Contemporary connectivity is sustained by wind- and current-driven seed dispersal among seagrass meadows.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Seagrasses are clonal marine plants that form important biotic habitats in many tropical and temperate coastal ecosystems. While there is a reasonable understanding of the dynamics of asexual (vegetative) growth in seagrasses, sexual reproduction and the dispersal pathways of the seeds remain poorly studied. Here we address the potential for a predominantly clonal seagrass, P. australis, to disperse over long distances by movement of floating fruit via wind and surface currents within the coastal waters of Perth, Western Australia. We first simulated the dominant atmospheric and ocean forcing conditions that are known to disperse these seagrass seeds using a three-dimensional numerical ocean circulation model. Field observations obtained at 8 sites across the study area

SUBMITTER: Ruiz-Montoya L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4404238 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature