Response of Thalassia Testudinum Morphometry and Distribution to Environmental Drivers in a Pristine Tropical Lagoon.

ABSTRACT: This study was undertaken to determine the relationships between the biomass, morphometry, and density of short shoots (SS) of the tropical seagrass Thalassia testudinum and the physical-environmental forcing in the region. Seasonal sampling surveys were undertaken four times in Bahia de la Ascension, a shallow estuary in the western Mexican Caribbean, to measure plant morphology and environmental variables. The estuary has a fresh water-influenced inner bay, a large central basin and a marine zone featuring a barrier reef at the seaward margin. Leaf size was positively correlated with increasing salinity, but total biomass was not, being similar across most of the sites. Aboveground biomass exhibited seasonal differences in dry and rainy seasons along the bay, most markedly in the brackis

SUBMITTER: Medina-Gomez I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5063390 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature