The influence of decreased salinity levels on the survival, growth and physiology of eelgrass Zostera marina.

Low salinity generally promotes the growth and propagation of temperate seagrasses, but the appropriate range is unclear. We subjected shoots of eelgrass Zostera marina to different salinity levels [10, 15, 20, 25, 30 PSU (control)] for 6 weeks under controlled laboratory conditions. We measured eelgrass responses in terms of survivorship, growth, productivity, leaf pigmentation and carbohydrate concentrations. Survival analysis combined with growth assessment suggested that the optimal salinity range for the propagation of Z. marina shoots was 18-21 PSU. Structural equation model (SEM) analysis indicated that the promotion effect of decreased salinity levels on the survival and growth of Z. marina shoots mainly depended on the increase in chlorophyll content and the accumulation and synthesis of nonstructural carbohydrates. The carotenoid content and soluble sugar content of the aboveground tissues of Z. marina shoots exposed to 20 PSU were 1.1 and 1.6 times higher than those of shoots under the control, respectively. The results will provide valuable data that could prove helpful in the development of efficient artificial propagation technology for Z. marina shoots.

• Publication year

  2022

• Venue

  Marine Environmental Research

• Publication date

  2022-10-01

• Fields of study

  Agricultural and Food Sciences, Medicine, Environmental Science

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1016/j.marenvres.2022.105787PMID 36368210
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

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