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Effects of river water inflow on the growth, photosynthesis, and respiration of the tropical seagrass Halophila ovalis

  • Nadhirah Lamit

    Nadhirah Lamit is a marine biologist, and she has spent more than five years studying tropical seagrasses. She did her postgraduate research on seagrass and the water conditions in Brunei estuary and was awarded a PhD in Biology by the Universiti Brunei Darussalam in 2020. Nadhirah is one of the few people to study seagrass diversity and distribution in Brunei. Her recent research includes updating the seagrass species checklist in Brunei and understanding the species-specificity of seagrass along environmental gradients.

     ORCID logo EMAIL logo     and Yasuaki Tanaka

    Yasuaki Tanaka is a scientist in the biogeochemistry of coral reefs and estuaries. He has conducted many field expeditions and laboratory experiments over 15 years, and most of them aim to quantify carbon and nitrogen cycling through corals and benthic primary producers. His recent research interest is to evaluate the impact of land-use change on the downstream coastal ecosystem and biogeochemical cycles in tropical regions.
Published/Copyright: March 31, 2021
Botanica Marina
From the journal Botanica Marina Volume 64 Issue 2

Abstract

To investigate the effects of river waters on estuarine seagrass, the tropical seagrass Halophila ovalis was collected at Brunei Bay, Borneo, and was cultured under laboratory conditions for 18 days. Three treatments were set up in the experiment: natural seawater with a salinity 30 (S30), estuarine river water with a salinity 10 (S10), and the intermediate water that was composed of the seawater and river water with a salinity 20 (S20). New leaf production, the average length of new leaves, rhizome elongation, and photosynthetic rate of H. ovalis were significantly higher in S20 than S10. Chlorophyll a (chl a) and carotenoid content in H. ovalis were significantly lower in S10 than S20 and S30. Though the tropical river waters could potentially cause both positive and negative effects on seagrass, the present results suggested that low salinity would be the most influential factor to hinder the growth and metabolism of H. ovalis, and the salinity threshold was observed between 10 and 20. These results suggested that H. ovalis may be able to extend its present distribution to the upper estuary at this study site in the future.

Keywords: Borneo; Brunei; estuary; hyposalinity; Southeast Asia
Corresponding author: Nadhirah Lamit, Environmental and Life Sciences, Faculty of Science, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Jalan Tungku Link, Bandar Seri BegawanBE1410, Brunei Darussalam, E-mail:

Funding source: Universiti Brunei Darussalam

Award Identifier / Grant number: CRGWG(013)/170601

About the authors

Nadhirah Lamit

Nadhirah Lamit is a marine biologist, and she has spent more than five years studying tropical seagrasses. She did her postgraduate research on seagrass and the water conditions in Brunei estuary and was awarded a PhD in Biology by the Universiti Brunei Darussalam in 2020. Nadhirah is one of the few people to study seagrass diversity and distribution in Brunei. Her recent research includes updating the seagrass species checklist in Brunei and understanding the species-specificity of seagrass along environmental gradients.

Yasuaki Tanaka

Yasuaki Tanaka is a scientist in the biogeochemistry of coral reefs and estuaries. He has conducted many field expeditions and laboratory experiments over 15 years, and most of them aim to quantify carbon and nitrogen cycling through corals and benthic primary producers. His recent research interest is to evaluate the impact of land-use change on the downstream coastal ecosystem and biogeochemical cycles in tropical regions.

  1. Author contributions: All the authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this submitted manuscript and approved submission.

  2. Research funding: This study was financially supported by the CRG grant at Universiti Brunei Darussalam (grant no. CRGWG(013)/170601).

  3. Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest regarding this article.

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Received: 2020-12-08
Accepted: 2021-03-10
Published Online: 2021-03-31
Published in Print: 2021-04-27

© 2021 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. In this issue
  3. Physiology and ecology
  4. Flow cytometric measurements as a proxy for sporulation intensity in the cultured macroalga Ulva (Chlorophyta)
  5. Effects of river water inflow on the growth, photosynthesis, and respiration of the tropical seagrass Halophila ovalis
  6. Diversity and composition of algal epiphytes on the Mediterranean seagrass Cymodocea nodosa: a scale-based study
  7. Abundance of a recently discovered Alaskan rhodolith bed in a shallow, seagrass-dominated lagoon
  8. Two red macroalgae newly introduced into New Zealand: Pachymeniopsis lanceolata (K. Okamura) Y. Yamada ex S. Kawabata and Fushitsunagia catenata Filloramo et G. W. Saunders
  9. Taxonomy/phylogeny and biogeography
  10. Molecular data reveals two new species of Hypnea (Cystocloniaceae, Rhodophyta) from India: Hypnea indica sp. nov. and Hypnea bullata sp. nov.
  11. Morphological and molecular characterization of Gambierdiscus caribaeus (Dinophyceae), with a confirmation of its occurrence in the Colombian Caribbean Tayrona National Natural Park
  12. Erratum
  13. Erratum to: The effects of phosphate on physiological responses and carbohydrate production in Ulva fasciata (Chlorophyta) from upwelling and non-upwelling site
https://doi.org/10.1515/bot-2020-0079
Keywords for this article
Borneo; Brunei; estuary; hyposalinity; Southeast Asia

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. In this issue
  3. Physiology and ecology
  4. Flow cytometric measurements as a proxy for sporulation intensity in the cultured macroalga Ulva (Chlorophyta)
  5. Effects of river water inflow on the growth, photosynthesis, and respiration of the tropical seagrass Halophila ovalis
  6. Diversity and composition of algal epiphytes on the Mediterranean seagrass Cymodocea nodosa: a scale-based study
  7. Abundance of a recently discovered Alaskan rhodolith bed in a shallow, seagrass-dominated lagoon
  8. Two red macroalgae newly introduced into New Zealand: Pachymeniopsis lanceolata (K. Okamura) Y. Yamada ex S. Kawabata and Fushitsunagia catenata Filloramo et G. W. Saunders
  9. Taxonomy/phylogeny and biogeography
  10. Molecular data reveals two new species of Hypnea (Cystocloniaceae, Rhodophyta) from India: Hypnea indica sp. nov. and Hypnea bullata sp. nov.
  11. Morphological and molecular characterization of Gambierdiscus caribaeus (Dinophyceae), with a confirmation of its occurrence in the Colombian Caribbean Tayrona National Natural Park
  12. Erratum
  13. Erratum to: The effects of phosphate on physiological responses and carbohydrate production in Ulva fasciata (Chlorophyta) from upwelling and non-upwelling site
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