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Sci Rep
2016 Dec 01;6:38017. doi: 10.1038/srep38017.
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Seagrass (Posidonia oceanica) seedlings in a high-CO2 world: from physiology to herbivory.
Hernán G
,
Ramajo L
,
Basso L
,
Delgado A
,
Terrados J
,
Duarte CM
,
Tomas F
.
Abstract
Under future increased CO2 concentrations, seagrasses are predicted to perform better as a result of increased photosynthesis, but the effects in carbon balance and growth are unclear and remain unexplored for early life stages such as seedlings, which allow plant dispersal and provide the potential for adaptation under changing environmental conditions. Furthermore, the outcome of the concomitant biochemical changes in plant-herbivore interactions has been poorly studied, yet may have important implications in plant communities. In this study we determined the effects of experimental exposure to current and future predicted CO2 concentrations on the physiology, size and defense strategies against herbivory in the earliest life stage of the Mediterranean seagrass Posidonia oceanica. The photosynthetic performance of seedlings, assessed by fluorescence, improved under increased pCO2 conditions after 60 days, although these differences disappeared after 90 days. Furthermore, these plants exhibited bigger seeds and higher carbon storage in belowground tissues, having thus more resources to tolerate and recover from stressors. Of the several herbivory resistance traits measured, plants under high pCO2 conditions had a lower leaf N content but higher sucrose. These seedlings were preferred by herbivorous sea urchins in feeding trials, which could potentially counteract some of the positive effects observed.
Figure 1. Leaf width (a), maximum leaf length (b), root length (c), number of roots (d), and number of leaves (e) measured in seedlings growing under high CO2 (black) or control (grey) conditions, at the beginning of the experiment and after 25,60 and 90 days. Total root length (c) was only measured at the beginning and after 90 days of experiment. Error bars indicate standard error. Asterisk indicates statistically significant differences between treatments.
Figure 2. Mean dry Biomass (g) of leaves, seeds and roots of seedlings growing under high CO2 (black) or control (grey) conditions.Error bars indicate standard error. Asterisk indicates statistically significant differences between treatments.
Figure 3. Percentage of dry weight in Nitrogen (N), Carbon (C), and Carbon Nitrogen ratio (C/N), in leaves (a), seeds (b) and roots (c) of seedlings at the beginning of the experiment (white) or after growing under high CO2 (black) or control (grey) conditions. Error bars indicate standard error and different letters indicate statistically significant differences across treatments (Tukey).
Figure 4. Percentage of dry weight in sucrose, starch, total phenol content (Phenols), and fiber in leaves (a). seeds (b) and roots (c) of seedlings growing under high CO2 (black) or control (grey) conditions. Error bars indicate standard error. Asterisk indicates statistically significant differences between treatments.
Figure 5. Percentage of fresh weight consumed by herbivores from leaf tissue of seedlings growing under high CO2 (black) or control (grey) conditions.Error bars indicate standard error. Asterisk indicates statistically significant differences between treatments.
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