Restoration of Cymodocea nodosa seagrass meadows through seed propagation: germination in vitro, seedling culture and field transplants

Abstract

Cymodocea nodosa, a marine angiosperm, an ecosystem engineer in the Mediterranean Sea and the Northwest Atlantic Ocean; however, as in other seagrasses meadows worldwide, the swards are actually declining due to increasing human pressures. Hence, we have developed an effective propagation methodology that provides C. nodosa seedlings for seagrass meadow restoration and conservation. This method consists of: i) germination of wild-collected seeds under hyposaline conditions, ii) acclimation of germinated seedling in tanks (1.6 m 3) until there are two shoots per seedling (;30 days), and iii) transplantation of acclimated seedlings to the field in dense groups. Our field outplants withstood herbivore activity and physical disturbance during the winter season, and propagated vegetatively, resulting in the spread and establishment of a new patch that has persisted for nine months.

Large-Scale Prediction of Seagrass Distribution Integrating Landscape Metrics and Environmental Factors: The Case of Cymodocea nodosa (Mediterranean–Atlantic)

“…The Red Sea was excluded from the study area as this species, unlike others of its genus, has neither been found there previously (see Alberto et al 2008) nor have there been any reports of recent colonization through the Suez Canal. From this geographic extent, we selected those cells ranging from 0 to 35 m depth, the known habitat for C. nodosa (Zarranz et al 2010).…”

Nursery‐propagated plants from seed: a novel tool to improve the effectiveness and sustainability of seagrass restoration

“…Attempts to restore meadows by transplantation have occurred recently (Zarranz et al . ). In a long‐term production experiment, we evaluated the production of plants (mother plants) which can be generated from seeds, and in two propagation experiments, we tested whether further propagation and regeneration of new plants (stock plants) are possible by cutting fragments from mother plants.…”

“…However, this practice has recently received substantial criticism, contending that the removal of a large amount of plant material may damage donor populations, thereby counteracting the desired effects of the restoration action (Duarte 2002;Balestri, Vallerini & Lardicci 2011). A growing number of studies indicate that the use of sexual material (seeds and seedlings) represents an effective and more ecologically sustainable alternative method for restoration, providing the opportunity for preserving genetic variability in restored populations while reducing the impact on donor meadows (Balestri, Piazzi & Cinelli 1998;Seddon 2004;Orth et al 2006a;Marion & Orth 2010;Tanner & Parham 2010;Zarranz et al 2010;Orth et al 2012;Kendrick et al 2012;Reynolds et al 2012). However, seed availability and vulnerability of seedlings to environmental stresses during initial phases of establishment may limit the applicability of this approach on a large scale.…”

Effects of Sediment Fertilization and Burial on Cymodocea nodosa Transplants; Implications for Seagrass Restoration Under a Changing Climate

“…Specifically, we examined the performance and biomass allocation of Cymodocea nodosa (Ucria) Ascherson transplants either subjected to the application of fertilizer to sediments or left at ambient nutrient availability, and exposed to two burial regimes over their second growing season. This small relatively fast‐growing species was selected as a model because of growing interest in restoring damaged meadows (Zarranz et al ; Balestri & Lardicci ). As environmental conditions may vary within a meadow (Balestri et al ; Balestri ), the experiment was conducted in two sites of a north‐western Mediterranean meadow.…”