Individual and population plasticity of the seagrass Zostera noltii along a vertical intertidal gradient

The seasonal plasticity of individual Zostera noltii architectural, reproductive and elemental content features, of plant epiphyte load and of meadow biomass–density relationships was investigated along a vertical intertidal gradient at Ria Formosa lagoon, southern Portugal. The vertical variability of the seagrass environment was evident in the sediment characteristics, which showed coarser grain size, less organic matter, lower N content and higher ammonium concentration in the low intertidal than in medium and high intertidal. A clear vertical differentiation in Z. noltii morphology was observed from longer and wider leaves, longer and wider internodes and shorter roots at low intertidal, to shorter and narrow leaves, shorter and narrower internodes and longer roots at high intertidal. The leaf size was negatively related to light availability and positively related to nutrient availability whereas the root size was negatively related to nutrient availability. The lower leaf N and P content found in low intertidal plants may reflect a dilution effect of the nutrients due to higher growth rates. Lower N content of low intertidal leaves supports previous findings that the nitrate reductase activity is lower in plants from this level. The higher epiphyte load observed in Z. noltii leaves of the low intertidal may be a consequence of the lower exposure period, but also of higher hydrodynamics that increase the availability of nutrients. No evidence of the influence of the intertidal level on the flowering shoot density was found. The cyclic temporal pattern of the biomass–density relationship was much wider at low and medium intertidal than at high intertidal. At low intertidal, the decline in shoot density during fall and winter was coincident with a biomass decrease and its increase in spring and summer coincided with the biomass increase. In medium and high intertidal, the biomass and density seasonal variations were decoupled. As a result, only at low intertidal there was a significant positive relationship between biomass and density. This suggests that Z. noltii population structure along the intertidal is regulated by different factors. Light is probably the most important factor regulating the population structure in the low intertidal, whereas desiccation is probably the main factor regulating the populations in upper intertidal. Zostera noltii showed a considerable plasticity at a physiological-, plant- and population-level along the intertidal zone, indicative of the species acclimation to the steep environmental gradient of this particular ecosystem.     

Seagrass landscape-scale changes in response to disturbance created by the dynamics of barrier-islands: A case study from Ria Formosa (Southern Portugal)

This study documents long-term changes of a Zostera noltii landscape induced by a natural cyclic event in a coastal lagoon. The barrier-islands forming this system are very dynamic with drifting movements controlling ecological patterns and processes occurring in this area. Changes in the areal extent of the Z. noltii meadows were assessed using historical aerial photographs from 1940, 1980, 1989, 1996 and 1998. Landscape indices such as total patch area (TA), mean patch size (MPS), number of patches (NP), mean shape coefficient of variation (CV) and landscape fractal dimension (D) were calculated for each year and related to an index of disturbance intensity. The spatial distribution of the Z. noltii meadows varied greatly during the studied period and changes observed were related to the disturbance created by the barrier-islands' spatial dynamics. After an artificial inlet relocation the Z. noltii area, number of patches, patch mean size and coefficient of variation decreased. The fractal dimension of the Z. noltii landscape increased by 50% showing that besides a decrease in total area, number of patches, and patch mean area, patch fragmentation was an important consequence of this anthropogenic disturbance.Seagrass natural distribution patterns changed in response to natural and human-induced activities. This study emphasizes the importance of the landscape approach and the historical perspective when studying seagrass changes and the importance of taking into consideration long-term changes in seagrass landscapes to avoid confusion between man-induced effects with natural cyclic events.     

Population dynamics of the seagrass Cymodocea nodosa in Ria Formosa lagoon following inlet artificial relocation

The population dynamics of the seagrass Cymodocea nodosa was investigated in three meadows differently affected by the artificial relocation of an inlet in the western sector of the Ria Formosa lagoon, southern Portugal. One meadow was subjected to increasing currents that caused erosion, another one was subjected to an initial episode of burial and a third meadow was undisturbed by the inlet opening. The hydrodynamic/sedimentary condition of meadows was assessed through comparative sediment analysis between the meadow and the adjacent unvegetated area.     

Fatty acid profiles indicate the habitat of mud snails Hydrobia ulvae within the same estuary: Mudflats vs. seagrass meadows

Mud snails Hydrobia ulvae occupy different habitats in complex estuarine ecosystems. In order to determine if fatty acid profiles displayed by mud snails can be used to identify the habitat that they occupy within the same estuary, fatty acids of H. ulvae from one mudflat and one seagrass meadow in the Ria de Aveiro (Portugal) were analyzed and compared to those displayed by microphytobenthos (MPB), the green leaves (epiphyte-free) of Zostera noltii, as well as those exhibited by the epiphytic community colonizing this seagrass. MPB and epiphytic diatom-dominated samples displayed characteristic fatty acids, such as 16:1n-7 and 20:5n-3, while 18:2n-6 and 18:3n-3 were the dominant fatty acids in the green leaves of Z. noltii. Significant differences between the fatty acid profiles of H. ulvae specimens sampled in the mudflat and the seagrass meadow could be identified, with those from the mudflat displaying higher levels of fatty acids known to be characteristic of MPB. This result points towards the well known existence of grazing activity on MPB by mud snails. The fatty acid profiles displayed by H. ulvae inhabiting the seagrass meadows show no evidence of direct bioaccumulation of the two most abundant polyunsaturated fatty acids of Z. noltii (18:2n-6 and 18:3n-3) in the mud snails, which probably indicates that either these compounds can be metabolized to produce energy, used as precursors for the synthesis of essential fatty acids, or that the snails do not consume seagrass leaves at all. Moreover, the fatty acid profiles of mud snails inhabiting the seagrass meadows revealed the existence of substantial inputs from microalgae, suggesting that the epiphytic community colonizing the leaves of Z. noltii displays an important role on the diet of these organisms. This assumption is supported by the high levels of 20:5n-3 and 22:6n-3 recorded in mud snails sampled from seagrass meadows. In conclusion, fatty acid analyses of H. ulvae can be successfully used to identify the habitat occupied by these organisms within the same estuary (e.g. mudflats and seagrass meadows) and reveal the existence of contrasting dietary regimes.     

Population dynamics and production of the seagrass Zostera noltii in colonizing versus established meadows

The dynamics of the seagrass Zostera noltii in established and colonizing meadows were assessed in Ria Formosa lagoon, Southern Portugal. Shoot weight, above:belowground biomass ratio, flowering shoot density, meadow production, and biomass–density relationships were investigated. Results indicate that the species population dynamics differ clearly in different development stages of the meadows. The overall mean of flowering shoot density was five times higher in the colonizing (83 flowering shoots m⁻²) than in the established meadow (16 flowering shoots m⁻²), revealing a greater contribution of sexual reproduction during the species colonization process. The temporal variation of the biomass–density relationship in the colonizing meadow showed a cyclic seasonal trajectory, a wider range of data, and a simultaneous peak of biomass and density, suggesting no space limitations constraining the internal packing of shoots during the growing season. In the established meadow, density peaked before biomass in agreement to the dominant role of the clonal architecture of seagrasses in the configuration of closed meadows, suggesting the occurrence of self-thinning and/or regulation of ramet formation. Slope of the biomass–density relationships was similar in the established and colonizing meadows, generally suggesting similar nutritional conditions, regardless of their muddy and sandy sediments. Plants of the colonizing meadow invest mainly on the belowground fraction (above:belowground biomass ratio <1), as meadow expansion is mainly controlled by the elongation of horizontal rhizomes. The annual total production (1163 g C m⁻² year⁻¹) and the biomass turnover (34.8 year⁻¹) were also higher in this meadow, corroborating the high investment of the species during the meadow expansion. The faster biomass turnover of the colonizing meadow implies a more limited capacity to accumulate biomass, indicating a greater exportation of organic carbon and nutrients to the coastal area. The different biomass turnover rates suggest different trophic and structural roles of Z. noltii communities in established and colonizing meadows.     

Elemental and stable isotope composition of Zostera noltii (Horneman) leaves during the early phases of decay in a temperate mesotidal lagoon

The aim of this study was to assess the changes in the elemental and stable isotope composition of Zostera noltii leaves during the early phases of decay. The litter biomass, the C, N and S elemental contents, the C:N ratios and the δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N and δ³⁴S values were monitored in a litterbag experiment for 60 days at Ria Formosa lagoon, southern Portugal in two different field conditions, permanently submerged in a salt marsh pond and at high intertidal. The elemental and stable isotope composition of both attached leaves and leaf wrack of Z. noltii was also determined. The overall decay rate of Z. noltii leaf material throughout the whole experimental period was k = 0.016 ± 0.001 d⁻¹. Even though the biomass loss of the Z. noltii leaves after 30 days was about 25% higher within the pond than at the high intertidal, at the end of the experiment there were no significant differences between sites. The decay of the C and N content was of the same magnitude and thus the C:N molar ratio did not vary significantly in the experiment. The elemental content of the leaf wrack was in the range of the element content of leaf litter after 30–60 days of incubation. Contrary to other vascular plants rich in lignin, which degrades slowly, and thus forces the decrease of the δ¹³C values during decay, the δ¹³C values of Z. noltii leaves did not vary significantly over time or between incubation sites. The δ¹⁵N values of leaves did not increase as has been reported for vascular plants with high C:N ratio. This suggests that during the early phase of the Z. noltii decomposition the community of decomposers relied mostly on the endogenous nitrogen of the plants, not needing to immobilize exogenous N. Stable isotope studies to assess the contribution of this species to the food web can rely on the natural δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N abundances of living tissues without any correction to account for decomposition. The analysis of the δ³⁴S values of Z. noltii detritus was not useful probably due to the contamination of the samples with pyrite, which has a depleted δ³⁴S signal.     

Reproduction of the eelgrass Zostera marina at the species southern distributional limit in the Eastern Atlantic

The plant reproductive effort, the seed germination rate and the seedling survival and development of Zostera marina (eelgrass) were assessed in four populations (Fuzeta, Culatra, Barrinha and Armona) at the species’ southern distribution limit in the Eastern Atlantic, the Ria Formosa lagoon. Germinated seeds were individually placed in Petri dishes with natural sandy sediments and kept in a culture chamber at the same temperature and salinity conditions as the natural environment. In addition, seeds from three different depths of Fuzeta population were cultivated in outdoor mesocosms. The populations of Fuzeta and Barrinha showed higher seed production and the seeds produced were heavier than the other populations. The germination of the seeds both in the laboratory and in the outdoor tanks began c. 8–12 weeks after the collection of the flowering shoots at a water temperature of 22 °C. The spontaneous germination in the laboratory (2.4–5.3%) and in the mesocosm experiment (5.6–8.9%) was low and from all the germinated seeds (n = 20) only three reached the seedling stage. The spontaneously germinated seeds from Fuzeta survived for a longer period than those from Barrinha, but only the germinated seeds of Barrinha reached the seedling stage (one‐leaf seedling stage). In outdoor tanks, higher seed germination and earlier seedling emergence (2 weeks after seeding) and survival (for 208 days) occurred for the seeds obtained from the shallow meadow. The reproductive effort of Z. marina populations of Ria Formosa showed that flowering shoots and seed traits are site‐specific. The low reproductive success indicated by the low germination and seedling survival suggests a bottleneck in the species’ reproductive cycle that may account for the scarce presence of the species in Ria Formosa lagoon. The high water temperatures of Ria Formosa in winter may partly explain this bottleneck. Increased temperatures due to climate change may reduce even further the sexual reproduction of Z. marina in its southern distributional limit in the Eastern Atlantic.     

Long term changes in Zostera meadows in the Berre lagoon (Provence, Mediterranean Sea)

The Berre lagoon (Provence, France), one of the largest Mediterranean brackish lagoons (155 km²), was occupied, at the turn of the 20th century, by extensive Zostera meadows (Zostera marina and probably Zostera noltii; perhaps over 6000 ha). Subsequently, the lagoon was disturbed by urban and industrial pollution and, from 1966, by the diversion of the Durance River. This resulted in a 10–49-fold and 8–31-fold increase of the freshwater and silt inputs, respectively. By means of digital analysis of aerial photographs for the years 1944, 1992, 1998 and 2004, coupled with ground truth for the last three dates, we mapped the Zostera meadows. The replacement of Z. marina by Z. noltii, the latter species being already dominant in the 1970s, was completed in 1990. In parallel to this substitution, the Zostera beds underwent a dramatic decline. Their depth limit, which was (6–9) m in the early 20th century, withdrew to 3.5, 3, 1 and less than 1 m by 1944, the 1970s, 1992 and 1998, respectively. Since 1998, Zostera must be considered as functionally extinct. The total surface area of Zostera meadows was of the order of 1.5 ha in 2004. In an attempt to alleviate disturbance, the input of freshwater and silt from the Durance River was significantly reduced from the early 1980s and 1990s respectively. Similarly, from the 1970s to the 1990s, urban and domestic pollution was drastically reduced. Despite these steps, Zostera meadows continued to shrink to near extinction. The lagoon has shifted from a system dominated by seagrass beds to a system with bare silt bottoms, which now occupy most of the lagoon. The reasons could be, in addition to continuing nutrient inputs, the resuspension of silt, no longer trapped under the seagrass canopy, during wind episodes, which are frequent in the area, and/or the release of nutrients from the bare silt habitat, which would constitute an indication of a possible hysteresis of the system. However, since 2000, the establishment of the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis, a drop in turbidity and a slight, inconspicuous progression of Z. noltii could be the harbinger of a reverse shift of the system.     

Long-term evolution (1988–2008) of Zostera spp. meadows in Arcachon Bay (Bay of Biscay)

The spatial variability of seagrass meadows in Arcachon Bay, was studied between 1988 and 2008 using a combination of mapping techniques based on aerial photographs for intertidal dwarf-grass (Zostera noltii) beds and acoustic sonar for permanently submerged eelgrass (Zostera marina) populations. The results show a severe decline over the period for both species, as well as an acceleration of the decline since 2005 for Z. noltii. The total surface regression over the studied period is estimated to be 22.8 km² for Z. noltii and 2.7 km² for Z. marina, which represent declines of 33 and 74% respectively.     

An acoustic method for the remote measurement of seagrass metrics

Seagrass meadows are ecosystems of great ecological and economical value and their monitoring is an important task within coastal environmental management. In this paper, an acoustic mapping technique is presented using a profiling sonar. The method has been applied to three different sites with meadows of Zostera marina, Zostera noltii and Posidonia oceanica respectively, with the aim to test the method’s applicability.     

Use of different intertidal habitats by faunal communities in a temperate coastal lagoon

The faunal communities of four intertidal habitats namely sand, mud, seagrass (Zostera noltii) and seagrass patches (mixSM) of a temperate coastal lagoon, Ria Formosa (southern Portugal), were sampled. A total of 47 species were taken in 428 bottomless drop sampler samples, with the highest number of species and the more commonly occurring species belonging to the Mollusca phylum. The dominance of these gastropod species underlines the importance of the grazing food chain in these habitats. Bittium reticulatum was the most abundant species, being especially abundant in the seagrass habitat. The most frequent and highest biomass species in the community was Carcinus maenas, a predator that makes use of the available resources and that is adapted to the highly variable intertidal environment. Pomatoschistus microps was the most abundant fish species, with highest densities in the mud habitat, which demonstrates an ability to occupy a low depth area. The seagrass habitat had the highest diversity, abundance and biomass, followed by the mixSM habitat and was different from all the others. Assemblages were highly influenced by the presence of vegetation, providing forage and refuge from predation. A well defined summer group was identified in all habitats. These results highlight the importance of seagrass beds and the idea that their decrease implies the decrease of lagoon production through the impoverishment of the trophic structure of the lagoon.     

Inorganic nitrogen uptake and related enzymatic activity in the seagrass Zostera noltii

The preferential inorganic nitrogen source for the seagrass Zostera noltii was investigated in plants from Ria Formosa, South Portugal. Rates of ammonium and nitrate uptake were determined at different concentrations of these nutrients (5, 25 and 50 μm ), supplied simultaneously (NH₄NO₃) or separately (KNO₃ and NH₄Cl). The activity of the enzymes nitrate reductase (NR) and glutamine synthetase (GS) was also assessed. The results showed that ammonium is the preferential inorganic nitrogen source for Z. noltii, but, in the absence of ammonium, the species also has a high nitrate uptake capacity. The simultaneous availability of both inorganic nitrogen forms enhanced the uptake rate of ammonium and decreased the uptake rate of nitrate compared to when only one of the nitrogen forms was supplied. The activity of both enzymes was much higher in the leaves than in the roots, highlighting the importance of the leaves as primary reducing sites in the nitrogen assimilation process.     

Nutrient retention in the sediments and the submerged aquatic vegetation of the coastal lagoon of the Ria de Aveiro,Portugal

A decrease in the areas covered by seagrasses within the Ria de Aveiro, Portugal, has been observed over the past five decades, resulting in a corresponding increase of the areas of uncovered sediment supporting the growth of sparse macroalgae populations only. Presently, several macroalgae (Ulva spp., Gracilaria sp.) and one seagrass species (Nanozostera noltii (Hornem.) Toml. & Posl.) comprise the submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) adapted to this shallow, high-energy environment, characterised by fast tidal currents and turbid waters and in which large areas of the bed are exposed during low tide. This study shows that there is a strong inter-relation between the SAV and the surface sediment in intertidal areas. The sediment covered by N. noltii was finer (median grain size 95 µm) and had a high percentage of organic matter (mean value 7.6%), compared with the sediment colonised by macroalgae (median grain size 239 µm; mean organic content 3.2%). The concentrations of both total nitrogen and phosphorous were significantly greater (P < 0.001) in surface sediments covered by N. noltii. Thus, sediments within N. noltii appear to act as a large reservoir of N and P by accumulating greater concentrations of fine sediment particles (silt and clay) and organic matter when compared with the coarser sediment covered with macroalgae only. Hence, the reduction in the area covered by seagrasses will likely result in a gradual loss of nutrients and fine sediment from the Ria de Aveiro channels.     

Three main stressors acting on the Ria Formosa lagoonal system (Southern Portugal): Physical stress, organic matter pollution and the land–ocean gradient

During the last 15 years of the 20th century, several researchers carried out extensive sampling of benthic macrofauna communities in the Ria Formosa lagoon. The main objective of this paper is to discern the main communities of benthic fauna of the Ria Formosa and the leading stressors that limit them based on this large data set.The high species richness and high diversity values observed at most of the stations or groups of stations indicate a good ecological status, with the exception of the sewage-impacted areas and the physically stressed areas. It was possible to define three main stressors acting on the Ria Formosa. The most important is the physical stress imposed by the limited water renewal in some areas of the Ria Formosa. The second is the nutrient and organic matter pollution that is limited to the vicinity of the sewage outfall stations and to some locations of the Ria Formosa. This is due to the dual effects of the low residence time of water, but also due to a degradation of water quality in places of relatively restricted water circulation but with high primary production, symptoms of eutrophication. The third stressor is the natural land–ocean gradient, denoting the influence of seawater exchanges and emersion time, attenuated by the high water exchange rates of Ria Formosa.It was possible to differentiate the anthropogenic stress from the natural physical stress through the application of multivariate analysis. However, both structural (species richness and diversity indices) and functional indicators (trophic composition) indicate the same trend – low species richness, low diversity indices, and a community dominated by detritivores species at the locations characterized by high anthropogenic impact or by physical stress. The physically stressed areas were dominated by chironomid larvae and hydrobiid gastropods and the most polluted areas were dominated by oligochaetes, mainly tubificids.     

Seagrass colonization: Knock-on effects on zoobenthic community,populations and individual health

This study provided evidence that Zostera noltii presence affects macrofauna community structure independently from median sediment grain-size and that the notion of ecosystem health is rather subjective: in the present case, we recorded “good health” in terms of seagrass development, “no impact” in terms of macrobenthic biotic indices and “negative effect” for a given key-population. The occurrence and development of a Z. noltii seagrass bed was surveyed at Banc d’Arguin, Arcachon Bay (France), to estimate the modification of the macrozoobenthic community and of the dynamics of a key-population for the local ecosystem, – the cockle Cerastoderma edule. Even though median grain-size of the sediment decreased only at the very end of the survey, i.e. when seagrass totally invaded the area, most of the macrofauna community characteristics (such as abundance and biomass) increased as soon as Z. noltii patches appeared. The structure of the macrofauna community also immediately diverged between sand and seagrass habitats, without however modifying the tested biotic indices (BENTIX, BOPA, AMBI). The health of the cockle population (growth, abundance, recruitment) was impacted by seagrass development. Related parasite communities slowly diverged between habitats, with more parasites in the cockles from seagrass areas. However, the number of parasites per cockle was always insufficient to alter cockle fitness.     

Home range,residency and movements of Diplodus sargus and Diplodus vulgaris in a coastal lagoon: Connectivity between nursery and adult habitats

Acoustic telemetry and standard tag-recapture were used to determine the home range and residency of juveniles and sub-adults of Diplodus sargus and Diplodus vulgaris in the Ria Formosa (Portugal) coastal lagoon. Maximum time between recaptures for the standard tag-recapture method was 128 days for D. sargus and 30 days for D. vulgaris. The majority of the fish were recaptured in the vicinity of the tagging location. Fish tagged with acoustic transmitters had a maximum period of time between first and last detections of 62 days for D. sargus and 260 days for D. vulgaris. Minimum convex polygons areas ranged between 148?024 m² and 525?930 m² for D. sargus and between 23?786 m² and 42?134 m² for D. vulgaris. Both species presented a high residency index between first and last detections. Two D. sargus tagged with acoustic tags were recaptured by fishermen outside the coastal lagoon at distances of 12 km and 90 km from the tagging position, providing evidence that this species leaves the Ria Formosa during the winter time for the adjacent coastal waters. The results of this study reinforce the importance of Ria Formosa as a nursery for D. sargus and D. vulgaris in the south coast of Portugal.     

Negative effects of blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) presence in eelgrass (Zostera marina) beds in Flensborg fjord,Denmark

The effect of blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) presence in eelgrass (Zostera marina) beds was studied from June 2004 to July 2005 in Flensborg fjord, Denmark. The field experiments were conducted at two stations, one with only Z. marina (Eelgrass station) present and one where M. edulis were present in the Z. marina beds (Mixed station). Zostera marina parameters were measured (growth of leaves, shoot density, leaf length, and nutrient content) in combination with epiphyte cover and sediment parameters (sulphate reduction rates, sediment nutrient fluxes, organic content, C, N and P content) to examine possible positive and negative effects of the mussels on eelgrass performance. The fluxes of ammonium from the sediments were stimulated at all sampling dates at the Mixed station, and possibly stimulated epiphyte growth at this station. Further ¹⁵N signals in epiphytes from the Mixed station suggested that excretion products from the mussels were important nitrogen sources at this station. Sulphate reduction rates were enhanced at the Mixed station and also sediment sulphide concentrations increased under mussel influence, which may have resulted in sulphide toxicity and decreased growth of Z. marina at this station. The study indicates that for Z. marina beds in Flensborg Fjord the effects of M. edulis in seagrass beds are primarily negative, and raises the question whether this leads to negative effects on the stability and expansion of Z. marina beds.     

Mudflat surface morphology as a structuring agent of algae and associated macroepifauna communities: A case study in the Ria Formosa

Although mudflats seem relatively planar, closer inspection reveals a succession of meso-topographical features, including consecutive convex and concave meso- and micro-topographical features. The objective of this study was to determine the influence of meso-scale surface sediment morphology on the dynamics of the macroalgae Ulvales (Chlorophyta) and associated macroepifauna in the Ria Formosa tidal lagoon (southern coast of Portugal). Four sites in the Ria Formosa were sampled monthly. Two were located on convex sections (mounds) of the mudflat and the other two on concave sections (depressions). Macroalgae and related macroepifauna were sampled at each station. Biomass was quantified by determination of the ash-free dry weight (AFDW). Data were analysed using the software package ‘PRIMER’ (Plymouth Routines In Multivariate Ecological Research). Results show a clear distinction between convex and concave areas. In convex sections, Enteromorpha dominated, to the point of being the only algal species present during part of the year. Conversely, biomass and dynamics of Enteromorpha and Ulva were almost the same in concave sections. The associated macroepifauna was also different in protruding or depressed sections of the mudflat. In the convex areas, the macroepifauna population showed less diversity and was dominated by the snail Hydrobia ulvae. In concave areas, the species diversity was larger, but dominated in terms of biomass by the amphipod Melita palmata and the gastropod Nassarius pfeifferi. Results of the study indicate that the benthic communities associated with concave or convex features were different. No relevant differences in texture and sediment physico-chemical characteristics were found between convex and concave sections. The inference is that the morphological nature of the bottom in tidal mudflats can act as a structuring agent of benthic communities.     

In two waters: contemporary evolution of lagoonal and marine white seabream (Diplodus sargus) populations

Brackish water ecosystems are often exposed to wide variations in environmental variables, including temperature and salinity, which may cause strong selective pressures on organisms modifying the genetic patterns of species. The aim of this work was to test whether there is a ‘divergence-with-gene flow’ in coastal lagoon populations of white seabream (Diplodus sargus) (Ria Formosa, S Portugal and Mar Menor, SE Spain) respect to four marine populations, by using partial sequences of cyt b mitochondrial gene and information from nine microsatellite loci. Genetic diversity was highest in both coastal lagoons (Mar Menor and Ria Formosa) considering mitochondrial and nuclear markers. Although some of F_ST population pairwise comparisons were not significant, analyses of molecular variance (AMOVAs) detected differences between groups (coastal lagoon and marine) close to significance. Also, only two haplotypes (Cytb-17 and Cytb-18) were detected in both coastal lagoon sampling sites and these localities (Mar Menor and Ria Formosa) showed the highest number of singletons, some of them with a high number of mutations, as has been already described for other Mar Menor populations (Pomatochistus marmoratus and Holothuria polii). Also, several tests detected significant positive and balancing selection considering mtDNA and microsatellite data. These data support the hypothesis of selection as one of the drivers of the genetic differences found between coastal lagoon and marine populations. The life strategy adopted by Diplodus sargus in coastal lagoons allows it to decrease its mortality rate and improve the heritability of its genes. Also, the increase time spent in coastal lagoons with different temperatures and salinities favours the fitness selection and the maintenance of exclusive haplotypes and genotypes in coastal lagoon inhabitants favouring the ‘divergence-with-gene-flow’.