Generation and analysis of expressed sequence tags from the salt-tolerant eelgrass species, Zostera marina

Zosteramarina, a monocotyledonous angiosperm, is one of themost important seagrass species. To investigate the salt-tolerancemechanismand discover salt-tolerant genes in Z. marina, a cDNA library was constructed. Single-pass sequencing of the 5' ends of 4 081 clones yielded 4 002 high quality expressed sequence tags (ESTs), which were assembled into 241 contigs and 1 673 singletons, representing 1 914 unigenes. The average length of the ESTs was 582 bp, with sizes ranging from100-1 500 bp. Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLASTX) analysis revealed that 1 664 unigenes had significant homology to known genes in the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) non-redundant (nr) database (E-value≤5-10). Among them, the twomost abundant genes encoded metallothionein (157 ESTs) and chlorophyll a/b-binding protein (38 ESTs), accounting for 7.1% and 1.7% of the total ESTs, respectively. Using Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), 1 462 unigeneswere assigned to 1 161 pathways (E-value≤5-10). A total of 938 unigenes were assigned Gene Ontology (GO) terms based on the GO hierarchy analysis, and InterProScan searches recognized 1 003 InterPro families. Three genes formetallothionein in Z. marina that belonged to Class II was identified. Results of this study will improve understanding of the molecular mechanisms of saline tolerance in Z.marina.     

Eelgrass beds and bare substrata – sparid and mugilid composition in contrasting littoral estuarine habitats

Seagrass beds serve as nursery grounds for many fish species and often play an important role in the juvenile stages of economically and recreationally important fishes. The eelgrass Zostera capensis is the dominant submerged macrophyte in permanently open South African estuaries and occupies large intertidal and subtidal areas within the Knysna system. The primary objective of this study was to compare the occurrence of sparids and mugilids in eelgrass and nearby bare sediment areas using sampling with seine nets. The hypothesis that was tested is that mugilids are dominant in unvegetated areas of the Knysna Estuary littoral whereas sparids predominate within eelgrass beds located in the same zone. The results indicate that the family Mugilidae is better represented at unvegetated sites when compared to members of the family Sparidae, with the exception of Lithognathus lithognathus, but that the dominant three sparids and dominant two mugilids were most abundant in sparse eelgrass beds that included both bare and vegetated areas within this habitat type. The main fish species responsible for the separation of fish assemblages associated with unvegetated sites versus those associated with vegetated areas were Rhabdosargus holubi, Liza dumerili, Liza richardsonii, Lithognathus lithognathus, Sarpa salpa and Diplodus capensis, with R. holubi, S. salpa and D. capensis being mainly attracted to eelgrass habitats and L. dumerili, L. richardsonii and L. lithognathus having a stronger affinity for bare areas. This finding confirms a previous estuarine study in the nearby Swartvlei lake littoral, which found that sparids dominated areas where aquatic macrophytes were extensive and that mugilids became more prevalent at those same sites when the macrophytes underwent complete senescence. The length-frequency distributions of some sparid and mugilid species differed considerably between eelgrass and bare sediment areas, whereas those of other species showed little or no difference between these two habitat types.     

潮滩冲淤扰动下外来与乡土红树植物幼苗稳定性差异

引种外来树种是我国各地在红树林修复实践中常用的措施。由于更容易在困难立林地存活, 外来树种被认为更具竞争优势。为弄清外来与乡土红树植物物种在困难立林地存活能力的差异及其原因, 本研究选取典型外来引种先锋树种拉关木(Laguncularia racemosa)与乡土先锋植物白骨壤(Avicennia marina)为研究对象, 通过控制实验探究潮滩冲淤扰动条件下幼苗稳定性差异及其形成机制。结果表明, 幼苗抗侵蚀能力与幼苗根冠比显著正相关, 泥沙淤积抑制幼苗根系生长, 而底床侵蚀则促进根系伸长。与白骨壤相比, 拉关木幼苗的主根更长, 根冠长度比更大, 更能抵抗底泥的侵蚀扰动, 且通过根系伸长以增强幼苗稳定性的能力也更强。拉关木幼苗比白骨壤更能适应潮滩冲淤扰动, 其竞争优势从幼苗阶段就已经建立。本研究结果可为红树林修复实践中树种和宜林地的选择提供参考, 亦可为评估外来红树物种入侵风险评价提供依据。     

Effects of temporal dynamics and vertical structure of the seagrass Zostera caulescens on distribution and recruitment of the epifaunal encrusting bryozoa Microporella trigonellata

Seagrass is an ephemeral habitat for epifaunal sessile invertebrates attaching on seagrass leaves, and spatial and temporal dynamics of seagrasses strongly affect the distribution of epifauna. Zostera caulescens Miki, a seagrass species endemic to Japan, provides a complex habitat for epifauna with two types of shoots: vegetative, less than 1 m tall, and flowering, 5–7 m tall. We conducted monthly field observations and a manipulative field experiment to investigate the effects of the seagrass vertical structure and its temporal variation on the distribution and recruitment of the encrusting bryozoan Microporella trigonellata. The density of M. trigonellata on the leaves of flowering shoots, located at the seagrass canopy, varied temporally, reaching maximum in summer and minimum in winter. In contrast, M. trigonellata density on the leaves of vegetative shoots near the sea floor was consistently low throughout the study period. Early recruit bryozoans also showed this temporal and vertical variation in density; thus spatial and temporal variation in recruitment determined the distribution of the whole colonies. The field experiment revealed that the recruitment rate of M. trigonellata was significantly higher at the higher position of the water column (3 m above the sea floor) than at the lower position (0.5 m) in June. However, the recruitment rate was higher at the lower position in October when most of the flowering shoots started falling down. The temporal change in bryozoan habitat selection is considered to be adaptive to maintain their population on the seagrass leaves that show complex temporal dynamics.     

Temporal dynamics of subtidal Zostera marina and intertidal Zostera japonica on the southern coast of Korea

The temporal dynamics of two seagrass species, Zostera marina and Z. japonica, were monitored monthly in Dadae Bay, Geoje Island, on the southern coast of Korea. Plant morphological characteristics, shoot density, biomass, leaf production, reproductive effort, and environmental characteristics were monitored from July 2001 to July 2002. Zostera japonica occurred in the intertidal zone and Z. marina occurred in the subtidal zone from 0.5 to 2.5 m below the mean low water level. Shoots and rhizomes were significantly larger in Z. marina than in Z. japonica, whereas the shoot density was greater in Z. japonica than in Z. marina. Despite differences in morphology and shoot density, biomass did not differ significantly between the species. Reproduction occurred from April to June in Z. marina and from May to July in Z. japonica. The proportion of reproductive shoots was approximately three times higher in Z. marina than in Z. japonica. Seasonal variation in the biomass of Z. japonica was caused by changes in both shoot size and density, whereas that of Z. marina was mainly caused by changes in shoot length. Leaf production in Z. marina and Z. japonica showed clear seasonal variation, and leaf production in Z. marina (2.6 ± 0.2 g DW·m⁻²·day⁻¹) was higher than that in Z. japonica (1.7 ± 0.2 g DW·m⁻²·day⁻¹). The mean plastochrone interval was not significantly different between the two species, whereas the leaf lifetime of Z. marina was longer (69 ± 7.8 days) than that of Z. japonica (59 ± 8.3 days). Our results indicated that seasonal leaf growth patterns in Z. japonica are correlated with irradiance and temperature, whereas those in Z. marina respond most to irradiance. Seasonal changes in irradiance appeared to control the temporal variation in above‐ground biomass in both species.     

厦门东屿白骨壤林土壤甲烷的产生量、氧化量、传输率与库量

测定了厦门东屿白骨壤（Avicennia marina）林土壤的甲烷产生量及其在土壤中的氧化、传输与库量．土壤甲烷产生量基本上呈内滩>中滩>外滩的滩面变化趋势，季节变化趋势为秋、冬季低于春、夏季，与甲烷氧化量的时空变化模式一致，与甲烷库量的时空变化模式也基本相同．所有季节所有滩面土壤甲烷产生量、氧化量、库量的平均值分别为9.11mg/(m     

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.     

盐胁迫下红树植物蛋白质的比较分析

采集白骨壤的种子分别置于盐度为0的自来水和盐度为50的海水中沙培 ,从叶片中抽提总蛋白质 ,同时进行双向电泳。比较发现3个蛋白质点SR1、SR2、SR3只在盐度为50的海水培养下稳定地出现 ,另1个蛋白质点SR4只在无盐条件下出现。初步认为这4种蛋白质与白骨壤的耐盐性相关。     

两种不同生境的白骨壤种群的遗传结构

本文研究了广西沙质土壤和淤泥质土壤白骨壤种群的遗传多样性和遗传分化。结果表明，不同生境的白骨壤种群维持着较高的遗传多样性，观察杂合度为0．350，预期杂合度为0．259。不同生境的白骨壤种群的遗传分化很低，种群间的遗传分化为FST＝0．062 ，表明总的遗传变异中有93．8％来自种群内。基因流顺畅，Nm=3.78。种群间的遗传一致度和遗传距离分别为0．955和0．046。     

Effects of current exposure on habitat preference of mobile 0-group epibenthos for intertidal seagrass beds (Zostera noltii) in the northern Wadden Sea

In the northern Wadden Sea, the extent of intertidal seagrass beds, their plant biomass and shoot density highly depends on local current regimes. This study deals with the role of intertidal Zostera noltii beds as nursery for mobile epibenthic macrofauna and the impact of seagrass bed characteristics on their abundance and distribution patterns. According to their exposure to the main tidal gullies, sampling sites were separated into exposed, semi-exposed and sheltered. Dominant species of crustaceans and demersal fish were studied in respect of their abundances within seagrass beds and adjacent unvegetated areas. Quantitative sampling was performed at day and night high tide using a portable drop trap. In general, species composition varied little between seagrass beds and bare sand. However, the presence of vegetation had a quantitative effect increasing individual numbers of common epifaunal species. Abundances of 0-group shore crabs (Carcinus maenas), common gobies (Pomatoschistus microps) and brown shrimps (Crangon crangon) were highest within sheltered seagrass beds. With decreasing plant density habitat preference of epibenthos changed on species level. By regulating the habitat complexity the currents regime is profoundly influencing the nursery function of intertidal seagrass beds in the Wadden Sea.