The Effects of Carbon Dioxide Fertilization on the Ecology of Tropical Seagrass Communities
Increasing atmospheric CO2 concentrations associated with climate change will likely influence a wide variety of ecosystems. Terrestrial research has examined the effects of increasing CO2 concentrations on the functionality of plant systems; with studies ranging in scale from the short-term respons...
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ftfloridaintuniv:oai:digitalcommons.fiu.edu:etd-1798 2023-05-15T17:51:45+02:00 The Effects of Carbon Dioxide Fertilization on the Ecology of Tropical Seagrass Communities Campbell, Justin E 2012-06-20T07:00:00Z application/pdf https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/693 https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1798&context=etd unknown FIU Digital Commons https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/693 https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1798&context=etd FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations climate change ocean acidification text 2012 ftfloridaintuniv 2023-01-23T21:12:14Z Increasing atmospheric CO2 concentrations associated with climate change will likely influence a wide variety of ecosystems. Terrestrial research has examined the effects of increasing CO2 concentrations on the functionality of plant systems; with studies ranging in scale from the short-term responses of individual leaves, to long-term ecological responses of complete forests. While terrestrial plants have received much attention, studies on the responses of marine plants (seagrasses) to increased CO2(aq) concentrations remain relatively sparse, with most research limited to small-scale, ex situ experimentation. Furthermore, few studies have attempted to address similarities between terrestrial and seagrass responses to increases in CO2(aq). The goals of this dissertation are to expand the scope of marine climate change research, and examine how the tropical seagrass, Thalassia testudinum responds to increasing CO2(aq) concentrations over multiple spatial and temporal scales. Manipulative laboratory and field experimentation reveal that, similar to terrestrial plants, seagrasses strongly respond to increases in CO2(aq) concentrations. Using a novel field technique, in situ field manipulations show that over short time scales, seagrasses respond to elevated CO2(aq) by increasing leaf photosynthetic rates and the production of soluble carbohydrates. Declines in leaf nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorus) content were additionally detected, paralleling responses from terrestrial systems. Over long time scales, seagrasses increase total above- and belowground biomass with elevated CO2(aq), suggesting that, similar to terrestrial research, pervasive increases in atmospheric and oceanic CO2(aq) concentrations stand to influence the productivity and functionality of these systems. Furthermore, field experiments reveal that seagrass epiphytes, which comprise an important component of seagrass ecosystems, additionally respond to increased CO2(aq) with strong declines in calcified taxa and increases in fleshy taxa. Together, ... Text Ocean acidification Florida International University: Digital Commons@FIU |
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climate change ocean acidification |
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climate change ocean acidification Campbell, Justin E The Effects of Carbon Dioxide Fertilization on the Ecology of Tropical Seagrass Communities |
topic_facet |
climate change ocean acidification |
description |
Increasing atmospheric CO2 concentrations associated with climate change will likely influence a wide variety of ecosystems. Terrestrial research has examined the effects of increasing CO2 concentrations on the functionality of plant systems; with studies ranging in scale from the short-term responses of individual leaves, to long-term ecological responses of complete forests. While terrestrial plants have received much attention, studies on the responses of marine plants (seagrasses) to increased CO2(aq) concentrations remain relatively sparse, with most research limited to small-scale, ex situ experimentation. Furthermore, few studies have attempted to address similarities between terrestrial and seagrass responses to increases in CO2(aq). The goals of this dissertation are to expand the scope of marine climate change research, and examine how the tropical seagrass, Thalassia testudinum responds to increasing CO2(aq) concentrations over multiple spatial and temporal scales. Manipulative laboratory and field experimentation reveal that, similar to terrestrial plants, seagrasses strongly respond to increases in CO2(aq) concentrations. Using a novel field technique, in situ field manipulations show that over short time scales, seagrasses respond to elevated CO2(aq) by increasing leaf photosynthetic rates and the production of soluble carbohydrates. Declines in leaf nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorus) content were additionally detected, paralleling responses from terrestrial systems. Over long time scales, seagrasses increase total above- and belowground biomass with elevated CO2(aq), suggesting that, similar to terrestrial research, pervasive increases in atmospheric and oceanic CO2(aq) concentrations stand to influence the productivity and functionality of these systems. Furthermore, field experiments reveal that seagrass epiphytes, which comprise an important component of seagrass ecosystems, additionally respond to increased CO2(aq) with strong declines in calcified taxa and increases in fleshy taxa. Together, ... |
format |
Text |
author |
Campbell, Justin E |
author_facet |
Campbell, Justin E |
author_sort |
Campbell, Justin E |
title |
The Effects of Carbon Dioxide Fertilization on the Ecology of Tropical Seagrass Communities |
title_short |
The Effects of Carbon Dioxide Fertilization on the Ecology of Tropical Seagrass Communities |
title_full |
The Effects of Carbon Dioxide Fertilization on the Ecology of Tropical Seagrass Communities |
title_fullStr |
The Effects of Carbon Dioxide Fertilization on the Ecology of Tropical Seagrass Communities |
title_full_unstemmed |
The Effects of Carbon Dioxide Fertilization on the Ecology of Tropical Seagrass Communities |
title_sort |
effects of carbon dioxide fertilization on the ecology of tropical seagrass communities |
publisher |
FIU Digital Commons |
publishDate |
2012 |
url |
https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/693 https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1798&context=etd |
genre |
Ocean acidification |
genre_facet |
Ocean acidification |
op_source |
FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations |
op_relation |
https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/693 https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1798&context=etd |
_version_ |
1766158989216710656 |