A Critical Gap in Seagrass Protection: Impact of Anthropogenic Off-Shore Nutrient Discharges on Deep Posidonia oceanica Meadows
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Results
2.1. Univariate Analyses
2.1.1. Variations in Abiotic Factors
2.1.2. Variations of Biological Indicators of Anthropogenic Pressure
2.1.3. Physiological Responses of P. oceanica Plants
2.1.4. Changes at the Structural Meadow Level
2.1.5. Synthesis of Variable Responses
2.2. Multivariate Analysis
3. Discussion
4. Materials and Methods
4.1. Study Site and Sampling Design
4.2. Abiotic Factors
4.3. Seagrass Bioindicators of Anthropogenic Pressure
4.4. P. oceanica Physiological Features
4.5. Meadow Structure Descriptors
4.6. Statistical Analysis
5. Conclusions
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Sites | Summer | Autumn | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
% E0 | DPPF ± SE | % DPPFred | % E0 | DPPF ± SE | % DPPFred | OM % ± SE | |
M1 | 10.2 | 4.13 ± 0.20 a | −32.8% | 6.82 | 1.55 ± 0.13 a | −37.1% | 3.49 ± 0.21 a |
M2 | 11.66 | 4.43 ± 0.21 a | −28.0% | 9.07 | 2.20 ± 0.17 b | −10.6% | 3.56 ± 0.04 a |
M3 | 11.23 | 4.68 ± 0.21 a | −23.9% | 11.01 | 2.34 ± 0.15 b | −5.0% | 2.11 ± 0.08 b |
M4 | 15.33 | 6.15 ± 0.31 b | 11.27 | 2.46 ± 0.14 b | 1.41 ± 0.09 c |
Variable Type/Name | Site/Variable Response | ||
---|---|---|---|
Abiotic factors: | M1 | M2 | M3 |
Daily Photosynthetic Photon Flux (DPPF) | – | – | – |
% of surficial irradiance (% E0) | – | – | – |
Sediment organic matter content (OM %) | + | + | + |
Distance (km) | – | – | – |
Biological indicators of anthropogenic influence: | |||
Nitrogen stable isotope δ15N rhizomes | + | + | + |
%N rhizomes | + | ||
C/N rhizomes | – | ||
% P rhizomes | + | + | |
C/P rhizomes | – | – | |
Nitrogen stable isotope δ15N epiphytes | + | + | |
% N epiphytes | |||
C/N epiphytes | – | – | |
Ni rhizomes | + | ||
Cu rhizomes | |||
maximum N uptake rate (Vmax) | + | + | + |
half saturation constant (km) | + | + | + |
Efficiency of N uptake (α uptake) | – | – | – |
P. oceanica physiological variables: | |||
Chl a concentration | + | + | |
Chl b concentration | + | + | |
carotenoids concentration | + | + | |
net photosynthetic rate (net-Pmax) | – | – | – |
gross photosynthetic rate (gross-P) | – | – | – |
respiration rate (R) | – | – | – |
photosynthetic efficiency (α) | – | ||
saturation irradiance (Ek) | – | – | – |
compensation irradiance (Ec) | – | ||
relative electro transport rate (r-ETR) | – | ||
Maximum quantum yield (Fv/Fm) | + | + | |
daily metabolic carbon balance (CB) | – | – | |
daily saturation period (Hk) | – | – | – |
daily compensation period (Hc) | |||
Non-structural carbohydrates-soluble fraction | – | – | |
Non-structural carbohydrates-starch fraction | |||
Meadow structure descriptors | |||
shoot density | – | – | |
meadow cover | – | – | – |
vertical rhizome length | – | – | |
proportion of plagiotropic rhizomes | + | + |
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Jiménez-Casero, J.; Belando, M.D.; Bernardeau-Esteller, J.; Marín-Guirao, L.; García-Muñoz, R.; Sánchez-Lizaso, J.L.; Ruiz, J.M. A Critical Gap in Seagrass Protection: Impact of Anthropogenic Off-Shore Nutrient Discharges on Deep Posidonia oceanica Meadows. Plants 2023, 12, 457. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12030457
Jiménez-Casero J, Belando MD, Bernardeau-Esteller J, Marín-Guirao L, García-Muñoz R, Sánchez-Lizaso JL, Ruiz JM. A Critical Gap in Seagrass Protection: Impact of Anthropogenic Off-Shore Nutrient Discharges on Deep Posidonia oceanica Meadows. Plants. 2023; 12(3):457. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12030457
Chicago/Turabian StyleJiménez-Casero, Judit, Maria Dolores Belando, Jaime Bernardeau-Esteller, Lazaro Marín-Guirao, Rocio García-Muñoz, José Luis Sánchez-Lizaso, and Juan Manuel Ruiz. 2023. "A Critical Gap in Seagrass Protection: Impact of Anthropogenic Off-Shore Nutrient Discharges on Deep Posidonia oceanica Meadows" Plants 12, no. 3: 457. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12030457