RT journal article
T1 Seasonal plant development and meadow structure of Irish and southern Spanish seagrass populations
A1 Azcárate-García, Tomás
A1 Beca-Carretero, Pedro
A1 Cara Ortega, Claudia Leticia
A1 Villamayor, Betty
A1 Cosnett, Emmeline
A1 Bermejo Lacida, Ricardo
A1 Hernández Carrero, Ignacio
A1 Brun Murillo, Fernando Guillermo
A1 Stengel, Dagmar B.
A2 Biología
K1 Baseline
K1 Latitudinal range
K1 Population characteristics
K1 Productivity
K1 Reproductive effort
K1 Thermal gradient
K1 Zostera marina
K1 Zostera noltii
AB Zostera marina and Z. noltii are two dominant meadow-forming seagrass species in temperate regions in the northern hemisphere. Seagrass meadows provide several goods and ecological services and rank amongst the most valuable ecosystems worldwide. Phenological shifts in Zostera species occur along latitudinal or temperature gradients, leading to an expectation for distinct seasonal dynamics and annual production in Spain and Ireland. Despite their global ecological importance, seasonal seagrass traits of populations exposed to contrasting climate settings from Ireland and southern Spain are poorly described. To address this gap, we evaluated the seasonal vegetative development (morphology, population structure, and productivity) of Z. marina and Z. noltii populations exposed to cold (western Ireland) and warm (southern Spain) temperatures over a year-long period. Our results highlight contrasting dynamics of Z. marina populations across their temperature range. The Irish population exhibited maximal growth during warmer months while the Spanish population revealed signs of growth reduction under maximum annual temperatures. Our results suggest that plants of Z. marina in Ireland were temperature-limited at most times, but in southern Spain exceeded their optima temperature for growth during summer. In addition, Irish and Spanish Z. noltii populations displayed differential vegetative dynamics and population structures, likely related to the contrasting local temperature regimes. These differences were particularly evident in summer when shoot size and growth rates were reduced in warm-temperate locations. This study represents an essential comparative baseline for future assessments of ecological status, and anticipated growth stress induced by climate change across the distributional gradient, of these important Zostera species.
PB ELSEVIER
SN 0304-3770
YR 2022
FD 2022-12
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10498/28442
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10498/28442
LA eng
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Cádiz
RD 14-nov-2026