Reproductive Cycle of the Seagrass Zostera noltei in the Ria de Aveiro Lagoon

Autor: Manuel Ankel, Marcos Rubal, Puri Veiga, Leandro Sampaio, Laura Guerrero-Meseguer
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
Zdroj: Plants, Vol 10, Iss 11, p 2286 (2021)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 10112286
2223-7747
DOI: 10.3390/plants10112286
Popis: Sexual reproduction in seagrasses is essential to increase their resilience towards environmental stressors, but its phenology is still unknown in some regions, limiting our knowledge about the recovery capacity of these ecosystems. In this study, the flowering effort, reproductive phenology, seed production and ability of germination of Zostera noltei was studied for the first time in the Ria de Aveiro lagoon, Portugal. Flowering of Z. noltei in the Ria de Aveiro lasts from June to November, reaching a peak between July and August. All the meadows showed similar flowering effort and phenology over time. Comparing with other European populations, the flowering effort of Z. noltei in Ria de Aveiro lasted for a longer period, which could be related with the milder temperatures in summer and autumn and the great anthropogenic stress to which the meadows are subjected in the lagoon. The number of seeds produced and their ability of germination were similar among meadows and sampling periods, reaching levels similar to those of other European regions. Nevertheless, future studies are needed to determine the fate of the produced seeds in the field to have a better understanding about the natural recovery capacity of the species.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals