Combined nutrient and macroalgae loads lead to response in seagrass indicator properties
In: Marine Pollution Bulletin. Macmillan: London. ISSN 0025-326X; e-ISSN 1879-3363, more |  |
| Keywords | Ulva pertusa Kjellman, 1897 [WoRMS]; Zostera subg. Zostera marina Linnaeus, 1753 [WoRMS]
| | Author keywords | Zostera marina; Ulva pertusa; Eutrophication; Seagrass–macroalgae interactions; Macroalgae suffocation |
| Authors | | Top | - Han, Q.Y.
- Soissons, L.M., more
- Bouma, T.J., more
| - van Katwijk, M.M., more
- Liu, D.
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| Abstract | Excess nutrients are potential factors that drive phase shifts fromseagrasses to macroalgae.We carried out a manipulativefield experiment to study the effects of macroalgae Ulva pertusa loading and nutrient addition to thewater column on the nitrogen (N) and carbon (C) contents (i.e., fast indicators) as well as on the morphologyand structure (i.e., slow indicators) of Zostera marina. Our results showed rapid impact of increased macroalgaeand nutrient load on Z. marina C/N ratios. Also, macroalgae addition resulted in a trend of decreasing belowgroundbiomass of seagrasses, and nutrient load significantly decreased above to belowground biomass ratio. Althoughsome morphological/structural variables showed relatively fast responses, the effects of short-termdisturbance by macroalgae and nutrients were less often significant than on physiological variables. Monitoringof seagrass physiological indicators may allow for early detection of eutrophication, which may initiate timelymanagement interventions to avert seagrass loss. |
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