Seagrass (Posidonia oceanica) seedlings in a high-CO2 world: from physiology to herbivory

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dc.contributor.author Hernán, Gema
dc.contributor.author Ramajo, Laura
dc.contributor.author Basso, Lorena
dc.contributor.author Delgado, Antonio
dc.contributor.author Terrados, Jorge
dc.contributor.author Duarte, Carlos M.
dc.contributor.author Tomas, Fiona
dc.date.accessioned 2019-10-10T10:58:57Z
dc.date.available 2019-10-10T10:58:57Z
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/11201/150116
dc.description.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.
dc.format application/pdf
dc.relation.isformatof Reproducció del document publicat a: https://doi.org/10.1038/srep38017
dc.relation.ispartof Scientific Reports, 2016, vol. 6, num. 38017, p. 1-12
dc.rights cc-by (c) Hernán, Gema et al., 2016
dc.rights.uri http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/es
dc.subject.classification Medi ambient
dc.subject.other Environment
dc.title Seagrass (Posidonia oceanica) seedlings in a high-CO2 world: from physiology to herbivory
dc.type info:eu-repo/semantics/article
dc.type info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
dc.date.updated 2019-10-10T10:58:57Z
dc.rights.accessRights info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.identifier.doi https://doi.org/10.1038/srep38017


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cc-by (c) Hernán, Gema et al., 2016 Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as cc-by (c) Hernán, Gema et al., 2016

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