RESUMEN
Eutrophication is one of the main threats to seagrass meadows, but there is limited knowledge on the interactive effects of nutrients under a changing climate, particularly for tropical seagrass species. This study aimed to detect the onset of stress in the tropical seagrass, Halophila stipulacea, by investigating the effect of in situ nutrient addition during an unusually warm summer over a 6-month period. We measured a suite of different morphological and biochemical community metrics and individual plant traits from two different sites with contrasting levels of eutrophication history before and after in situ fertilization in the Gulf of Aqaba. Nutrient stress combined with summer temperatures that surpassed the threshold for optimal growth negatively affected seagrass plants from South Beach (SB), an oligotrophic marine protected area, while H. stipulacea populations from North Beach (NB), a eutrophic and anthropogenically impacted area, benefited from the additional nutrient input. Lower aboveground (AG) and belowground (BG) biomass, reduced Leaf Area Index (LAI), smaller internodal distances, high sexual reproductive effort and the increasing occurrence of apical shoots in seagrasses from SB sites indicated that the plants were under stress and not growing under optimal conditions. Moreover, AG and BG biomass and internodal distances decreased further with the addition of fertilizer in SB sites. Results presented here highlight the fact that H. stipulacea is one of the most tolerant and plastic seagrass species. Our study further demonstrates that the effects of fertilization differ significantly between meadows that are growing exposed to different levels of anthropogenic pressures. Thus, the meadow's "history" affects it resilience and response to further stress. Our results suggest that monitoring efforts on H. stipulacea populations in its native range should focus especially on carbohydrate reserves in leaves and rhizomes, LAI, internodal length and percentage of apical shoots as suitable warning indicators for nutrient stress in this seagrass species to minimize future impacts on these valuable ecosystems.
RESUMEN
Posidonia oceanica is a key foundation species in the Mediterranean providing valuable ecosystem services. However, this species is particularly vulnerable towards high coastal nutrient inputs and the rising frequency of intense summer heat waves, but their combined effect in situ has received little attention so far. Here, we investigated the effects of in situ nutrient addition during an unusually warm summer over a 4-month period, comparing different morphological, physiological and biochemical population metrics of seagrass meadows growing in protected areas (Ischia) with meadows already exposed to significant anthropogenic pressure (Baia - Gulf of Pozzuoli). Our study highlights that the effects of warmer than usual summer temperatures on the population level of seagrass meadows can be exacerbated if the plants are already exposed to higher anthropogenic pressures. Morphological and population level indicators mainly changed over time, possibly impacted by season and the warmer temperatures, and displayed more pronounced reductions in seagrasses from impacted sites. The additional nutrient supply had even more deleterious effects, as shown by a decrease in approximately 67% in cover in fertilized plots at high impacted sites and 33% at low impacted sites. Moreover, while rhizome starch concentration showed a seasonal increase in plants from low impacted sites it displayed a trend of a 27% decrease in fertilized plots of the high impacted sites. Epiphyte biomass was approximately four-fold higher on leaves of plants growing in impacted sites and even doubled with the additional nutrient input. Predicting and anticipating stress in P. oceanica is of crucial importance for conservation and management efforts, given the limited colonizing and reproductive ability and extremely slow growth of this ecosystem engineer. Our results suggest that monitoring efforts should focus especially on leaf area index (LAI), carbohydrate concentrations in the rhizomes, and epiphyte cover on leaves as indicators of the onset of stress in Posidonia oceanica, which can be used by decision makers to take appropriate measures before damage to the ecosystem becomes irreversible, minimize future human interference and strengthen the resilience of these important ecosystems.
