Seed size and burial depth influence Zostera marina L. (eelgrass) seed survival, seedling emergence and initial seedling biomass development

Martin Søndergaard Jørgensen, Rodrigo Labouriau and Birgit Olesen

PLOS ONE, 2019, vol. 14, issue 4, 1-16

Abstract: Seed burial in the sediment is critical for successful seedling establishment in seagrasses because it protects from predation and dispersal into unsuitable sites, and it may enhance germination by exposing the seeds to suitable germination stimuli. However, relatively little is known about the fate of buried seeds and their ability to emerge from greater depths. The goal of this study was to determine seed survival in the sediment, seedling emergence success and initial seedling biomass of Zostera marina in relation to burial depth and to evaluate if large seeds, having larger energy reserves, are more tolerant to burial than small seeds. Seeds from a perennial Z. marina population were buried at 7 different sediment depths (0.1–8 cm), and seeds sorted by size (large and small) were buried at depths of 2, 4 and 6 cm in outdoor mesocosms. Total seedling emergence after 2 months was significantly affected by seed burial depth, with maximum values in the top 2 cm of the sediment (48.1–56.7% of planted seeds), and a marked decline below 4 cm depth to only 5% seedling emergence at the deepest burial depth of 8 cm. Moreover, seeds had shorter time to emergence from shallow compared to deep burial depths. At all burial depths, a small fraction of seeds (

Date: 2019
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:plo:pone00:0215157

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0215157

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