Drivers of the Low Metabolic Rates of Seagrass Meadows in the Red Sea
Tropical seagrass meadows are highly productive ecosystems that thrive in oligotrophic environments. The Red Sea is characterized by strong N–S latitudinal nutrient and temperature gradients, which constrain pelagic productivity. To date, the influence of these natural gradients have not been assess...
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2020-02-01
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doaj-720fd76b08ea4a188e18a1f30f8b09852020-11-25T02:11:35ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Marine Science2296-77452020-02-01710.3389/fmars.2020.00069492560Drivers of the Low Metabolic Rates of Seagrass Meadows in the Red SeaAndrea Anton0Andrea Anton1Kimberlee Baldry2Kimberlee Baldry3Kimberlee Baldry4Darren J. Coker5Carlos M. Duarte6Carlos M. Duarte7Red Sea Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi ArabiaComputational Bioscience Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi ArabiaRed Sea Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi ArabiaComputational Bioscience Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi ArabiaInstitute of Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, AustraliaRed Sea Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi ArabiaRed Sea Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi ArabiaComputational Bioscience Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi ArabiaTropical seagrass meadows are highly productive ecosystems that thrive in oligotrophic environments. The Red Sea is characterized by strong N–S latitudinal nutrient and temperature gradients, which constrain pelagic productivity. To date, the influence of these natural gradients have not been assessed in metabolic rates for local seagrass communities. Here we report metabolic rates [gross primary production (GPP), respiration (R), and net community production (NCP)] in four common species of seagrass (Halodule uninervis, Halophila ovalis, Halophila stipulacea, and Thalassia hemprichii) along latitudinal and thermal gradients in the Red Sea. In addition, we quantified leaf nutrient concentration (nitrogen, phosphorous, and iron), and correlate this with latitude. Our results show that average metabolic rates and aboveground biomass of seagrass meadows in the Red Sea were generally in the lower range when compared to global values reported for the same species elsewhere. The optimum temperature of Red Sea seagrass meadows varied among species with increases along the sequence: H. stipulacea < T. hemprichii < H. uninervis ∼ H. ovalis. GPP for H. uninervis – a seagrass thermophile – was lowest in higher latitudes and increased toward lower latitudes during the summer months. While temperature was identified as a strong driver of metabolic rates across seagrass meadows, leaf concentration of phosphorous and iron (but not nitrogen) was below nutrient sufficiency thresholds, indicating these two elements might be limiting for seagrass meadows in the Red Sea.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmars.2020.00069/fullirongross primary productionmetabolic ratesnitrogennutrient limitationphosphorous |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Andrea Anton Andrea Anton Kimberlee Baldry Kimberlee Baldry Kimberlee Baldry Darren J. Coker Carlos M. Duarte Carlos M. Duarte |
spellingShingle |
Andrea Anton Andrea Anton Kimberlee Baldry Kimberlee Baldry Kimberlee Baldry Darren J. Coker Carlos M. Duarte Carlos M. Duarte Drivers of the Low Metabolic Rates of Seagrass Meadows in the Red Sea Frontiers in Marine Science iron gross primary production metabolic rates nitrogen nutrient limitation phosphorous |
author_facet |
Andrea Anton Andrea Anton Kimberlee Baldry Kimberlee Baldry Kimberlee Baldry Darren J. Coker Carlos M. Duarte Carlos M. Duarte |
author_sort |
Andrea Anton |
title |
Drivers of the Low Metabolic Rates of Seagrass Meadows in the Red Sea |
title_short |
Drivers of the Low Metabolic Rates of Seagrass Meadows in the Red Sea |
title_full |
Drivers of the Low Metabolic Rates of Seagrass Meadows in the Red Sea |
title_fullStr |
Drivers of the Low Metabolic Rates of Seagrass Meadows in the Red Sea |
title_full_unstemmed |
Drivers of the Low Metabolic Rates of Seagrass Meadows in the Red Sea |
title_sort |
drivers of the low metabolic rates of seagrass meadows in the red sea |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
series |
Frontiers in Marine Science |
issn |
2296-7745 |
publishDate |
2020-02-01 |
description |
Tropical seagrass meadows are highly productive ecosystems that thrive in oligotrophic environments. The Red Sea is characterized by strong N–S latitudinal nutrient and temperature gradients, which constrain pelagic productivity. To date, the influence of these natural gradients have not been assessed in metabolic rates for local seagrass communities. Here we report metabolic rates [gross primary production (GPP), respiration (R), and net community production (NCP)] in four common species of seagrass (Halodule uninervis, Halophila ovalis, Halophila stipulacea, and Thalassia hemprichii) along latitudinal and thermal gradients in the Red Sea. In addition, we quantified leaf nutrient concentration (nitrogen, phosphorous, and iron), and correlate this with latitude. Our results show that average metabolic rates and aboveground biomass of seagrass meadows in the Red Sea were generally in the lower range when compared to global values reported for the same species elsewhere. The optimum temperature of Red Sea seagrass meadows varied among species with increases along the sequence: H. stipulacea < T. hemprichii < H. uninervis ∼ H. ovalis. GPP for H. uninervis – a seagrass thermophile – was lowest in higher latitudes and increased toward lower latitudes during the summer months. While temperature was identified as a strong driver of metabolic rates across seagrass meadows, leaf concentration of phosphorous and iron (but not nitrogen) was below nutrient sufficiency thresholds, indicating these two elements might be limiting for seagrass meadows in the Red Sea. |
topic |
iron gross primary production metabolic rates nitrogen nutrient limitation phosphorous |
url |
https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmars.2020.00069/full |
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