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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 60(10)

Can regional nutrient status be used to predict plant biomass, canopy structure and epiphyte biomass in the temperate seagrass Amphibolis antarctica?

Simon R. Bryars
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

South Australian Research and Development Institute (Aquatic Sciences), PO Box 120, Henley Beach, SA 5022, Australia. Present address: Department for Environment and Heritage, GPO Box 1047, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia. Email: bryars.simon@sa.gov.au

Marine and Freshwater Research 60(10) 1054-1067 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF08194
Submitted: 27 June 2008  Accepted: 30 March 2009   Published: 20 October 2009

Abstract

The seagrass Amphibolis antarctica is an important component of coastal soft-sediment ecosystems across southern Australia. Large-scale losses of A. antarctica at several locations have been linked to anthropogenic nutrient inputs. The present study comprised a field survey to test whether the spatial patterns of plant biomass, canopy structure and epiphyte biomass in A. antarctica could be predicted based on expectations related to nutrient status across two regions within Gulf St Vincent, South Australia. Specific predictions were that: (1) plant biomass, plant density, plant height, leaf cluster frequency and leaf frequency are all lower in the east (higher nutrient) region than in the west region; and (2) epiphyte biomass and epiphyte load are higher in the east than in the west. Regional nutrient status was a poor predictor of most of the parameters measured, with the opposite trends to those predicted often occurring. Plant biomass, canopy structure and epiphyte biomass appear to be a result of several site-specific factors that are not fully understood at this time. The results of the present study have significant implications for making generalised predictions and for monitoring A. antarctica on urbanised coasts, and will also be useful for informing ecological studies on plant–epiphyte and plant–animal interactions in A. antarctica ecosystems.

Additional keywords: epiphyte load, Gulf St Vincent, plant morphology, seagrass monitoring, South Australia.


Acknowledgements

The Natural Heritage Trust provided funding. Special thanks go to Dennis Gonzalez for processing most of the samples. Thanks also go to Mandee Theil, Jodi Lill, Greg Collings, Yvette Eglinton and Lisa Cousins for field and laboratory assistance. Thanks go to Mike Steer and Greg Collings for fruitful discussions about Amphibolis, sampling and analysis. Jason Tanner, Ib Svane, Greg Collings, two anonymous reviewers and the Editor of MFR provided many useful comments on draft versions of the manuscript. Seagrass was collected under a general exemption held by SARDI Aquatic Sciences.


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