The effect of a centenary storm on the long-lived seagrass Posidonia oceanica

We used the disturbance resulting from a once in a 100‐yr storm on the northwest Mediterranean coast to examine the extent of the disturbance, the tolerance thresholds to burial, and the medium‐term response of the long‐lived Posidonia oceanica seagrass. Sediment burial at 12 surveyed areas was part...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Gera, Alessandro, Pagès, J. F., Arthur, R., Farina, Simone, Roca Carceller, Guillem, Romero, Javier (Romero Martinengo), Alcoverro i Pedrola, Teresa
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión aceptada para publicación
Fecha de publicación:2014
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Barcelona
Repositorio:Dipòsit Digital de la UB
OAI Identifier:oai:diposit.ub.edu:2445/124943
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2445/124943
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Posidònia oceànica
Ecologia marina
Ecologia vegetal
Tempestes
Posidonia oceanica
Marine ecology
Plant ecology
Storms
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spelling The effect of a centenary storm on the long-lived seagrass Posidonia oceanicaGera, AlessandroPagès, J. F.Arthur, R.Farina, SimoneRoca Carceller, GuillemRomero, Javier (Romero Martinengo)Alcoverro i Pedrola, TeresaPosidònia oceànicaEcologia marinaEcologia vegetalTempestesPosidonia oceanicaMarine ecologyPlant ecologyStormsWe used the disturbance resulting from a once in a 100‐yr storm on the northwest Mediterranean coast to examine the extent of the disturbance, the tolerance thresholds to burial, and the medium‐term response of the long‐lived Posidonia oceanica seagrass. Sediment burial at 12 surveyed areas was particularly strong in shallow meadows, with 23% of their surfaces buried, on average, under more than 10 cm of sediment. In contrast, less than 5% of the meadow was affected at deeper locations. At three sites, we tracked short‐term mortality along a gradient of sediment burial. Survival response to burial was clearly nonlinear, with a significant threshold at 4-5 cm, beyond which shoot mortality was 100%. To track medium‐term potential recovery, we established permanent plots subject to three sediment burial levels (0-5, 5-10, and > 10 cm burial) in four meadows. Where the initial shoot mortality was 100%, we recorded no shoot recovery over the 4‐yr period. In the remaining plots, where some shoots remained alive, we detected either further mortality or shoot recovery of 7% per year on average. Extreme storm events can result in sudden catastrophic losses of seagrass cover in shallow P. oceanica meadows. In the long term and due to the long return time of such storms, the species may still be able to recover despite its low recovery potential. However, added anthropogenic stressors, including climate change, may seriously test the ability of long‐lived shallow seagrass ecosystems to resist high‐intensity natural disturbances and may be critical for its persistence.American Society of Limnology and Oceanography.2014info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersionapplication/pdfhttps://hdl.handle.net/2445/124943Articles publicats en revistes (Biologia Evolutiva, Ecologia i Ciències Ambientals)reponame:Dipòsit Digital de la UBinstname:Universidad de BarcelonaInglésVersió postprint del document publicat a: https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.2014.59.6.1910Limnology and Oceanography, 2014, vol. 59, num. 6, p. 1910-1918https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.2014.59.6.1910(c) American Society of Limnology and Oceanography., 2014info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:diposit.ub.edu:2445/1249432026-05-27T06:46:51Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv The effect of a centenary storm on the long-lived seagrass Posidonia oceanica
title The effect of a centenary storm on the long-lived seagrass Posidonia oceanica
spellingShingle The effect of a centenary storm on the long-lived seagrass Posidonia oceanica
Gera, Alessandro
Posidònia oceànica
Ecologia marina
Ecologia vegetal
Tempestes
Posidonia oceanica
Marine ecology
Plant ecology
Storms
title_short The effect of a centenary storm on the long-lived seagrass Posidonia oceanica
title_full The effect of a centenary storm on the long-lived seagrass Posidonia oceanica
title_fullStr The effect of a centenary storm on the long-lived seagrass Posidonia oceanica
title_full_unstemmed The effect of a centenary storm on the long-lived seagrass Posidonia oceanica
title_sort The effect of a centenary storm on the long-lived seagrass Posidonia oceanica
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Gera, Alessandro
Pagès, J. F.
Arthur, R.
Farina, Simone
Roca Carceller, Guillem
Romero, Javier (Romero Martinengo)
Alcoverro i Pedrola, Teresa
author Gera, Alessandro
author_facet Gera, Alessandro
Pagès, J. F.
Arthur, R.
Farina, Simone
Roca Carceller, Guillem
Romero, Javier (Romero Martinengo)
Alcoverro i Pedrola, Teresa
author_role author
author2 Pagès, J. F.
Arthur, R.
Farina, Simone
Roca Carceller, Guillem
Romero, Javier (Romero Martinengo)
Alcoverro i Pedrola, Teresa
author2_role author
author
author
author
author
author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Posidònia oceànica
Ecologia marina
Ecologia vegetal
Tempestes
Posidonia oceanica
Marine ecology
Plant ecology
Storms
topic Posidònia oceànica
Ecologia marina
Ecologia vegetal
Tempestes
Posidonia oceanica
Marine ecology
Plant ecology
Storms
description We used the disturbance resulting from a once in a 100‐yr storm on the northwest Mediterranean coast to examine the extent of the disturbance, the tolerance thresholds to burial, and the medium‐term response of the long‐lived Posidonia oceanica seagrass. Sediment burial at 12 surveyed areas was particularly strong in shallow meadows, with 23% of their surfaces buried, on average, under more than 10 cm of sediment. In contrast, less than 5% of the meadow was affected at deeper locations. At three sites, we tracked short‐term mortality along a gradient of sediment burial. Survival response to burial was clearly nonlinear, with a significant threshold at 4-5 cm, beyond which shoot mortality was 100%. To track medium‐term potential recovery, we established permanent plots subject to three sediment burial levels (0-5, 5-10, and > 10 cm burial) in four meadows. Where the initial shoot mortality was 100%, we recorded no shoot recovery over the 4‐yr period. In the remaining plots, where some shoots remained alive, we detected either further mortality or shoot recovery of 7% per year on average. Extreme storm events can result in sudden catastrophic losses of seagrass cover in shallow P. oceanica meadows. In the long term and due to the long return time of such storms, the species may still be able to recover despite its low recovery potential. However, added anthropogenic stressors, including climate change, may seriously test the ability of long‐lived shallow seagrass ecosystems to resist high‐intensity natural disturbances and may be critical for its persistence.
publishDate 2014
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2014
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion
format article
status_str acceptedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv https://hdl.handle.net/2445/124943
url https://hdl.handle.net/2445/124943
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv Versió postprint del document publicat a: https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.2014.59.6.1910
Limnology and Oceanography, 2014, vol. 59, num. 6, p. 1910-1918
https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.2014.59.6.1910
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv (c) American Society of Limnology and Oceanography., 2014
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv (c) American Society of Limnology and Oceanography., 2014
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv American Society of Limnology and Oceanography.
publisher.none.fl_str_mv American Society of Limnology and Oceanography.
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv Articles publicats en revistes (Biologia Evolutiva, Ecologia i Ciències Ambientals)
reponame:Dipòsit Digital de la UB
instname:Universidad de Barcelona
instname_str Universidad de Barcelona
reponame_str Dipòsit Digital de la UB
collection Dipòsit Digital de la UB
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
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score 15,301603

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