Spatio-temporal variability of nitrogen in leaves of Thalassia testudinum in the Mexican Caribbean
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37543/oceanides.v38i2.291Keywords:
Pasto de tortuga, Puerto Morelos, sargazo pelágico, arribazonesAbstract
Nitrogen is an essential and limiting nutrient for marine primary producers, under a delicate balance in oligotrophic environments i.e. Mexican Caribbean. The tourist and urban development of the Mexican Caribbean and now, the massive arrivals of pelagic sargassum, are identified as nitrogen sources that can alter the oligotrophic conditions of the reef lagoons of the Mexican Caribbean. The objective of the present work was to quantify the elemental nitrogen content in the leaves of turtle grass Thalassia testudinum under a scenario of diverse nitrogen sources to determine the possible contribution of these sources to turtle grass in the period from 1991 to 2019 in Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo. The average nitrogen content was 1.84±0.22% with a minimum of 1.71% and a maximum of 2.20%. This value was very similar to the range established for other coastal lagoons where this seagrass is present. In the period from 1991 to 2019, the leaves of T. testudinum showed no evidence of nitrogen enrichment, except for the period from 2014 to 2016, under a scenario of pelagic sargassum influx or intense grazing by sea turtles. Nitrogen content was within the nitrogen limit for growth, during the massive sargassum influx from 2018 to 2019, implying stress to the seagrass under a poor-quality marine environment.
Downloads
References
Camacho-Cruz, K. A., Ortiz-Hernández, M. C., Sánchez, A., Carrillo, L., & De Jesus Navarrete, A. (2020). Water quality in the eastern karst region of the Yucatan Peninsula: nutrients and stable nitrogen isotopes in turtle grass, Thalassia testudinum. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 27, 15967-15983. Doi: 10.1007/s11356-019-04757-3. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-04757-3
Chávez, V., Uribe-Martínez, A., Cuevas, E., Rodríguez-Martínez, R. E., Van Tussenbroek, B. I., Francisco, V., ... & Silva, R. (2020). Massive influx of pelagic Sargassum spp. on the coasts of the Mexican Caribbean 2014–2020: Challenges and opportunities. Water, 12(10), 2908. Doi: 10.3390/w12102908. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/w12102908
Carruthers, T. J. B., Van Tussenbroek, B. I., & Dennison, W. C. (2005). Influence of submarine springs and wastewater on nutrient dynamics of Caribbean seagrass meadows. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 64(2-3), 191-199. Doi 10.1016/j.ecss.2005.01.015. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2005.01.015
Coronado, C., Candela, J., Iglesias-Prieto, R., Sheinbaum, J., López, M., & Ocampo-Torres, F. J. (2007). On the circulation in the Puerto Morelos fringing reef lagoon. Coral Reefs, 26, 149-163. Doi:10.1007/s00338-006-0175-9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-006-0175-9
de Almeida, L. R., Ávila-Mosqueda, S. V., Silva, R., Mendoza, E., & van Tussenbroek, B. I. (2022). Mapping the structure of mixed seagrass meadows in the Mexican Caribbean. Frontiers in Marine Science, 9, 1063007. Doi:10.3389/fmars.2022.1063007 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.1063007
Duarte, C. M. (1990). Seagrass nutrient content. Marine ecology progress series. Oldendorf, 6(2), 201-207. Doi:10.3354/meps067201 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps067201
Fourqurean, J. W., Manuel, S., Coates, K. A., Kenworthy, W. J., & Smith, S. R. (2010). Effects of excluding sea turtle herbivores from a seagrass bed: overgrazing may have led to loss of seagrass meadows in Bermuda. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 419, 223-232. Doi:10.3354/meps08853 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps08853
Fourqurean, J. W., Manuel, S. A., Coates, K. A., Kenworthy, W. J., & Boyer, J. N. (2015). Water quality, isoscapes and stoichioscapes of seagrasses indicate general P limitation and unique N cycling in shallow water benthos of Bermuda. Biogeosciences, 12(20), 6235-6249. Doi:10.5194/bg-12-6235-2015 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-6235-2015
Fourqurean, J. W., Campbell, J. E., Rhoades, O. K., Munson, C. J., Krause, J. R., Altieri, A. H., ... & Wilson, S. S. (2023). Seagrass Abundance Predicts Surficial Soil Organic Carbon Stocks Across the Range of Thalassia testudinum in the Western North Atlantic. Estuaries and Coasts, 46, 1280–1301. Doi:10.1007/s12237-023-01210-0 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-023-01210-0
Gallegos, M. E., Merino, M., Marbá, N., & Duarte, C. M. (1993). Biomass and dynamics of Thalassia testudinum in the Mexican Caribbean: elucidating rhizome growth. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 185-192. Doi:10.3354/meps095185 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps095185
González-De Zayas, R., Rossi, S., Hernández-Fernández, L., Velázquez-Ochoa, R., Soares, M., Merino-Ibarra, M., ... & Soto-Jiménez, M. F. (2020). Stable isotopes used to assess pollution impacts on coastal and marine ecosystems of Cuba and México. Regional Studies in Marine Science, 39, 101413. Doi:10.1016/j.rsma.2020.101413 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rsma.2020.101413
Guimarais, M., Zúñiga-Ríos, A., Cruz-Ramírez, C. J., Chávez, V., Odériz, I., van Tussenbroek, B. I., & Silva, R. (2021). The conservational state of coastal ecosystems on the mexican caribbean coast: Environmental guidelines for their management. Sustainability, 13(5), 2738. Doi:10.3390/su13052738 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su13052738
Lapointe, B. E. (1997). Nutrient thresholds for bottom‐up control of macroalgal blooms on coral reefs in Jamaica and southeast Florida. Limnology and Oceanography, 42(5part2), 1119-1131. Doi:10.4319/lo.1997.42.5_part_2.1119 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.1997.42.5_part_2.1119
Lee, K. S., & Dunton, K. H. (1999). Inorganic nitrogen acquisition in the seagrass Thalassia testudinum: Development of a whole‐plant nitrogen budget. Limnology and Oceanography, 44(5), 1204-1215. Doi:10.4319/lo.1999.44.5.1204 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.1999.44.5.1204
Martínez-López, I. G., van Den Akker, M., Walk, L., van Katwijk, M. M., van Der Heide, T., & van Tussenbroek, B. I. (2019). Nutrient availability induces community shifts in seagrass meadows grazed by turtles. PeerJ, 7, e7570. Doi:10.7717/peerj.7570 DOI: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.7570
McGlathery, K.J., 2008. Nitrogen cycling in seagrass meadows. In: Nitrogen Cycling in
the Marine Environment, 2nd edn. Elsevier Inc., Burlington, pp. 1037–1060.
Molina-Hernández, A. L., & van Tussenbroek, B. I. (2014). Patch dynamics and species shifts in seagrass communities under moderate and high grazing pressure by green sea turtles. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 517, 143-157. Doi:10.3354/meps11068 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps11068
Pérez-Gómez, J. A., García-Mendoza, E., Olivos-Ortiz, A., Paytan, A., Rebolledo-Vieyra, M., Delgado-Pech, B., & Almazán-Becerril, A. (2020). Indicators of nutrient enrichment in coastal ecosystems of the northern Mexican Caribbean. Ecological Indicators, 118, 106756. Doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2020.106756 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2020.106756
Rodríguez-Martínez, R. E., Jordán-Dahlgren, E., & Hu, C. (2022). Spatio-temporal variability of pelagic Sargassum landings on the northern Mexican Caribbean. Remote Sensing Applications: Society and Environment, 27, 100767. Doi:10.1016/j.rsase.2022.100767 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rsase.2022.100767
Sánchez, A., Ortiz-Hernández, M. C., Talavera-Sáenz, A., & Aguíñiga-García, S. (2013). Stable nitrogen isotopes in the turtle grass Thalassia testudinum from the Mexican Caribbean: Implications of anthropogenic development. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 135, 86-93. Doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2013.01.021 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2013.01.021
Sánchez, A., Anguas-Cabrera, D., Camacho-Cruz, K., Ortiz-Hernández, M. C., & Aguíñiga-García, S. (2020). Spatial and temporal variation of the δ15N in Thalassia testudinum in the Mexican Caribbean (2009–2017). Marine and Freshwater Research, 71(8), 905-912. Doi:10.1071/mf19105 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1071/MF19105
Sánchez, A., Gonzalez-Jones, P., Camacho-Cruz, K. A., Anguas-Cabrera, D., Ortiz-Hernández, M. C., & Rey-Villiers, N. (2023). Influence of pelagic Sargassum influxes on the δ15N in Thalassia testudinum of the Mexican Caribbean coastal ecosystem. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 192, 115091. Doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115091 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115091
Uribe-Martínez, A., Berriel-Bueno, D., Chávez, V., Cuevas, E., Almeida, K. L., Fontes, J. V., ... & Silva, R. (2022). Multiscale distribution patterns of pelagic rafts of sargasso (Sargassum spp.) in the Mexican Caribbean (2014–2020). Frontiers in Marine Science, 9, 920339. Doi:10.3389/fmars.2022.920339 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.920339
van Tussenbroek, B. I., Cortés, J., Collin, R., Fonseca, A. C., Gayle, P. M., Guzmán, H. M., ... & Weil, E. (2014). Caribbean-wide, long-term study of seagrass beds reveals local variations, shifts in community structure and occasional collapse. PloS one, 9(3), e90600. Doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0090600 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0090600
van Tussenbroek, B. I., Arana, H. A. H., Rodríguez-Martínez, R. E., Espinoza-Avalos, J., Canizales-Flores, H. M., González-Godoy, C. E., ... & Collado-Vides, L. (2017). Severe impacts of brown tides caused by Sargassum spp. on near-shore Caribbean seagrass communities. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 122(1-2), 272-281. Doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.06.057 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.06.057
Vázquez-Delfín, E., Freile-Pelegrín, Y., Salazar-Garibay, A., Serviere-Zaragoza, E., Méndez-Rodríguez, L. C., & Robledo, D. (2021). Species composition and chemical characterization of Sargassum influx at six different locations along the Mexican Caribbean coast. Science of the total Environment, 795, 148852. Doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148852 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148852
Velázquez-Ochoa, R., & Enríquez, S. (2023). Environmental degradation of the Mexican Caribbean reef lagoons. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 191, 114947. Doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.114947 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.114947
Viana, I. G., Saavedra‐Hortúa, D. A., Mtolera, M., & Teichberg, M. (2019). Different strategies of nitrogen acquisition in two tropical seagrasses under nitrogen enrichment. New Phytologist, 223(3), 1217-1229. Doi:10.1111/nph.15885 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.15885
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Alberto Sanchez Gonzalez, Ma. Concepción Ortiz-Hernández, Dilian Noemi Anguas- Cabrera, Joan Alberto Sánchez-Sánchez
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.