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ECB-ART-43303
PLoS One 2014 Mar 03;93:e90600. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0090600.
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Caribbean-wide, long-term study of seagrass beds reveals local variations, shifts in community structure and occasional collapse.

van Tussenbroek BI , Cortés J , Collin R , Fonseca AC , Gayle PM , Guzmán HM , Jácome GE , Juman R , Koltes KH , Oxenford HA , Rodríguez-Ramirez A , Samper-Villarreal J , Smith SR , Tschirky JJ , Weil E .


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The CARICOMP monitoring network gathered standardized data from 52 seagrass sampling stations at 22 sites (mostly Thalassia testudinum-dominated beds in reef systems) across the Wider Caribbean twice a year over the period 1993 to 2007 (and in some cases up to 2012). Wide variations in community total biomass (285 to >2000 g dry m(-2)) and annual foliar productivity of the dominant seagrass T. testudinum (<200 and >2000 g dry m(-2)) were found among sites. Solar-cycle related intra-annual variations in T. testudinum leaf productivity were detected at latitudes > 16°N. Hurricanes had little to no long-term effects on these well-developed seagrass communities, except for 1 station, where the vegetation was lost by burial below ∼1 m sand. At two sites (5 stations), the seagrass beds collapsed due to excessive grazing by turtles or sea-urchins (the latter in combination with human impact and storms). The low-cost methods of this regional-scale monitoring program were sufficient to detect long-term shifts in the communities, and fifteen (43%) out of 35 long-term monitoring stations (at 17 sites) showed trends in seagrass communities consistent with expected changes under environmental deterioration.

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Genes referenced: impact LOC100887844 LOC100893907


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References [+] :
Cortés, Monitoring coral reefs, seagrasses and mangroves in Costa Rica (CARICOMP). 2010, Pubmed, Echinobase