Long distance biotic dispersal of tropical seagrass seeds by marine mega-herbivores

Abstract Terrestrial plants use an array of animals as vectors for dispersal, however little is known of biotic dispersal of marine angiosperms such as seagrasses. Our study in the Great Barrier Reef confirms for the first time that dugongs (Dugong dugon) and green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) assis...

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Autores principales:	Samantha J. Tol, Jessie C. Jarvis, Paul H. York, Alana Grech, Bradley C. Congdon, Robert G. Coles
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2017
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/f170d5ebdbbe49c08491cb680aa90d44
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:f170d5ebdbbe49c08491cb680aa90d442021-12-02T15:05:47ZLong distance biotic dispersal of tropical seagrass seeds by marine mega-herbivores10.1038/s41598-017-04421-12045-2322https://doaj.org/article/f170d5ebdbbe49c08491cb680aa90d442017-06-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-04421-1https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract Terrestrial plants use an array of animals as vectors for dispersal, however little is known of biotic dispersal of marine angiosperms such as seagrasses. Our study in the Great Barrier Reef confirms for the first time that dugongs (Dugong dugon) and green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) assist seagrass dispersal. We demonstrate that these marine mega-herbivores consume and pass in faecal matter viable seeds for at least three seagrass species (Zostera muelleri, Halodule uninervis and Halophila decipiens). One to two seagrass seeds per g DW of faecal matter were found during the peak of the seagrass reproductive season (September to December), with viability on excretion of 9.13% ± 4.61% (SE). Using population estimates for these mega-herbivores, and data on digestion time (hrs), average daily movement (km h) and numbers of viable seagrass seeds excreted (per g DW), we calculated potential seagrass seed dispersal distances. Dugongs and green sea turtle populations within this region can disperse >500,000 viable seagrass seeds daily, with a maximum dispersal distance of approximately 650 km. Biotic dispersal of tropical seagrass seeds by dugongs and green sea turtles provides a large-scale mechanism that enhances connectivity among seagrass meadows, and aids in resilience and recovery of these coastal habitats.Samantha J. TolJessie C. JarvisPaul H. YorkAlana GrechBradley C. CongdonRobert G. ColesNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 7, Iss 1, Pp 1-8 (2017)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Samantha J. Tol Jessie C. Jarvis Paul H. York Alana Grech Bradley C. Congdon Robert G. Coles Long distance biotic dispersal of tropical seagrass seeds by marine mega-herbivores
description	Abstract Terrestrial plants use an array of animals as vectors for dispersal, however little is known of biotic dispersal of marine angiosperms such as seagrasses. Our study in the Great Barrier Reef confirms for the first time that dugongs (Dugong dugon) and green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) assist seagrass dispersal. We demonstrate that these marine mega-herbivores consume and pass in faecal matter viable seeds for at least three seagrass species (Zostera muelleri, Halodule uninervis and Halophila decipiens). One to two seagrass seeds per g DW of faecal matter were found during the peak of the seagrass reproductive season (September to December), with viability on excretion of 9.13% ± 4.61% (SE). Using population estimates for these mega-herbivores, and data on digestion time (hrs), average daily movement (km h) and numbers of viable seagrass seeds excreted (per g DW), we calculated potential seagrass seed dispersal distances. Dugongs and green sea turtle populations within this region can disperse >500,000 viable seagrass seeds daily, with a maximum dispersal distance of approximately 650 km. Biotic dispersal of tropical seagrass seeds by dugongs and green sea turtles provides a large-scale mechanism that enhances connectivity among seagrass meadows, and aids in resilience and recovery of these coastal habitats.
format	article
author	Samantha J. Tol Jessie C. Jarvis Paul H. York Alana Grech Bradley C. Congdon Robert G. Coles
author_facet	Samantha J. Tol Jessie C. Jarvis Paul H. York Alana Grech Bradley C. Congdon Robert G. Coles
author_sort	Samantha J. Tol
title	Long distance biotic dispersal of tropical seagrass seeds by marine mega-herbivores
title_short	Long distance biotic dispersal of tropical seagrass seeds by marine mega-herbivores
title_full	Long distance biotic dispersal of tropical seagrass seeds by marine mega-herbivores
title_fullStr	Long distance biotic dispersal of tropical seagrass seeds by marine mega-herbivores
title_full_unstemmed	Long distance biotic dispersal of tropical seagrass seeds by marine mega-herbivores
title_sort	long distance biotic dispersal of tropical seagrass seeds by marine mega-herbivores
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2017
url	https://doaj.org/article/f170d5ebdbbe49c08491cb680aa90d44
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Long distance biotic dispersal of tropical seagrass seeds by marine mega-herbivores

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