{"id":8006,"date":"2026-03-14T10:04:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-14T10:04:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/versicolor.ca\/barbados\/?page_id=8006"},"modified":"2026-03-14T15:41:30","modified_gmt":"2026-03-14T15:41:30","slug":"growth-productivity-restoration","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/versicolor.ca\/barbados\/obssg\/growth-productivity-restoration\/","title":{"rendered":"Seagrass Growth & Productivity, Dynamics, Restoration"},"content":{"rendered":"

NAVIGATION
\nThis page is a sub-page of ObsSG<\/strong><\/a>, a top-level page on
\nthe website Barbados Fringing Reefs and Seagrass Beds<\/strong><\/a>
\n(www.versicolor.ca\/barbados).
\nGo to ObsSG<\/strong><\/a> for a list of other subpages in this section
\nof the website.<\/small><\/p>\n

\n

DRAFTING…<\/em><\/p>\n

Losses of seagrass beds throughout the tropical Atlantic are ongoing and, as for coral reefs, increasing attention is being given to restoration efforts. For seagrasses, those rely on an understanding of the growth, production and population dynamics of the seagrasses. They may also require construction of protective structures such as artificial reefs.<\/em><\/p>\n

Growth & Productivity – Barbados based research<\/strong><\/p>\n

– The origin of nitrogen and phosphorus for growth of the marine angiosperm\u00a0Thalassia testudinum<\/em><\/a><\/strong>
\nPatriquin, D.G. 1972. Marine Biology 15: 35-46.\u00a0 PDF<\/a> “How are high rates of production by Thalassia testudinum K\u00f6nig maintained in notably nutrient-poor tropical waters? Yield-nutrient supply correlations indicate that a singnificant proportion of the phosphorus, and virtually all nitrogen for leaf growth are taken-up from the sediments, and that growth is generally limited by availability of nitrogen. Considerations of supply and demand suggest that the sediments could not be a primary source of phosphate, but the sediments may act as a \u201cstorage bank\u201d for phosphate taken up from the sea water by T. testudinum. It is believed that inorganic nitrogen in the root layer is derived from fixation of gaseous nitrogen by anaerobic bacteria. Maintenance of anaerobic conditions in the root layer appears to be essential for good growth of T. testudinum, and it is suggested that such conditions facilitate nitrogen fixation.”<\/small><\/p>\n

– Nitrogen fixation in the rhizosphere of marine angiosperms<\/a><\/strong>
\nPatriquin, D.G. and R. Knowles. 1972. Marine Biology 16: 49-58.“High rates of acetylene reduction were observed in systems containing excised rhizomes of the Caribbean marine angiosperms Thalassia testudinum, Syringodium filiforme and Diplanthera wrightii, and the temperate marine angiosperm Zostera marina. For 4 plant and plant-sediment systems the ratio of acetylene reduced\/N2 fixed varied from 2.6 to 4.6. For T. testudinum the estimated rates of nitrogen fixation are in agreement with estimated requirements of the plant for nitrogen.”<\/small><\/p>\n

– Estimation of growth rate, production and age of the marine angiosperm Thalassia testudinum<\/em> K\u00f6nig<\/a><\/strong>
\nDavid G Patriquin, 1973. Caribbean Journal of Science<\/em> 13: 111\u2212123 “There is a linear relation between average growth rate and the average maximum leaf length of Thalassia stands. The ratio production-to-standing crop (wet weight including epiphytes) tends to be constant. New foliage leaves are developed at intervals of about 15 days, and by counting of leaf scars, the age, growth rate and production of underground parts can be estimated.”<\/small><\/p>\n

– Effects of shoot age on leaf growth in the seagrass Thalassia testudinum<\/em> in Barbados<\/strong><\/a>
\nLA Vermeer & Wayne Hunte 2008. Aquatic Biology 2(2):153-160 “: Effects of shoot age on leaf growth variables of Thalassia testudinum were investigated in St. Lawrence Bay, Barbados…Results from 2 previous studies and the results of the present study suggest that shoot age effects on leaf growth variables may be common in seagrasses, and that shoot age may have been largely overlooked as a component of the spatial and temporal variation in leaf growth typically observed in seagrasses.”<\/small><\/p>\n

Growth & Productivity – some key papers<\/strong><\/p>\n

– Review of nitrogen and phosphorus metabolism in seagrasses<\/strong><\/a>
\nBrant W Touchette, JoAnn M Burkholder, 2000. In Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology<\/em>. PDF<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0Seagrass Dynamics\u00a0<\/strong>– some key papers<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2013 Dynamics of Seagrass Stability and Change<\/strong><\/a>
\nby Duarte, C.M., Fourqurean, J.W., Krause-Jensen, D., Olesen, B. (2007).
\nIn Seagrasses: Biology, Ecology and Conservation<\/a>, edited by Anthony W.D. Larkum, Robert J. Orth and Carlos M. Duarte. Springer
\nDuarte et al., describe how one can predict seagrass population dynamics using shoot demography and apply the techniques to understand\/predicting seagrass patch and gap dynamics. The technique rests on the determination of the \u201cPlastochrone Interval\u201d\u00a0\u201cIt is possible to estimate the age of individual shoots of most seagrass species because there is a relatively constant rate of production of new leaves on a shoot, called the plastochron interval. Each leaf leaves a distinctive scar on the short shoot at the node, so it is possible to count the number of leaves produced over the lifespan of an excavated shoot and multiply this number of leaves by the plastochron interval to estimate the age of the shoot (Patriquin, 1973; Duarte et al., 1994). Once recruited into the population, shoots of different species have different average lifespans.\u201d<\/small><\/p>\n

\u2013 Reconstruction of seagrass dynamics: age determinations and associated tools for the seagrass ecologist<\/a><\/strong>, Carlos M. Duarte et al., 1994. in Marine Ecology Progress Series. “….Techniques based on age determinations have been used since, alone or in combination with standard marking techniques, to reconstruct different aspects of seagrass ecology.”<\/small><\/p>\n

– The green macroalga Caulerpa prolifera<\/em> replaces seagrass in a nitrogen enriched, phosphorus limited, urbanized estuary<\/strong><\/a>
\nRachel A. Brewton, Brian E. Lapointe 2023 in Ecological Indicators<\/em><\/p>\n

Seagrass Restoration<\/strong><\/p>\n

– A successful method to restore seagrass habitats in coastal areas affected by consecutive natural events<\/strong><\/a>
\nClaudia Patricia Ruiz-Diaz et al., 2024 in PeerJ 12:e16700 DOI 10.7717\/peerj.16700
\nThe article provides a concise overview of the state of seagrass restoration efforts in the Tropical Atlantic as well as the methods and results of recent restoartion efforts in Puerto Rico.<\/p>\n

– Seagrass production around artificial reefs is resistant to human stressors<\/strong><\/a>
\nby Mona A. Andskog et al. 2023 in Royal Society Proceeedings Biological Sciences 290 (2003): 20230803. Also view related post: Seagrass production around artificial reefs is resistant to human stressors<\/a> On www.projectseagrass.org\/ Juky 27, 2003. ” Artificial reefs might help to restore the ocean\u2019s ability to fight against climate change. The reefs boost the productivity of seagrass meadows by attracting fish, which can improve the ability of these habitats to lock up more carbon dioxide beneath the waves. Breeze blocks placed in one of the ocean\u2019s most endangered habitats provide an unexpected lift for fish. Seagrass meadows are found across the world, reaching from the tropics up into the lower reaches of the Arctic circle. They are incredibly valuable habitats, providing a nursery for young fish as well as sucking vast quantities of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. However, with an area of seagrass the size of a football pitch being lost every 30 minutes, it\u2019s more important than ever to find out how to turn things around. A new study in the Caribbean has shown that artificial reefs can help to bolster their growth in the tropics, even as threats such as fishing and nutrient pollution continue. Dr Jacob Allgeier, a co-author of the paper, says, \u2018By attracting fish, whose faeces provide concentrated nutrients for the seagrass, the artificial reefs increase the primary production of the entire ecosystem.\u2019 \u2018We are now investigating how this cascades up the food web. The new energy has to go somewhere, so we are quantifying how it affects invertebrates and fish with our evidence suggesting that it is fuelling increases in both.\u2019<\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NAVIGATION This page is a sub-page of ObsSG, a top-level page on the website Barbados Fringing Reefs and Seagrass Beds (www.versicolor.ca\/barbados). Go to ObsSG for a list of other subpages in this section of the website. DRAFTING… Losses of seagrass … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":5266,"menu_order":170,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-8006","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/versicolor.ca\/barbados\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8006","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/versicolor.ca\/barbados\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/versicolor.ca\/barbados\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/versicolor.ca\/barbados\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/versicolor.ca\/barbados\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8006"}],"version-history":[{"count":29,"href":"https:\/\/versicolor.ca\/barbados\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8006\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8053,"href":"https:\/\/versicolor.ca\/barbados\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8006\/revisions\/8053"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/versicolor.ca\/barbados\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5266"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/versicolor.ca\/barbados\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8006"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}