Patch Distribution and Within-Patch Dynamics of the Seagrass Zostera noltii Hornem. in Los Toruños Salt-Marsh, Cádiz Bay, Natural Park, Spain
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F. G. Brun
Abstract
Patch distribution and small-scale (i.e., within-patch) temporal variability in plant morphology, biomass, shoot density, tissue nutrient content and growth were studied in the intertidal seagrass Zostera noltii at Los Toruāos salt-marsh (Cádiz, Spain). The area covered by Z. noltii was 7.3%, and decreased exponentially with depth. The lack of recruitment from seedlings largely explained the normal patch size distribution observed. Overall, lower biomass, shoot density, above-ground to below-ground biomass ratios and higher leaf elongation rates were recorded at the patch edge, where biomass dynamics were primarily controlled by recruitment and mortality processes. In contrast, temporal variation in above-ground biomass in the patch centre depended largely on changes in shoot leaf number and size. There was no correlation between total biomass and shoot density in the patch centre suggesting that below-ground biomass may be space-limited. Low aboveground biomass and shoot elongation rates were recorded in May, regardless of position within the patch, and were coincident with the abundance of Ulva sp. mats. Light reduction by Ulva canopies also resulted in a mobilization of carbohydrate reserves. Such resource reallocation may represent an important short-term survival strategy, maintaining leaf and rhizome elongation capacity.
Copyright © 2003 by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG
Articles in the same Issue
- Contents
- Author Index
- Subject Index
- Taxonomical Index
- Estimating Biomass from the Cover of Gelidiella acerosa along the Coasts of Eastern Philippines
- Photosynthesis, Growth and Nitrogen Uptake of Competing Marine Macrophytes in the Gulf of California
- Patch Distribution and Within-Patch Dynamics of the Seagrass Zostera noltii Hornem. in Los Toruños Salt-Marsh, Cádiz Bay, Natural Park, Spain
- Interannual Variability in Flowering of Posidonia oceanica in the North-Western Mediterranean Sea, and Relationships among Shoot Age and Flowering
- A New Species of Vaucheria Epiphytic on Mangroves
- Taxonomic Notes on Marine Algae from Malaysia. XI. Four Species of Rhodophyceae
- First Record of Ceramium giacconei (Ceramiaceae, Rhodophyta) in the North Pacific: Developmental Morphology of Vegetative and Reproductive Structures
- Carbon and Nitrogen Isotopic Ratios of the Seagrass Posidonia oceanica: Depth-related Variations
- Chemical Composition of Attached and Drift Specimens of Sargassum mangarevense and Turbinaria ornata (Phaeophyta: Fucales) from Tahiti, French Polynesia
- The Chemical Structure of Galactans from Some New Zealand Red Algae
- Proceedings of the XVIIth International Seaweed Symposium, Cape Town, South Africa, 28 January 2 February 2001
- Acknowledgement
- Meetings
Articles in the same Issue
- Contents
- Author Index
- Subject Index
- Taxonomical Index
- Estimating Biomass from the Cover of Gelidiella acerosa along the Coasts of Eastern Philippines
- Photosynthesis, Growth and Nitrogen Uptake of Competing Marine Macrophytes in the Gulf of California
- Patch Distribution and Within-Patch Dynamics of the Seagrass Zostera noltii Hornem. in Los Toruños Salt-Marsh, Cádiz Bay, Natural Park, Spain
- Interannual Variability in Flowering of Posidonia oceanica in the North-Western Mediterranean Sea, and Relationships among Shoot Age and Flowering
- A New Species of Vaucheria Epiphytic on Mangroves
- Taxonomic Notes on Marine Algae from Malaysia. XI. Four Species of Rhodophyceae
- First Record of Ceramium giacconei (Ceramiaceae, Rhodophyta) in the North Pacific: Developmental Morphology of Vegetative and Reproductive Structures
- Carbon and Nitrogen Isotopic Ratios of the Seagrass Posidonia oceanica: Depth-related Variations
- Chemical Composition of Attached and Drift Specimens of Sargassum mangarevense and Turbinaria ornata (Phaeophyta: Fucales) from Tahiti, French Polynesia
- The Chemical Structure of Galactans from Some New Zealand Red Algae
- Proceedings of the XVIIth International Seaweed Symposium, Cape Town, South Africa, 28 January 2 February 2001
- Acknowledgement
- Meetings
