Publication Date:
2024-03-15
Description:
Seagrasses commonly display carbon-limited photosynthetic rates. Thus, increases in atmospheric pCO2, and consequentially oceanic CO2(aq) concentrations, may prove beneficial. While addressed in mesocosms, these hypotheses have not been tested in the field with manipulative experimentation. This study examines the effects of in situ CO2(aq) enrichment on the structural and chemical characteristics of the tropical seagrass, Thalassia testudinum. CO2(aq) availability was manipulated for 6 months in clear, open-top chambers within a shallow seagrass meadow in the Florida Keys (USA), reproducing forecasts for the year 2100. Structural characteristics (leaf area, leaf growth, shoot mass, and shoot density) were unresponsive to CO2(aq) enrichment. However, leaf nitrogen and phosphorus content declined on average by 11 and 21 %, respectively. Belowground, non-structural carbohydrates increased by 29 %. These results indicate that increased CO2(aq) availability may primarily alter the chemical composition of seagrasses, influencing both the nutrient status and resilience of these systems.
Keywords:
Alkalinity, total; Aragonite saturation state; Benthos; Bicarbonate ion; Calcite saturation state; Calculated using CO2SYS; Calculated using seacarb after Nisumaa et al. (2010); Carbohydrates, non structural; Carbohydrates, non structural, standard error; Carbon, inorganic, dissolved; Carbon/Nitrogen ratio; Carbon/Nitrogen ratio, standard error; Carbon/Phosphorus ratio; Carbon/Phosphorus ratio, standard error; Carbonate ion; Carbonate system computation flag; Carbon dioxide; Coast and continental shelf; Containers and aquaria (20-1000 L or 〈 1 m**2); EXP; Experiment; Field experiment; Florida_Keys; Fugacity of carbon dioxide (water) at sea surface temperature (wet air); Growth/Morphology; Identification; Incubation duration; Leaf, growth rate; Leaf, growth rate, standard error; Leaf area per shoot; Leaf area per shoot, standard error; Mass per shoot; Mass per shoot, standard error; Nitrogen/Phosphorus ratio; Nitrogen/Phosphorus ratio, standard error; North Atlantic; OA-ICC; Ocean Acidification International Coordination Centre; Onset logger; Partial pressure of carbon dioxide (water) at sea surface temperature (wet air); pH; Plantae; Position; Potentiometric; Potentiometric titration; Salinity; Seagrass; Shoot density; Shoot density, standard error; Single species; Species; Standing crop, vegetation; Standing crop, vegetation, standard error; Temperate; Temperature, water; Thalassia testudinum; Tracheophyta; Treatment
Type:
Dataset
Format:
text/tab-separated-values, 960 data points
Permalink
