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First record of vertical rhizomes in the seagrass Zostera marina (Novigrad Sea, Croatia)
Author(s) -
Mokos Melita,
Schultz Stewart T.,
Zubak Ivana,
Kruschel Claudia
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
marine ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.668
H-Index - 58
eISSN - 1439-0485
pISSN - 0173-9565
DOI - 10.1111/maec.12438
Subject(s) - rhizome , seagrass , zostera marina , sediment , zostera , oceanography , temperate climate , potamogetonaceae , population , botany , biology , environmental science , geology , ecology , geomorphology , ecosystem , demography , sociology
We report the first record of vertical rhizome growth in the temperate seagrass Zostera marina . In a population of Z. marina occurring on subtidal sand in the Novigrad Sea (Croatia), an area subject to episodic high sediment transport, collected plants of Z. marina showed vertical rhizomes with shorter and narrower inter‐nodes (mean length = 3.4 ± 1.5 SD mm, mean width = 1.9 ± 0.3 SD mm) than those recorded for horizontal rhizomes (mean length = 9.0 ± 3.5 SD mm, mean width = 2.8 ± 0.4 SD mm). Out of a sample of 1130 rhizome fragments, 288 (25.5%) were vertical. Repeated moderate burial events may have stimulated the production of vertical rhizomes, and the ability of Z. marina to produce vertical rhizomes may enable it to withstand moderate burial in this highly dynamic environment.