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Root morphology and root system architecture of young Posidonia oceanica plants established on two contrasting substrate types, sand and rock, were examined to provide insights into the strategy of adaptation of seagrasses to their environment. After germination, seedlings were planted on sandy patches and on rock within the same area, and survived plants were collected five years later for measurements of the size of the entire root complex and analysis of individual morphological and architectural root traits. Collected plants exhibited up to nine highly intermingled root systems and approx. 2.5 m of total root length. Maximum horizontal extension, total biomass and total length of roots were not significantly affected by substrate. However, on sand roots grew vertically reaching up to 13 cm, while on rock they extended more horizontally and did not penetrate deeper than 5–7 cm leading to the formation of a shallow, densely packed root complex. On rock, the number and the length of second-order laterals on an individual root system were reduced and the topological index higher than on sand (0.8 vs. 0.7) reflecting a more simple (herringbone) branching pattern. Again, root diameter was greater than on sand. The results suggest that P. oceanica can adjust root traits early during plant development according to substrate typology to maximize anchorage and substrate exploration efficiency. This plasticity enables the species to establish and persist also on rocky bottoms which generally prevent establishment of the majority of seagrasses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Temporal trends in abundance, demographic structure of the population and secondary production of Siriella clausii were studied at three different sectors of Posidonia oceanica meadows in the SE Iberian Peninsula, with different levels of habitat complexity. Secondary production was calculated through three methods widely employed in marine invertebrates: the Hynes method (based on demographic structure data) and models by Morin-Bourassa and Brey (based on biomass data). This filter/grazer and detritus feeder is the most abundant mysid in P. oceanica seagrass meadows in the Mediterranean. The population structure was similar in the three sectors, but the temporal pattern of abundance was different, at times even opposite. This pattern may be related to the aggregated spatial distribution, metapopulation dynamics or stochastic factors, but other potential factors could be involved, such as habitat features or predation rates. The values of production oscillated between 25 and 60 mgAFDW/m2/year, depending on the calculation method that was applied, and showed differences between sites and seagrass complexity. The present values are intermediate between those characterising highly productive systems, such as estuaries, and systems of limited productivity (bathyal habitats). Compared to other peracarids, mysid production is greater than that of isopods and less than amphipod production. This is possibly related to the life cycle and reproductive strategies. Detritus feeders such as S. clausii may play an important trophic role due their capacity to use as food the biomass associated to detritus, which constitutes larges reservoirs of carbon derived from seagrass primary production. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Posidonia oceanica, the most important and abundant seagrass in the Mediterranean Sea, forms large meadows from the sea surface down to 40 m. The depth of the lower limit of the meadows marks the boundary between the infralittoral and the circalittoral zone, and is said to be normally set by light attenuation underwater, while the role of water movement has been little explored. In this paper, the position (i.e. distance from the shoreline and depth) of P. oceanica meadow lower limits along the whole Ligurian coastline (about 350 km) was related to the annual storm wave base. This depth represents the limit of interaction between waves and seafloor and corresponds to L 0/2, where L 0 is the annual offshore wave length. In all meadows, the lower limit has never been found deeper than the annual storm wave base, and its depth (Zc ) showed related to L0 according to the equation Zc  = 0.32∙L 0 + 5.62. In the coastal tracts affected by the least intense waves, the reduction of water movement with depth represents the most important constraint to the seaward development of the meadow, whereas light availability plays a major role in meadows affected by the most intense waves. The present study represents the first attempt at understanding the role of hydrodynamic factors in setting the depth limit of seagrass meadows. If corroborated by future research at other sites, this will have important implications for both basic and applied science, as it would imply rethinking about the relative importance of water movement and light in seagrass depth distribution, and could allow for a better estimate of the extent of meadow regression in anthropized areas. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Habitat fragmentation in meadows of Posidonia oceanica, the most important and abundant seagrass in the Mediterranean Sea, was investigated at a region-wide spatial scale using a synthetic ecological index, the Patchiness Index (PI). We tested the hypothesis that human impacts are the major factor responsible for habitat fragmentation in P. oceanica meadows contrasting fragmentation of meadows located in “anthropized” areas with that of meadows located in areas with low anthropization and considered as virtually “natural”. We also related fragmentation of meadow with the morphodynamic state of the submerged beach (i.e. distinctive types of beach produced by the topography, the wave climate and the sediment composition) in order to investigate the influence of one natural component on the seagrass meadow seascape. Results demonstrated that fragmentation in the P. oceanica meadows is strongly influenced by the human component, being lower in natural meadows than in anthropized ones, and that it is little influenced by the morphodynamic state of the coast. The use of landscape approaches to discriminate natural disturbance from human impacts that affect seagrass meadows is thus recommended for the proper management of coastal zones. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]