Investigations on seagrass at Panarea shallow CO2 seeps

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Autores principales: Guilini, Katja, Weber, Miriam, de Beer, Dirk, Schneider, Matthias, Molari, Massimiliano, Lott, Christian, Bodnar, Wanda, Mascart, Thibaud, De Troch, Marleen, Vanreusel, Ann
Formato: Dataset Open Access
Lenguaje:en
Publicado: PANGAEA 2016
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author Guilini, Katja
Weber, Miriam
de Beer, Dirk
Schneider, Matthias
Molari, Massimiliano
Lott, Christian
Bodnar, Wanda
Mascart, Thibaud
De Troch, Marleen
Vanreusel, Ann
author_facet Guilini, Katja
Weber, Miriam
de Beer, Dirk
Schneider, Matthias
Molari, Massimiliano
Lott, Christian
Bodnar, Wanda
Mascart, Thibaud
De Troch, Marleen
Vanreusel, Ann
collection Datos científicos de ciencias marinas y ambientales
contents The unprecedented rate of CO2 increase in our atmosphere and subsequent ocean acidification (OA) threatens coastal ecosystems. To forecast the functioning of coastal seagrass ecosystems in acidified oceans, more knowledge on the long-term adaptive capacities of seagrass species and their epibionts is needed. Therefore we studied morphological characteristics of Posidonia oceanica and the structure of its epibiont communities at a Mediterranean volcanic CO2 vent off Panarea Island (Italy) and performed a laboratory experiment to test the effect of OA on P. oceanica photosynthesis and its potential buffering capacity. At the study site east of Basiluzzo Islet, venting of CO2 gas was controlled by tides, resulting in an average pH difference of 0.1 between the vent and reference site. P. oceanica shoot and leaf density was unaffected by these levels of OA, although shorter leaves at the vent site suggest increased susceptibility to erosion, potentially by herbivores. The community of sessile epibionts differed in composition and was characterized by a higher species richness at the vent site, though net epiphytic calcium carbonate concentration was similar. These findings suggest a higher ecosystem complexity at the vent site, which may have facilitated the higher diversity of copepods in the otherwise unaffected motile epibiont community. In the laboratory experiment, P. oceanica photosynthesis increased with decreasing pHT (7.6, 6.6, 5.5), which induced an elevated pH at the leaf surfaces of up to 0.5 units compared to the ambient seawater pHT of 6.6. This suggests a temporary pH buffering in the diffusive boundary layer of leaves, which could be favorable for epibiont organisms. The results of this multispecies study contribute to understanding community-level responses and underlying processes in long-term acidified conditions. Increased replication and monitoring of physico-chemical parameters on an annual scale are, however, recommended to assure that the biological responses observed during a short period reflect long-term dynamics of these parameters.
format Dataset Open Access
id pangaea_https___doi_org_10_1594_PANGAEA_857983
institution PANGAEA
language en
publishDate 2016
publisher PANGAEA
record_format pangaea
spellingShingle Investigations on seagrass at Panarea shallow CO2 seeps
Guilini, Katja
Weber, Miriam
de Beer, Dirk
Schneider, Matthias
Molari, Massimiliano
Lott, Christian
Bodnar, Wanda
Mascart, Thibaud
De Troch, Marleen
Vanreusel, Ann
ECO2; Sub-seabed CO2 Storage: Impact on Marine Ecosystems
The unprecedented rate of CO2 increase in our atmosphere and subsequent ocean acidification (OA) threatens coastal ecosystems. To forecast the functioning of coastal seagrass ecosystems in acidified oceans, more knowledge on the long-term adaptive capacities of seagrass species and their epibionts is needed. Therefore we studied morphological characteristics of Posidonia oceanica and the structure of its epibiont communities at a Mediterranean volcanic CO2 vent off Panarea Island (Italy) and performed a laboratory experiment to test the effect of OA on P. oceanica photosynthesis and its potential buffering capacity. At the study site east of Basiluzzo Islet, venting of CO2 gas was controlled by tides, resulting in an average pH difference of 0.1 between the vent and reference site. P. oceanica shoot and leaf density was unaffected by these levels of OA, although shorter leaves at the vent site suggest increased susceptibility to erosion, potentially by herbivores. The community of sessile epibionts differed in composition and was characterized by a higher species richness at the vent site, though net epiphytic calcium carbonate concentration was similar. These findings suggest a higher ecosystem complexity at the vent site, which may have facilitated the higher diversity of copepods in the otherwise unaffected motile epibiont community. In the laboratory experiment, P. oceanica photosynthesis increased with decreasing pHT (7.6, 6.6, 5.5), which induced an elevated pH at the leaf surfaces of up to 0.5 units compared to the ambient seawater pHT of 6.6. This suggests a temporary pH buffering in the diffusive boundary layer of leaves, which could be favorable for epibiont organisms. The results of this multispecies study contribute to understanding community-level responses and underlying processes in long-term acidified conditions. Increased replication and monitoring of physico-chemical parameters on an annual scale are, however, recommended to assure that the biological responses observed during a short period reflect long-term dynamics of these parameters.
title Investigations on seagrass at Panarea shallow CO2 seeps
topic ECO2; Sub-seabed CO2 Storage: Impact on Marine Ecosystems
url https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.857983