Contribution of epiphyte load to light attenuation on seagrass leaves is small but critical in turbid waters
Yan Xiang Ow
A , Kai Jun Ng B , Samantha Lai B , Siti Maryam Yaakub C and Peter Todd B D
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A St John’s Island National Marine Laboratory, Tropical Marine Science Institute, National University of Singapore, 18 Kent Ridge Road, Singapore 119227, Republic of Singapore.
B Experimental Marine Ecology Laboratory, Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 14 Science Drive 4, Block S3, Level 2, Singapore 117543, Republic of Singapore.
C DHI Water & Environment (S) Pte Ltd, 2 Venture Drive, #18–18, Vision Exchange, Singapore 608526, Republic of Singapore.
D Corresponding author. Email: dbspat@nus.edu.sg
Marine and Freshwater Research 71(8) 929-934 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF19178
Submitted: 15 May 2019 Accepted: 21 May 2020 Published: 30 June 2020
Abstract
Quantifying contributors to light attenuation is useful for the management of seagrass meadows. Epiphytic growth on seagrasses can lead to diminished light for the host plant, impairing photosynthesis and growth. Here, we quantify the contributions of the water column and epiphytic load to light attenuation in a Cymodocea rotundata meadow at Chek Jawa, Singapore. Using a modified spectrometer and seagrass mimics (clear polyethene strips) colonised by epiphytes, we determined the relationship between light transmission (400–700 nm) and epiphyte load. Subsequently, we derived the percentage of surface light that reaches the leaf surface (PLL) over a range of epiphyte biomass and water-column light-attenuation coefficients (Kd). Results indicated that the relative contribution to light attenuation by epiphytic biomass was greater in clearer waters (Kd < 0.5) than in turbid waters. As Kd increases, the amount of epiphytic material required to reduce PLL to minimum light requirement (11%) decreases exponentially. At Chek Jawa, the average epiphytic load was 32 mg DW cm−2, which was close to the estimated amount (33 mg DW cm−2) required to reduce PLL to 11% at prevailing turbidity levels. Our findings suggest that high epiphyte load is benign in clear waters, but becomes critical in turbid waters.
Additional keywords: Cymodocea rotundata, epiphytes, seagrass-leaf mimic.
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