Phenology and ecology of the alien seagrass Halophila stipulacea in its northern range limit in the Mediterranean Sea

Genio, Selene Di; Gaglioti, Martina; Meneghesso, Claudia; Barbieri, Fábio S.; Cerrano, Carlo; Gambi, María Cristina

doi:10.1016/j.aquabot.2020.103304

Cited by 9 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 35 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The current westernmost distribution of H. stipulacea in the Mediterranean Sea was observed in the Palinuro harbour (Italy, 40.03 • N, 15.27 E • ) (Gambi et al, 2009(Gambi et al, , 2018Di Genio et al, 2020) in the central part of the Mediterranean basin, and the coast of Sousse (Tunisia, 35,9 • N, 10.6 E) (Sghaier et al, 2014) in the south (Supplementary Figure S1). However, the SDM built for H. stipulacea for the present climate scenario predicted a habitat suitability in further western areas, such as the Island of Corsica (France, 42.7 • N, 8.5 • E) (Figure 2A).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Projected Rapid Habitat Expansion of Tropical Seagrass Species in the Mediterranean Sea as Climate Change Progresses

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

During the last 150 years, the tropical seagrass species Halophila stipulacea has established itself in the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea. More recently (2018), Halophila decipiens was observed for the first time in the eastern Mediterranean, and was described as the second non-native seagrass species in the Mediterranean Sea. We implemented a species distribution model (SDM) approach to (1) hindcast the habitat suitability of H. stipulacea over the last 100 years in the Mediterranean basin, and (2) to model the increase in the potential habitat suitability of H. stipulacea and H. decipiens during the current century under two very different climate scenarios, RCP 2.6 (lowest carbon emission scenario) and RCP 8.5 (highest carbon emission scenario). In addition, a principal component analysis (PCA) and k -means cluster based on temperature and salinity drivers were applied to visualize the distance and relatedness between the native and invasive H. stipulacea and H. decipiens populations. Results from this PCA suggest that the H. stipulacea populations of the Mediterranean and Red Sea are likely to be similar. In contrast, H. decipiens from the Mediterranean is more related to the Atlantic populations rather than to the Red Sea populations. The hindcast model suggests that the expansion of H. stipulacea was related to the increases in seawater temperatures in the Mediterranean over the last 100 years. The SDMs predict that more suitable habitat will become available for both tropical species during this century. The habitat suitability for H. stipulacea will keep expanding westward and northward as the Mediterranean continues to become saltier and warmer. In comparison, the SDMs built for H. decipiens forecast a restricted habitat suitability in the south-eastern Mediterranean Sea at the present environmental conditions and predicts a progressive expansion with a potential increase in habitat suitability along 85% of the Mediterranean coastline. The predicted rapid expansion of non-native seagrass species could alter the Mediterranean’s seagrass community and may entail massive impacts on associated ecosystem functions and services, impacts that have severe socio-economic consequences.

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Projected Rapid Habitat Expansion of Tropical Seagrass Species in the Mediterranean Sea as Climate Change Progresses

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Faunal assemblages in H. stipulacea meadows are mainly characterized by species from the phyla Mollusca, Amphipoda, Decapoda, Polychaeta, Crustacea (Cancemi et al, 1994;Acunto et al, 1997) and a fish community dominated by sparids, labrids, and gobiids in which planktivorous species (common in other Mediterranean seagrasses) are absent (Di Martino et al, 2007). Di Genio et al (2021) found higher species richness of benthic fishes in H. stipulacea meadows than in the nearby dead matte of P. oceanica, however, it remains unclear if the fish abundance and species richness is similar in H. stipulacea and P. oceanica meadows. Finally, H. stipulacea may also drive populations shifts in species that utilize P. oceanica as a component of their diet (Tomas et al, 2005), although it has already been documented that the herbivorous fish Sarpa salpa, typically feeding on P. oceanica, grazes year-round on H. stipulacea leaves (Di Genio et al, 2021) and signs of grazing were recorded in more than half of all H. stipulacea leaves (Gambi et al, 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Di Genio et al (2021) found higher species richness of benthic fishes in H. stipulacea meadows than in the nearby dead matte of P. oceanica, however, it remains unclear if the fish abundance and species richness is similar in H. stipulacea and P. oceanica meadows. Finally, H. stipulacea may also drive populations shifts in species that utilize P. oceanica as a component of their diet (Tomas et al, 2005), although it has already been documented that the herbivorous fish Sarpa salpa, typically feeding on P. oceanica, grazes year-round on H. stipulacea leaves (Di Genio et al, 2021) and signs of grazing were recorded in more than half of all H. stipulacea leaves (Gambi et al, 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Warming Threatens to Propel the Expansion of the Exotic Seagrass Halophila stipulacea

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The spread of exotic species to new areas can be magnified when favored by future climatic conditions. Forecasting future ranges using species distribution models (SDMs) could be improved by considering physiological thresholds, because models solely based on occurrence data cannot account for plasticity due to acclimation of individuals to local conditions over their life-time or to adaptation due to selection within local populations. This is particularly relevant for the exotic seagrass Halophila stipulacea, which colonized the Mediterranean Sea a century ago and shifted its thermal niche, coping with a colder regime. Here, we used two hybrid models combining correlative SDMs with the thermal limits for growth of native and exotic H. stipulacea populations to predict the distribution of the species in its native (Indian Ocean and Red Sea) and exotic ranges (Mediterranean Sea and Caribbean Sea) under two scenarios forecasting limited (RCP 2.6) and severe (RCP 8.5) future climate changes by 2050 and 2100. Then, we assessed the differences between hybrid models based on native Red Sea thermal limits (niche conservatism: 17–36°C) and on exotic Mediterranean thermal limits (local adaptation: 14–36°C). At the Mediterranean exotic range, the local adaptation hybrid model accurately agreed with the present distribution of the species while the niche conservatism-based hybrid model failed to predict 87% of the current occurrences of the species. By contrast, both hybrid models predicted similar species distributions for the native range and exotic Caribbean range at present and projected that H. stipulacea will maintain its current worldwide under all future greenhouse gas emission scenarios. The hybrid model based on Mediterranean thermal limits projected the expansion of H. stipulacea through the western Mediterranean basin (except the gulf of Leon) under the most severe scenario (RCP 8.5) by 2100, increasing its distribution by 50% in the Mediterranean. The future expansion of H. stipulacea is related to its capacity to cope with warm waters and it may become a relevant species in the future, particularly under the projected decline of native Mediterranean seagrasses, resulting in important shifts in seagrass communities and overall ecosystem functions.

show abstract

“…The tropical seagrass Halophila stipulacea, a Lessepsian species, has been observed in the southern part of Mediterranean Sea since the opening of the Suez Canal. It has progressively settled northward and has been frequently observed in Ionan Sea since the 1990s, detected in Tyrrhenian Sea in 2006) (Di Genio et al, 2021), and is presently reaching northwestern Mediterranean (Winters et al, 2020;Di Genio et al, 2021;Thibaut et al, 2022). In Cannes harbor (NW Mediterranean Sea), H. stipulacea was probably introduced via big yachting coming by Suez Canal and are establishing stable population which could indicate that conditions are now more favorable for long-term population establishment (Thibaut et al, 2022).…”

Section: Shifts In the Export Of Seagrass Detritusmentioning

confidence: 98%

Tropicalization of seagrass macrophytodetritus accumulations and associated food webs

Lepoint

Hyndes

2022

Front. Mar. Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Seagrass, systems export significant amounts of their primary production as large detritus (i.e. macrophytodetritus). Accumulations of exported macrophytodetritus (AEM) are found in many areas in coastal environment. Dead seagrass leaves are often a dominant component of these accumulations, offering shelter and/or food to numerous organisms. AEM are particular habitats, different from donor habitats (i.e. seagrass meadow, kelp or macroalgae habitats) and with their own characteristics and dynamics. They have received less attention than donor habitats despite the fact they often connect different coastal habitats, are the place of intense remineralization processes and shelter associated detritus food web. As for seagrass meadows themselves, AEM are potentially affected by global change and by tropicalization processes. Here, we review briefly general characteristic of AEM with a focus on Mediterranean Sea and Western Australia and we provide some hypotheses concerning their tropicalization in a near future. We conclude that AEM functioning could change either through: (1) declines in biomass or loss of seagrass directly due to increased ocean temperatures or increased herbivory from tropicalized herbivores; (2) increased degradation and processing of seagrass detritus within seagrass meadows leading to reduced export; (3) replacement of large temperate seagrass species with smaller tropical seagrass species; and/or (4) loss or changes to macroalgae species in neighboring habitats that export detritus. These processes will alter the amount, composition, quality, timing and frequency of inputs of detritus into ecosystems that rely on AEM as trophic subsidies, which will alter the suitability of AEM as habitat and food for invertebrates.

show abstract

Phenology and ecology of the alien seagrass Halophila stipulacea in its northern range limit in the Mediterranean Sea

Cited by 9 publications

References 35 publications

Projected Rapid Habitat Expansion of Tropical Seagrass Species in the Mediterranean Sea as Climate Change Progresses

Projected Rapid Habitat Expansion of Tropical Seagrass Species in the Mediterranean Sea as Climate Change Progresses

Warming Threatens to Propel the Expansion of the Exotic Seagrass Halophila stipulacea

Tropicalization of seagrass macrophytodetritus accumulations and associated food webs

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About