the coarse organic matter from a mat core spanning 750 yrs using pyrolysis techniques (PY-GC-MS and THM-GC-MS) to improve our understanding of their molecular properties and their preservation upon mat development. It

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The Detritic Compartment in aPosidonia oceanicaMeadow: Litter Features, Decomposition Rates, and Mineral Stocks

Cited by 126 publications

References 37 publications

Seasonal grazing and food preference of herbivores in a <i>Posidonia oceanica</i> meadow

Seasonal grazing and food preference of herbivores in a <i>Posidonia oceanica</i> meadow

How do harpacticoid copepods colonize detrital seagrass leaves?

Molecular composition of plant parts and sediment organic matter in a Mediterranean seagrass (Posidonia oceanica) mat

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