Selective elimination of rooted plants from a tropical seagrass bed in a back-reef lagoon: a hypothesis tested by hurricane Wilma (2005)

van Tussenbroek, Brigitta I., Barba Santos, M. Guadalupe, Van Dijk, Jent Kornelis, Sanabria Alcaraz, S.N. Marisela, and Téllez Calderón, M. Lourdes (2008) Selective elimination of rooted plants from a tropical seagrass bed in a back-reef lagoon: a hypothesis tested by hurricane Wilma (2005). Journal of Coastal Research, 24 (1). pp. 278-281.

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Abstract

Passage of hurricane Wilma (October 2005, category 4, duration 60 h) over Puerto Morelos, Mexican Caribbean, allowed verification of a previous experiment simulating hurricane-like impacts on the seagrass beds in its back-reef lagoon. At two mid-lagoon stations, numbers of the seagrass Syringodium filiforme and macro-algae Udotea spp., Penicillus spp., and Rhipocephalus spp. were reduced significantly, whereas populations of the seagrass Thalassia testudinum and Halimeda spp. were unaffected. These impacts of the hurricane supported the results of the simulation experiment. Differential results were registered at one station for the spongy-like algae Avrainvillea spp. and Cladocephalus sp., which were not affected by the simulation treatments but were reduced in number by the hurricane. Thus, apart from known impacts such as complete or partial destruction of seagrass beds, hurricanes may also change the community structure of persistent beds through species-specific elimination.

Item ID: 10102
Item Type: Article (Research - C1)
ISSN: 1551-5036
Keywords: marine science, population genetics, natural disturbance, macroalgae, species-specific removal, Thalassia, Syringodium, Advanced Analytical Centre (AAC)
Date Deposited: 15 Apr 2010 04:06
FoR Codes: 06 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 0607 Plant Biology > 060701 Phycology (incl Marine Grasses) @ 80%
06 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 0602 Ecology > 060205 Marine and Estuarine Ecology (incl Marine Ichthyology) @ 20%
SEO Codes: 96 ENVIRONMENT > 9605 Ecosystem Assessment and Management > 960503 Ecosystem Assessment and Management of Coastal and Estuarine Environments @ 70%
96 ENVIRONMENT > 9606 Environmental and Natural Resource Evaluation > 960603 Environmental Lifecycle Assessment @ 30%
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