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Zarzyczny KM, Rius M, Williams ST, Fenberg PB. The ecological and evolutionary consequences of tropicalisation. Trends Ecol Evol 2024; 39:267-279. [PMID: 38030539 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2023.10.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2023] [Revised: 10/12/2023] [Accepted: 10/13/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023]
Abstract
Tropicalisation is a marine phenomenon arising from contemporary climate change, and is characterised by the range expansion of tropical/subtropical species and the retraction of temperate species. Tropicalisation occurs globally and can be detected in both tropical/temperate transition zones and temperate regions. The ecological consequences of tropicalisation range from single-species impacts (e.g., altered behaviour) to whole ecosystem changes (e.g., phase shifts in intertidal and subtidal habitats). Our understanding of the evolutionary consequences of tropicalisation is limited, but emerging evidence suggests that tropicalisation could induce phenotypic change as well as shifts in the genotypic composition of both expanding and retracting species. Given the rapid rate of contemporary climate change, research on tropicalisation focusing on shifts in ecosystem functioning, biodiversity change, and socioeconomic impacts is urgently needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karolina M Zarzyczny
- School of Ocean and Earth Science, National Oceanography Centre, University of Southampton, Southampton SO14 3ZH, UK; Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK.
| | - Marc Rius
- Centre for Advanced Studies of Blanes (CEAB), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Accés a la Cala Sant Francesc 14, Blanes 17300, Spain; Department of Zoology, Centre for Ecological Genomics and Wildlife Conservation, University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park, 2006 Johannesburg, South Africa
| | | | - Phillip B Fenberg
- School of Ocean and Earth Science, National Oceanography Centre, University of Southampton, Southampton SO14 3ZH, UK; Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK
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Wernberg T, Thomsen MS, Baum JK, Bishop MJ, Bruno JF, Coleman MA, Filbee-Dexter K, Gagnon K, He Q, Murdiyarso D, Rogers K, Silliman BR, Smale DA, Starko S, Vanderklift MA. Impacts of Climate Change on Marine Foundation Species. Ann Rev Mar Sci 2024; 16:247-282. [PMID: 37683273 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-marine-042023-093037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/10/2023]
Abstract
Marine foundation species are the biotic basis for many of the world's coastal ecosystems, providing structural habitat, food, and protection for myriad plants and animals as well as many ecosystem services. However, climate change poses a significant threat to foundation species and the ecosystems they support. We review the impacts of climate change on common marine foundation species, including corals, kelps, seagrasses, salt marsh plants, mangroves, and bivalves. It is evident that marine foundation species have already been severely impacted by several climate change drivers, often through interactive effects with other human stressors, such as pollution, overfishing, and coastal development. Despite considerable variation in geographical, environmental, and ecological contexts, direct and indirect effects of gradual warming and subsequent heatwaves have emerged as the most pervasive drivers of observed impact and potent threat across all marine foundation species, but effects from sea level rise, ocean acidification, and increased storminess are expected to increase. Documented impacts include changes in the genetic structures, physiology, abundance, and distribution of the foundation species themselves and changes to their interactions with other species, with flow-on effects to associated communities, biodiversity, and ecosystem functioning. We discuss strategies to support marine foundation species into the Anthropocene, in order to increase their resilience and ensure the persistence of the ecosystem services they provide.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Wernberg
- Oceans Institute and School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia;
- Flødevigen Research Station, Institute of Marine Research, His, Norway
| | - Mads S Thomsen
- Marine Ecology Research Group, School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
- Department of Ecoscience, Aarhus University, Roskilde, Denmark
| | - Julia K Baum
- Department of Biology, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Melanie J Bishop
- School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Macquarie Park, New South Wales, Australia
| | - John F Bruno
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Melinda A Coleman
- National Marine Science Centre, New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Karen Filbee-Dexter
- Oceans Institute and School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia;
- Flødevigen Research Station, Institute of Marine Research, His, Norway
| | - Karine Gagnon
- Flødevigen Research Station, Institute of Marine Research, His, Norway
| | - Qiang He
- Coastal Ecology Lab, MOE Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Daniel Murdiyarso
- Center for International Forestry Research-World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF), Bogor, Indonesia
- Department of Geophysics and Meteorology, IPB University, Bogor, Indonesia
| | - Kerrylee Rogers
- School of Earth, Atmospheric, and Life Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Brian R Silliman
- Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - Dan A Smale
- Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, Plymouth, United Kingdom
| | - Samuel Starko
- Oceans Institute and School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia;
| | - Mathew A Vanderklift
- Indian Ocean Marine Research Centre, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Crawley, Western Australia, Australia
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Nguyen HM, Andolina C, Vizzini S, Gambi MC, Winters G. Effects of anthropogenic pressures on the seagrass Halophila stipulacea and its associated macrozoobenthic communities in the northern Gulf of Aqaba. Mar Environ Res 2023; 189:106073. [PMID: 37413952 DOI: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2023.106073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2023] [Revised: 06/22/2023] [Accepted: 06/25/2023] [Indexed: 07/08/2023]
Abstract
Halophila stipulacea is a tropical seagrass species, native to the Red Sea, Persian Gulf, and Indian Ocean, while invasive to the Mediterranean and Caribbean Seas. The benthic fauna assemblages associated with H. stipulacea in its native habitats and the potential effects of anthropogenic stressors on these assemblages remain unknown. We compared meadow characteristics, associated fauna assemblages and trophic niche structures of H. stipulacea from an impacted and a pristine site in the northern Red Sea. Seagrass cover and biomass were higher in the impacted site, however, the associated fauna community was more abundant and diverse in the pristine site. Both meadows showed comparable trophic niches based on stable isotope analysis. This study provides first insights into the macrozoobenthos associated with H. stipulacea in its native habitat and highlights the importance of better understanding the relationship between seagrasses and their associated biota and the potential effects of urbanization on this relationship.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hung Manh Nguyen
- Dead Sea and Arava Science Center, Masada National Park, Mount Masada, 8698000, Israel; French Associates Institute for Agriculture and Biotechnology of Dryland, The Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Sede Boqer Campus, 8499000, Israel.
| | - Cristina Andolina
- Department of Earth and Marine Sciences, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy; National Inter-University Consortium for Marine Sciences-CoNISMa, Rome, Italy
| | - Salvatrice Vizzini
- Department of Earth and Marine Sciences, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy; National Inter-University Consortium for Marine Sciences-CoNISMa, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Gidon Winters
- Dead Sea and Arava Science Center, Masada National Park, Mount Masada, 8698000, Israel; Eilat Campus, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Hatmarim Blv, Eilat, 8855630, Israel
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4
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Winters G, Conte C, Beca-Carretero P, Nguyen HM, Migliore L, Mulas M, Rilov G, Guy-Haim T, González MJ, Medina I, Golomb D, Baharier N, Kaminer M, Kitson-Walters K. Superior growth traits of invaded (Caribbean) versus native (Red sea) populations of the seagrass Halophila stipulacea. Biol Invasions 2023; 25:2325-2342. [PMID: 37261082 PMCID: PMC10115387 DOI: 10.1007/s10530-023-03045-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2022] [Accepted: 03/14/2023] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
The seagrass Halophila stipulacea is native to the Red Sea. It invaded the Mediterranean over the past century and most of the Caribbean over the last two decades. Understanding the main drivers behind the successful invasiveness of H. stipulacea has become crucial. We performed a comprehensive study including field measurements, a mesocosm experiment, and a literature review to identify 'superior growth traits' that can potentially explain the success story of H. stipulacea. We assessed meadow characteristics and plant traits of three invasive H. stipulacea populations growing off the Island of Sint Eustatius (eastern Caribbean). We compared similar parameters between native (Eilat, northern Red Sea) and invasive (Caribbean) H. stipulacea plants in a common-garden mesocosm. Lastly, we compared our field measurements with published data. The newly arrived H. stipulacea plants from St. Eustatius were characterized by higher percent cover, higher below- and above-ground biomasses, more apical shoots, and faster leaf turnover rates than those measured in both native and older invaded habitats. These results were further confirmed by the mesocosm experiment where the invasive H. stipulacea plants grew faster and developed more apical shoots than the native plants. Results suggest that increased growth vigour is one of the main invasive traits that characterize successful invasive H. stipulacea populations in the Caribbean and potentially in other invaded areas. We encourage long-term monitoring of H. stipulacea in both native and invaded habitats to better understand the future spread of this species and its impacts on communities and their ecosystem functions and services. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10530-023-03045-z.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gidon Winters
- Dead Sea and Arava Science Center (DSASC), Masada National Park, 8698000 Mount Masada, Israel, Israel
- Eilat Campus, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Hatmarim Blv, 8855630 Eilat, Israel
| | - Chiara Conte
- Department of Biology, Tor Vergata University, Via Della Ricerca Scientifica 1, 00133 Rome, Italy
| | - Pedro Beca-Carretero
- Department of Oceanography, Instituto de Investigacións Mariñas (IIM-CSIC), Rúa de Eduardo Cabello, 6, 36208 Vigo, Pontevedra Spain
- Department of Theoretical Ecology and Modelling, Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research, Fahrenheit Strasse 6, 28359 Bremen, Germany
| | - Hung Manh Nguyen
- Dead Sea and Arava Science Center (DSASC), Masada National Park, 8698000 Mount Masada, Israel, Israel
- French Associates Institute for Agriculture and Biotechnology of Dryland, The Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Sede Boqer Campus, 8499000 Beersheba, Israel
| | - Luciana Migliore
- Department of Biology, Tor Vergata University, Via Della Ricerca Scientifica 1, 00133 Rome, Italy
| | - Martina Mulas
- National Institute of Oceanography, Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research (IOLR), Tel- Shikmona, P.O.B. 9753, 3109701 Haifa, Israel
- The Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences, University of Haifa, 199 Aba Koushy Ave., Mount Carmel, 3498838 Haifa, Israel
| | - Gil Rilov
- National Institute of Oceanography, Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research (IOLR), Tel- Shikmona, P.O.B. 9753, 3109701 Haifa, Israel
- The Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences, University of Haifa, 199 Aba Koushy Ave., Mount Carmel, 3498838 Haifa, Israel
| | - Tamar Guy-Haim
- National Institute of Oceanography, Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research (IOLR), Tel- Shikmona, P.O.B. 9753, 3109701 Haifa, Israel
| | - María J González
- Department of Oceanography, Instituto de Investigacións Mariñas (IIM-CSIC), Rúa de Eduardo Cabello, 6, 36208 Vigo, Pontevedra Spain
| | - Isabel Medina
- Department of Oceanography, Instituto de Investigacións Mariñas (IIM-CSIC), Rúa de Eduardo Cabello, 6, 36208 Vigo, Pontevedra Spain
| | - Dar Golomb
- National Institute of Oceanography, Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research (IOLR), Tel- Shikmona, P.O.B. 9753, 3109701 Haifa, Israel
| | - Neta Baharier
- Dead Sea and Arava Science Center (DSASC), Masada National Park, 8698000 Mount Masada, Israel, Israel
- University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, CO4 3SQ UK
| | - Moran Kaminer
- Dead Sea and Arava Science Center (DSASC), Masada National Park, 8698000 Mount Masada, Israel, Israel
| | - Kimani Kitson-Walters
- Caribbean Netherlands Science Institute, L.E. Saddlerweg, POB 65, St Eustatius, Caribbean The Netherlands
- NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB Den Burg, Texel, The Netherlands
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Conte C, Apostolaki ET, Vizzini S, Migliore L. A Tight Interaction between the Native Seagrass Cymodocea nodosa and the Exotic Halophila stipulacea in the Aegean Sea Highlights Seagrass Holobiont Variations. Plants (Basel) 2023; 12:350. [PMID: 36679063 PMCID: PMC9863530 DOI: 10.3390/plants12020350] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2022] [Revised: 01/03/2023] [Accepted: 01/05/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Seagrasses harbour bacterial communities with which they constitute a functional unit called holobiont that responds as a whole to environmental changes. Epiphytic bacterial communities rapidly respond to both biotic and abiotic factors, potentially contributing to the host fitness. The Lessepsian migrant Halophila stipulacea has a high phenotypical plasticity and harbours a highly diverse epiphytic bacterial community, which could support its invasiveness in the Mediterranean Sea. The current study aimed to evaluate the Halophila/Cymodocea competition in the Aegean Sea by analysing each of the two seagrasses in a meadow zone where these intermingled, as well as in their monospecific zones, at two depths. Differences in holobionts were evaluated using seagrass descriptors (morphometric, biochemical, elemental, and isotopic composition) to assess host changes, and 16S rRNA gene to identify bacterial community structure and composition. An Indicator Species Index was used to identify bacteria significantly associated with each host. In mixed meadows, native C. nodosa was shown to be affected by the presence of exotic H. stipulacea, in terms of both plant descriptors and bacterial communities, while H. stipulacea responded only to environmental factors rather than C. nodosa proximity. This study provided evidence of the competitive advantage of H. stipulacea on C. nodosa in the Aegean Sea and suggests the possible use of associated bacterial communities as an ecological seagrass descriptor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Conte
- PhD Program in Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, Italy
- Laboratory of Ecology and Ecotoxicology, Department of Biology, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, Italy
| | - Eugenia T. Apostolaki
- Institute of Oceanography, Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, P.O. Box 2214, 71003 Heraklion, Crete, Greece
| | - Salvatrice Vizzini
- Department of Earth and Marine Sciences, University of Palermo, Via Archirafi 18, 90123 Palermo, Italy
- CoNISMa, National Interuniversity Consortium for Marine Sciences, Piazzale Flaminio 9, 00196 Roma, Italy
| | - Luciana Migliore
- Laboratory of Ecology and Ecotoxicology, Department of Biology, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, Italy
- eCampus University, Via Isimbardi 10, 22060 Novedrate (CO), Italy
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Szitenberg A, Beca-Carretero P, Azcárate-García T, Yergaliyev T, Alexander-Shani R, Winters G. Teasing apart the host-related, nutrient-related and temperature-related effects shaping the phenology and microbiome of the tropical seagrass Halophila stipulacea. Environ Microbiome 2022; 17:18. [PMID: 35428367 PMCID: PMC9013022 DOI: 10.1186/s40793-022-00412-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2021] [Accepted: 03/24/2022] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Halophila stipulacea seagrass meadows are an ecologically important and threatened component of the ecosystem in the Gulf of Aqaba. Recent studies have demonstrated correlated geographic patterns for leaf epiphytic community composition and leaf morphology, also coinciding with different levels of water turbidity and nutrient concentrations. Based on these observations, workers have suggested an environmental microbial fingerprint, which may reflect various environmental stress factors seagrasses have experienced, and may add a holobiont level of plasticity to seagrasses, assisting their acclimation to changing environments and through range expansion. However, it is difficult to tease apart environmental effects from host-diversity dependent effects, which have covaried in field studies, although this is required in order to establish that differences in microbial community compositions among sites are driven by environmental conditions rather than by features governed by the host. RESULTS In this study we carried out a mesocosm experiment, in which we studied the effects of warming and nutrient stress on the composition of epiphytic bacterial communities and on some phenological traits. We studied H. stipulacea collected from two different meadows in the Gulf of Aqaba, representing differences in the host and the environment alike. We found that the source site from which seagrasses were collected was the major factor governing seagrass phenology, although heat increased shoot mortality and nutrient loading delayed new shoot emergence. Bacterial diversity, however, mostly depended on the environmental conditions. The most prominent pattern was the increase in Rhodobacteraceae under nutrient stress without heat stress, along with an increase in Microtrichaceae. Together, the two taxa have the potential to maintain nitrate reduction followed by an anammox process, which can together buffer the increase in nutrient concentrations across the leaf surface. CONCLUSIONS Our results thus corroborate the existence of environmental microbial fingerprints, which are independent from the host diversity, and support the notion of a holobiont level plasticity, both important to understand and monitor H. stipulacea ecology under the changing climate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amir Szitenberg
- Dead Sea and Arava Science Center, Dead Sea Branch, 8693500, Masada, Israel.
- Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, 8858537, Eilat, Israel.
| | - Pedro Beca-Carretero
- Department of Theoretical Ecology and Modelling, Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research, Fahrenheitstrasse 6, 28359, Bremen, Germany
- Department of Oceanography, Instituto de Investigacións Mariñas (IIM-CSIC), Vigo, Spain
- Departamento de Biología, Área de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias del Mar Y Ambientales, Universidad de Cádiz, 11510, Puerto Real, Cádiz, Spain
| | - Tomás Azcárate-García
- Department of Theoretical Ecology and Modelling, Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research, Fahrenheitstrasse 6, 28359, Bremen, Germany
- Departamento de Biología, Área de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias del Mar Y Ambientales, Universidad de Cádiz, 11510, Puerto Real, Cádiz, Spain
- Dead Sea and Arava Science Center, Central Arava Branch, 8682500, Sapir, Israel
| | - Timur Yergaliyev
- Dead Sea and Arava Science Center, Dead Sea Branch, 8693500, Masada, Israel
- Hohenheim Center for Livestock Microbiome Research (HoLMiR), Institute of Animal Science, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany
| | | | - Gidon Winters
- Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, 8858537, Eilat, Israel
- Dead Sea and Arava Science Center, Central Arava Branch, 8682500, Sapir, Israel
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García-escudero CA, Tsigenopoulos CS, Gerakaris V, Tsakogiannis A, Apostolaki ET. ITS DNA Barcoding Reveals That Halophila stipulacea Still Remains the Only Non-Indigenous Seagrass of the Mediterranean Sea. Diversity 2022; 14:76. [DOI: 10.3390/d14020076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
Non-indigenous species (NIS) are one of the major threats to the native marine ecosystems of the Mediterranean Sea. Halophila stipulacea was the only exotic seagrass of the Mediterranean until 2018, when small patches of a species morphologically identified as Halophila decipiens were reported in Salamina Island, Greece. Given the absence of reproductive structures during the identification and the taxonomic ambiguities known to lead to misidentifications on this genus, we reassessed the identity of this new exotic record using DNA barcoding (rbcL, matK and ITS) and the recently published taxonomic key. Despite their morphologic similarity to H. decipiens based on the new taxonomic key, the specimens showed no nucleotide differences with H. stipulacea specimens (Crete) for the three barcodes and clustered together on the ITS phylogenetic tree. Considering the high species resolution of the ITS region and the common morphological variability within the genus, the unequivocal genetic result suggests that the Halophila population found in Salamina Island most likely corresponds to a morphologically variant H. stipulacea. Our results highlight the importance of applying an integrated taxonomic approach (morphological and molecular) to taxonomically complex genera such as Halophila, in order to avoid overlooking or misreporting species range shifts, which is essential for monitoring NIS introductions.
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Helber SB, Winters G, Stuhr M, Belshe EF, Bröhl S, Schmid M, Reuter H, Teichberg M. Nutrient History Affects the Response and Resilience of the Tropical Seagrass Halophila stipulacea to Further Enrichment in Its Native Habitat. Front Plant Sci 2021; 12:678341. [PMID: 34421939 PMCID: PMC8374242 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2021.678341] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2021] [Accepted: 07/12/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Eutrophication is one of the main threats to seagrass meadows, but there is limited knowledge on the interactive effects of nutrients under a changing climate, particularly for tropical seagrass species. This study aimed to detect the onset of stress in the tropical seagrass, Halophila stipulacea, by investigating the effect of in situ nutrient addition during an unusually warm summer over a 6-month period. We measured a suite of different morphological and biochemical community metrics and individual plant traits from two different sites with contrasting levels of eutrophication history before and after in situ fertilization in the Gulf of Aqaba. Nutrient stress combined with summer temperatures that surpassed the threshold for optimal growth negatively affected seagrass plants from South Beach (SB), an oligotrophic marine protected area, while H. stipulacea populations from North Beach (NB), a eutrophic and anthropogenically impacted area, benefited from the additional nutrient input. Lower aboveground (AG) and belowground (BG) biomass, reduced Leaf Area Index (LAI), smaller internodal distances, high sexual reproductive effort and the increasing occurrence of apical shoots in seagrasses from SB sites indicated that the plants were under stress and not growing under optimal conditions. Moreover, AG and BG biomass and internodal distances decreased further with the addition of fertilizer in SB sites. Results presented here highlight the fact that H. stipulacea is one of the most tolerant and plastic seagrass species. Our study further demonstrates that the effects of fertilization differ significantly between meadows that are growing exposed to different levels of anthropogenic pressures. Thus, the meadow's "history" affects it resilience and response to further stress. Our results suggest that monitoring efforts on H. stipulacea populations in its native range should focus especially on carbohydrate reserves in leaves and rhizomes, LAI, internodal length and percentage of apical shoots as suitable warning indicators for nutrient stress in this seagrass species to minimize future impacts on these valuable ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie B. Helber
- Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT) GmbH, Bremen, Germany
- Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM), Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Gidon Winters
- The Dead Sea and Arava Science Center (ADSSC), Jerusalem, Israel
- Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Eilat, Israel
| | - Marleen Stuhr
- Tropical Coral Ecophysiology, Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences - Eilat (IUI), Eilat, Israel
- The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University (BIU), Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - E. F. Belshe
- Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT) GmbH, Bremen, Germany
| | - Stefanie Bröhl
- Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT) GmbH, Bremen, Germany
| | - Michael Schmid
- Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT) GmbH, Bremen, Germany
| | - Hauke Reuter
- Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT) GmbH, Bremen, Germany
- Faculty for Biology and Chemistry, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany
| | - Mirta Teichberg
- Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT) GmbH, Bremen, Germany
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Wesselmann M, Geraldi NR, Duarte CM, Garcia-Orellana J, Díaz-Rúa R, Arias-Ortiz A, Hendriks IE, Apostolaki ET, Marbà N. Seagrass (Halophila stipulacea) invasion enhances carbon sequestration in the Mediterranean Sea. Glob Chang Biol 2021; 27:2592-2607. [PMID: 33843114 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15589] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2020] [Accepted: 02/04/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The introduction and establishment of exotic species often result in significant changes in recipient communities and their associated ecosystem services. However, usually the magnitude and direction of the changes are difficult to quantify because there is no pre-introduction data. Specifically, little is known about the effect of marine exotic macrophytes on organic carbon sequestration and storage. Here, we combine dating sediment cores (210 Pb) with sediment eDNA fingerprinting to reconstruct the chronology of pre- and post-arrival of the Red Sea seagrass Halophila stipulacea spreading into the Eastern Mediterranean native seagrass meadows. We then compare sediment organic carbon storage and burial rates before and after the arrival of H. stipulacea and between exotic (H. stipulacea) and native (C. nodosa and P. oceanica) meadows since the time of arrival following a Before-After-Control-Impact (BACI) approach. This analysis revealed that H. stipulacea arrived at the areas of study in Limassol (Cyprus) and West Crete (Greece) in the 1930s and 1970s, respectively. Average sediment organic carbon after the arrival of H. stipulacea to the sites increased in the exotic meadows twofold, from 8.4 ± 2.5 g Corg m-2 year-1 to 14.7 ± 3.6 g Corg m-2 year-1 , and, since then, burial rates in the exotic seagrass meadows were higher than in native ones of Cymodocea nodosa and Posidonia oceanica. Carbon isotopic data indicated a 50% increase of the seagrass contribution to the total sediment Corg pool since the arrival of H. stipulacea. Our results demonstrate that the invasion of H. stipulacea may play an important role in maintaining the blue carbon sink capacity in the future warmer Mediterranean Sea, by developing new carbon sinks in bare sediments and colonizing areas previously occupied by the colder thermal affinity P. oceanica.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marlene Wesselmann
- Global Change Research Group, IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB), Institut Mediterrani d'Estudis Avançats, Esporles, Spain
| | - Nathan R Geraldi
- Red Sea Research Centre (RSRC) and Computational Bioscience Research Center (CBRC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - Carlos M Duarte
- Red Sea Research Centre (RSRC) and Computational Bioscience Research Center (CBRC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - Jordi Garcia-Orellana
- Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals (ICTA), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain
- Departament de Física, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain
| | - Rubén Díaz-Rúa
- Red Sea Research Centre (RSRC) and Computational Bioscience Research Center (CBRC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ariane Arias-Ortiz
- Ecosystem Science Division, Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Institute of Marine Science, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
| | - Iris E Hendriks
- Global Change Research Group, IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB), Institut Mediterrani d'Estudis Avançats, Esporles, Spain
| | - Eugenia T Apostolaki
- Institute of Oceanography, Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Heraklion, Greece
| | - Núria Marbà
- Global Change Research Group, IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB), Institut Mediterrani d'Estudis Avançats, Esporles, Spain
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10
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Nguyen HM, Ralph PJ, Marín-Guirao L, Pernice M, Procaccini G. Seagrasses in an era of ocean warming: a review. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2021; 96:2009-2030. [PMID: 34014018 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12736] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2020] [Revised: 05/06/2021] [Accepted: 05/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Seagrasses are valuable sources of food and habitat for marine life and are one of Earth's most efficient carbon sinks. However, they are facing a global decline due to ocean warming and eutrophication. In the last decade, with the advent of new technology and molecular advances, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of studies focusing on the effects of ocean warming on seagrasses. Here, we provide a comprehensive review of the future of seagrasses in an era of ocean warming. We have gathered information from published studies to identify potential commonalities in the effects of warming and the responses of seagrasses across four distinct levels: molecular, biochemical/physiological, morphological/population, and ecosystem/planetary. To date, we know that although warming strongly affects seagrasses at all four levels, seagrass responses diverge amongst species, populations, and over depths. Furthermore, warming alters seagrass distribution causing massive die-offs in some seagrass populations, whilst also causing tropicalization and migration of temperate species. In this review, we evaluate the combined effects of ocean warming with other environmental stressors and emphasize the need for multiple-stressor studies to provide a deeper understanding of seagrass resilience. We conclude by discussing the most significant knowledge gaps and future directions for seagrass research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hung Manh Nguyen
- Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale, Napoli, 80121, Italy
| | - Peter J Ralph
- Faculty of Science, Climate Change Cluster (C3), University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2007, Australia
| | - Lázaro Marín-Guirao
- Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale, Napoli, 80121, Italy.,Seagrass Ecology Group, Oceanographic Centre of Murcia, Spanish Institute of Oceanography, C/Varadero, San Pedro del Pinatar, Murcia, 30740, Spain
| | - Mathieu Pernice
- Faculty of Science, Climate Change Cluster (C3), University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2007, Australia
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11
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Helber SB, Procaccini G, Belshe EF, Santillan-Sarmiento A, Cardini U, Bröhl S, Schmid M, Reuter H, Teichberg M. Unusually Warm Summer Temperatures Exacerbate Population and Plant Level Response of Posidonia oceanica to Anthropogenic Nutrient Stress. Front Plant Sci 2021; 12:662682. [PMID: 34290722 PMCID: PMC8287906 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2021.662682] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2021] [Accepted: 04/23/2021] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
Posidonia oceanica is a key foundation species in the Mediterranean providing valuable ecosystem services. However, this species is particularly vulnerable towards high coastal nutrient inputs and the rising frequency of intense summer heat waves, but their combined effect in situ has received little attention so far. Here, we investigated the effects of in situ nutrient addition during an unusually warm summer over a 4-month period, comparing different morphological, physiological and biochemical population metrics of seagrass meadows growing in protected areas (Ischia) with meadows already exposed to significant anthropogenic pressure (Baia - Gulf of Pozzuoli). Our study highlights that the effects of warmer than usual summer temperatures on the population level of seagrass meadows can be exacerbated if the plants are already exposed to higher anthropogenic pressures. Morphological and population level indicators mainly changed over time, possibly impacted by season and the warmer temperatures, and displayed more pronounced reductions in seagrasses from impacted sites. The additional nutrient supply had even more deleterious effects, as shown by a decrease in approximately 67% in cover in fertilized plots at high impacted sites and 33% at low impacted sites. Moreover, while rhizome starch concentration showed a seasonal increase in plants from low impacted sites it displayed a trend of a 27% decrease in fertilized plots of the high impacted sites. Epiphyte biomass was approximately four-fold higher on leaves of plants growing in impacted sites and even doubled with the additional nutrient input. Predicting and anticipating stress in P. oceanica is of crucial importance for conservation and management efforts, given the limited colonizing and reproductive ability and extremely slow growth of this ecosystem engineer. Our results suggest that monitoring efforts should focus especially on leaf area index (LAI), carbohydrate concentrations in the rhizomes, and epiphyte cover on leaves as indicators of the onset of stress in Posidonia oceanica, which can be used by decision makers to take appropriate measures before damage to the ecosystem becomes irreversible, minimize future human interference and strengthen the resilience of these important ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie B. Helber
- Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT) GmbH, Bremen, Germany
- Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment, University of Oldenburg, Wilhelmshaven, Germany
- *Correspondence: Stephanie B. Helber,
| | - Gabriele Procaccini
- Department of Integrative Marine Ecology, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Naples, Italy
| | - E. Fay Belshe
- Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT) GmbH, Bremen, Germany
| | - Alex Santillan-Sarmiento
- Department of Integrative Marine Ecology, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Naples, Italy
- Faculty of Engineering, National University of Chimborazo, Riobamba, Ecuador
| | - Ulisse Cardini
- Department of Integrative Marine Ecology, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Naples, Italy
| | - Stefanie Bröhl
- Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT) GmbH, Bremen, Germany
| | - Michael Schmid
- Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT) GmbH, Bremen, Germany
| | - Hauke Reuter
- Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT) GmbH, Bremen, Germany
- Faculty of Biology and Chemistry, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany
| | - Mirta Teichberg
- Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT) GmbH, Bremen, Germany
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