Seagrass

Floridian seagrass bed

Seagrasses are flowering plants (angiosperms) belonging to four families (Posidoniaceae, Zosteraceae, Hydrocharitaceae and Cymodoceaceae), all in the order Alismatales (in the class of monocotyledons), which grow in marine, fully saline environments. Twelve genera comprising some 60 species are known.

Ecology

White-spotted puffers are often found in seagrass areas.

The name seagrass stems from the many species whose leaves are long and narrow, who grow by rhizome extension and often spread across large "meadows", which resemble grassland: many species superficially resemble terrestrial grasses of the family Poaceae.

Like all autotrophic plants, seagrasses photosynthesize, in the submerged photic zone, and most occur in shallow and sheltered coastal waters anchored in sand or mud bottoms. Most species undergo submarine pollination and complete their life cycle underwater.

Seagrasses beds/meadows can be either monospecific (made up of a single species) or in mixed beds. In temperate areas, usually one or a few species dominate (like the eelgrass Zostera marina in the North Atlantic), whereas tropical beds usually are more diverse, with up to thirteen species recorded in the Philippines.

Seagrass beds are diverse and productive ecosystems, and can harbor hundreds of associated species from all phyla, for example juvenile and adult fish, epiphytic and free-living macroalgae and microalgae, mollusks, bristle worms, and nematodes. Few species were originally considered to feed directly on seagrass leaves (partly because of their low nutritional content), but scientific reviews and improved working methods have shown that seagrass herbivory is an important link in the food chain, feeding hundreds of species, including green turtles, dugongs, manatees, fish, geese, swans, sea urchins and crabs. Some fish species that visit/feed on seagrasses raise their young in adjacent mangroves or coral reefs.

Seagrasses trap sediment and slow down water movement, causing suspended sediment to settle out. Trapping sediment benefits coral by reducing sediment loads, improving photosynthesis for both coral and seagrass.[1]

Taxonomy

Family Image Genera Description
Zosteraceae The family Zosteraceae, also known as the seagrass family, includes two genera containing 22 marine species. It is found in temperate and subtropical coastal waters, with the highest diversity around Korea and Japan.

Species subtotal:  

 Phyllospadix 6 species  
 Zostera 16 species  
Hydrocharitaceae The family Hydrocharitaceae, also known as tape-grasses, include Canadian waterweed and frogbit. The family includes both fresh and marine aquatics, although of the seventeen species currently recognised only three are marine.[2] They are found throughout the world in a wide variety of habitats, but are primarily tropical.

Species subtotal:  

 Enhalus 1 species  
 Halophila 19 species  
 Thalassia 2 species  
Posidoniaceae The family Posidoniaceae contains a single genus with two to nine marine species found in the seas of the Mediterranean and around the south coast of Australia.

Species subtotal: 2 to 9  

 Posidonia 2 to 9 species  
Cymodoceaceae The family Cymodoceaceae, also known as the manatee-grass family, includes only marine species.[2] Some taxonomists do not recognize this family.

Species subtotal:  

 Amphibolis 2 species  
 Cymodocea 4 species  
 Halodule 6 species  
 Syringodium 2 species  
 Thalassodendron 3 species  
Total species:   

Ecosystem services

Seagrass bed with several echinoids, Grahams Harbour, San Salvador Island, Bahamas
Seagrass bed with dense turtle grass (Thalassia testudinum) and an immature queen conch (Eustrombus gigas), Rice Bay, San Salvador Island, Bahamas
Diagram showing seagrass evolution beginning with Precambrian phytoplankton which begat Silurian red, brown, and green algae,Zostera
Evolution of seagrasses

Seagrasses partly create their own habitat: their leaves, by slowing down water currents, increase sedimentation, and their roots and rhizomes stabilize the seabed.

Their importance for associated species is mainly provision of shelter (through their three-dimensional structure in the water column) and to their high rate of primary production. As a result, seagrasses provide coastal zones with a number of ecosystem goods and services, for instance nursery habitat for commercially and recreationally valued fishery species,[3] fishing grounds,[4] wave protection, oxygen production and protection against coastal erosion. Seagrass meadows account for more than 10% of the ocean’s total carbon storage.[5] Per hectare, it holds twice as much carbon dioxide as rain forests. Yearly, seagrasses sequester about 27.4 million tons of CO2 . Global warming models suggest that some seagrasses will go extinct – Posidonia oceanica is expected to go extinct, or nearly so, by 2050. This would result in CO2 release.[6][7]

Relation to humans

Historically, seagrasses were collected as fertilizer for sandy soil. This was an important use in the Ria de Aveiro, Portugal, where the plants collected were known as moliço.

In the early 20th century, in France and, to a lesser extent, the Channel Islands, dried seagrasses were used as a mattress (paillasse) filling - such mattresses were in high demand by French forces during World War I. It was also used for bandages and other purposes.

In February 2017, researchers found that seagrass meadows may be able to remove various pathogens from seawater. On small islands without wastewater treatment facilities in central Indonesia, levels of pathogenic marine bacteria – such as Enterococcus – that affect humans, fishes and invertebrates were reduced by 50 percent when seagrass meadows were present, compared to paired sites without seagrass,[8] although this could be a detriment to their own survival.[9]

Disturbances and threats

Natural disturbances, such as grazing, storms, ice-scouring and desiccation, are an inherent part of seagrass ecosystem dynamics. Seagrasses display a high degree of phenotypic plasticity, adapting rapidly to changing environmental conditions.

Seagrasses are in global decline, with some 30,000 km2 (12,000 sq mi) lost during recent decades. The main cause is human disturbance, most notably eutrophication, mechanical destruction of habitat, and overfishing. Excessive input of nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus) is directly toxic to seagrasses, but most importantly, it stimulates the growth of epiphytic and free-floating macro- and micro-algae. This weakens the sunlight, reducing the photosynthesis that nourishes the seagrass and the primary production results.

Decaying seagrass leaves and algae fuels increasing algal blooms, resulting in a positive feedback. This can cause a complete regime shift from seagrass to algal dominance. Accumulating evidence also suggests that overfishing of top predators (large predatory fish) could indirectly increase algal growth by reducing grazing control performed by mesograzers, such as crustaceans and gastropods, through a trophic cascade.

Macro algal blooms cause the decline and eradication of seagrasses. Known as nuisance species, macroalgae grow in filamentous and sheet-like forms and form thick unattached mats over seagrass, occurring as epiphytes on seagrass leaves. Eutrophication leads to the forming of a bloom, causing the attenuation of light in the water column, which eventually leads to anoxic conditions for the seagrass and organisms living in/around the plant(s). In addition to the direct blockage of light to the plant, benthic macroalgae have low carbon/nitrogen content, causing their decomposition to stimulate bacterial activity, leading to sediment resuspension, an increase in water turbidity and further light attenuation.[10][11]

When humans drive motor boats over shallow seagrass areas, sometimes the propeller blade can damage the seagrass.

The most-used methods to protect and restore seagrass meadows include nutrient and pollution reduction, marine protected areas and restoration using seagrass transplantation. Seagrass is not seen as resilient to the impacts of future environmental change.[12]

Restoration

In various locations, communities are attempting to restore seagress beds that were lost to human action, including in the US states of Virginia,[13] Florida[14] and Hawaii.[15] Such reintroductions have been shown to improve ecosystem services.[16]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Seagrass-Watch: What is seagrass? Retrieved 2012-11-16.
  2. 1 2 Waycott, Michelle; McMahon, Kathryn; Lavery, Paul (2014). A Guide to Southern Temperate Seagrasses. CSIRO Publishing. ISBN 9781486300150.
  3. ↑ Unsworth, RKF; Nordlund, LM; Cullen-Unsworth, LC. "Seagrass meadows support global fisheries production". Conserv Lett. e12566. doi:10.1111/conl.12566.
  4. ↑ Nordlund, LM; Unsworth, RKF; Gullstrom, M; Cullen-Unsworth, LC. "Global significance of seagrass fishery activity". Fish & Fisheries. doi:10.1111/faf.12259.
  5. ↑ "Seagrasses Store as Much Carbon as Forests". Livescience. TechMedia Network. 21 May 2012. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
  6. ↑ EOS magazine, July–August 2012
  7. ↑ Laffoley, Dan (December 26, 2009). "To Save the Planet, Save the Seas". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 December 2009.
  8. ↑ Byington, Cara. "New Science Shows Seagrass Meadows Suppress Pathogens". Nature.org. NatureNet Fellows for Cool Green Science. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  9. ↑ Jones, BJ; Cullen-Unsworth, LC; Unsworth, RKF. "Tracking Nitrogen Source Using δ15N Reveals Human and Agricultural Drivers of Seagrass Degradation across the British Isles". Frontiers in Plant Science. doi:10.3389/fpls.2018.00133.
  10. ↑ McGlathery, KJ (2001). "Macroalgal blooms contribute to the decline of seagrass in nutrient‐enriched coastal waters" (PDF). Journal of Phycology. 37: 453–456. doi:10.1046/j.1529-8817.2001.037004453.x.
  11. ↑ Fox SE, YS Olsen and AC Spivak (2010) "Effects of bottom-up and top-down controls and climate change on estuarine macrophyte communities and the ecosystem services they provide" In: PF Kemp (Ed) Eco-DAS Symposium Proceedings, ALSO, Chapter 8: 129–145.
  12. ↑ Unsworth et al. 2015 "A framework for the resilience of seagrass ecosystems" Marine Pollution Bulletin'
  13. ↑ "Eelgrass Restoration | The Nature Conservancy in Virginia". www.nature.org. Retrieved 2018-08-06.
  14. ↑ "Seagrass Restoration". myfwc.com. Retrieved 2018-08-06.
  15. ↑ "Seagrass Restoration Initiative – Malama Maunalua". www.malamamaunalua.org. Retrieved 2018-08-06.
  16. ↑ van Katwijk, Marieke M.; Thorhaug, Anitra; Marbà, Núria; Orth, Robert J.; Duarte, Carlos M.; Kendrick, Gary A.; Althuizen, Inge H. J.; Balestri, Elena; Bernard, Guillaume (2015-11-25). "Global analysis of seagrass restoration: the importance of large-scale planting". Journal of Applied Ecology. 53 (2): 567–578. doi:10.1111/1365-2664.12562. ISSN 0021-8901.

Further references

  • den Hartog, C. 1970. The Sea-grasses of the World. Verhandl. der Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, Afd. Natuurkunde, No. 59(1).
  • Duarte, Carlos M. and Carina L. Chiscano “Seagrass biomass and production: a reassessment” Aquatic Botany Volume 65, Issues 1-4, November 1999, Pages 159-174.
  • Green, E.P. & Short, F.T.(eds). 2003. World Atlas of Seagrasses. University of California Press, Berkeley, CA. 298 pp.
  • Hemminga, M.A. & Duarte, C. 2000. Seagrass Ecology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 298 pp.
  • Hogarth, Peter The Biology of Mangroves and Seagrasses (Oxford University Press, 2007)
  • Larkum, Anthony W.D., Robert J. Orth, and Carlos M. Duarte (Editors) Seagrasses: Biology, Ecology and Conservation (Springer, 2006)
  • Orth, Robert J. et al. "A Global Crisis for Seagrass Ecosystems" BioScience December 2006 / Vol. 56 No. 12, Pages 987-996.
  • Short, F.T. & Coles, R.G.(eds). 2001. Global Seagrass Research Methods. Elsevier Science, Amsterdam. 473 pp.
  • A.W.D. Larkum, R.J. Orth, and C.M. Duarte (eds). Seagrass Biology: A Treatise. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, in press.
  • A. Schwartz; M. Morrison; I. Hawes; J. Halliday. 2006. Physical and biological characteristics of a rare marine habitat: sub-tidal seagrass beds of offshore islands. Science for Conservation 269. 39 pp.
  • Waycott, M, McMahon, K, & Lavery, P 2014, A guide to southern temperate seagrasses, CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.