Abstract
Graphical AbstractEffects of the presence of the invasive macroalgae C. cylindracea in the seagrass meadow evidenced by substantial loss in below-ground biomass of C. nodosa and lowering of the redox transition depth in the sediment underlying the mixed settlement.
Highlights
Seagrasses are one of the most important habitat-forming species in Mediterranean coastal areas and play a key role in the preservation of marine biodiversity and carbon sequestration (Duarte et al, 2013; Samper-Villarreal et al, 2016)
Samplings were performed at three proximate sites; in the C. nodosa meadow invaded by the green macroalgae C. cylindracea, in the C. cylindracea settlement and in a non-vegetated area
Seawater for nutrients, chlorophyll a (Chl a), particulate matter (PM) concentration, and prokaryotic abundance (PA) analysis was collected with plastic bottles (10 L)
Summary
Seagrasses are one of the most important habitat-forming species in Mediterranean coastal areas and play a key role in the preservation of marine biodiversity and carbon sequestration (Duarte et al, 2013; Samper-Villarreal et al, 2016) They can be threatened by nutrient loading, warming, sediment runoff, physical disturbance, intense grazing, algal blooms, and invasion by non-indigenous species (Orth et al, 2006; Rasheed and Unsworth, 2011; Marín-Guirao et al, 2015, 2016; Nguyen et al, 2020). Invasive Caulerpa species can strongly compete with native species in temperate areas, leading to their decline and constituting monospecific beds (Piazzi et al, 2001) In seagrass habitats, this alga overgrows their rhizomes; interacting in both the below- and above-ground tissues, affecting nutrient acquisition and light availability (Ceccherelli et al, 2000). Numerous short-term studies relate the presence of Caulerpa to deterioration processes of seagrass meadows, by competitive displacement or by altering the sediment quality which becomes more suitable for the invasive macroalgae growth (De Villèle and Verlaque, 1995; Ceccherelli and Cinelli, 1997; Holmer et al, 2009)
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