Shuo Yu, Lijun Cui, Brigitta I. van Tussenbroek, Yunchao Wu, Fangchao Zhu, Juan Diego Gaitán-Espitía, Kai Jiang
{"title":"Frequent Flowering but Low Reproductive Success of the Dioecious Seagrass Enhalus acoroides (L.f.) Royle in Li’an lagoon, China","authors":"Shuo Yu, Lijun Cui, Brigitta I. van Tussenbroek, Yunchao Wu, Fangchao Zhu, Juan Diego Gaitán-Espitía, Kai Jiang","doi":"10.1007/s12237-024-01399-8","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><i>Enhalus acoroides</i> (L.f.) Royle is a large and important foundation seagrass species in the tropical Indo-Pacific. The northern marginal populations in China have been declining over the last decades. The reproductive phenology and fruit set of this dioecious seagrass were investigated from June 2017 to February 2018 in two areas in Li’an lagoon, Hainan Island, China. We found that <i>E. acoroides</i> flowered year-round. However, the flowering intensity varied among seasons and was highest in the summer and lowest in the winter. The shoot sex ratio was male-biased, and the pollen-ovule ratio was approximately 10<sup>4</sup>: 1, based on the sex ratio and the number of male florets per inflorescence. Female and male plants flowered at the same time in this population. Despite the high reproductive investment in terms of flower formation observed throughout the year, the abundance of the mature fruits was low, possibly due to physical disturbance and cover by epiphyte and algae. This study provides insight into the reproductive ecology of <i>E. acoroides</i>, which will be useful for the future conservation of this threatened seagrass.\n</p>","PeriodicalId":11921,"journal":{"name":"Estuaries and Coasts","volume":"36 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3000,"publicationDate":"2024-07-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Estuaries and Coasts","FirstCategoryId":"93","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-024-01399-8","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Enhalus acoroides (L.f.) Royle is a large and important foundation seagrass species in the tropical Indo-Pacific. The northern marginal populations in China have been declining over the last decades. The reproductive phenology and fruit set of this dioecious seagrass were investigated from June 2017 to February 2018 in two areas in Li’an lagoon, Hainan Island, China. We found that E. acoroides flowered year-round. However, the flowering intensity varied among seasons and was highest in the summer and lowest in the winter. The shoot sex ratio was male-biased, and the pollen-ovule ratio was approximately 104: 1, based on the sex ratio and the number of male florets per inflorescence. Female and male plants flowered at the same time in this population. Despite the high reproductive investment in terms of flower formation observed throughout the year, the abundance of the mature fruits was low, possibly due to physical disturbance and cover by epiphyte and algae. This study provides insight into the reproductive ecology of E. acoroides, which will be useful for the future conservation of this threatened seagrass.
期刊介绍:
Estuaries and Coasts is the journal of the Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation (CERF). Begun in 1977 as Chesapeake Science, the journal has gradually expanded its scope and circulation. Today, the journal publishes scholarly manuscripts on estuarine and near coastal ecosystems at the interface between the land and the sea where there are tidal fluctuations or sea water is diluted by fresh water. The interface is broadly defined to include estuaries and nearshore coastal waters including lagoons, wetlands, tidal fresh water, shores and beaches, but not the continental shelf. The journal covers research on physical, chemical, geological or biological processes, as well as applications to management of estuaries and coasts. The journal publishes original research findings, reviews and perspectives, techniques, comments, and management applications. Estuaries and Coasts will consider properly carried out studies that present inconclusive findings or document a failed replication of previously published work. Submissions that are primarily descriptive, strongly place-based, or only report on development of models or new methods without detailing their applications fall outside the scope of the journal.