Cymodocea nodosa
Cymodocea nodosa | |
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Blossoming Cymodocea nodosa off the coast of Corsica | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Monocots |
Order: | Alismatales |
Family: | Cymodoceaceae |
Genus: | Cymodocea |
Species: | C. nodosa
|
Binomial name | |
Cymodocea nodosa | |
Synonyms[3] | |
Cymodocea aequorea K.D.Koenig |
Cymodocea nodosa is a species of seagrass in the family Cymodoceaceae[3] and is sometimes known as little Neptune grass.[4] As a seagrass, it is restricted to growing underwater and is found in shallow parts of the Mediterranean Sea and certain adjoining areas of the Atlantic Ocean.
Description
C. nodosa has light green or greyish-green leaves. They are very narrow but may be up to forty centimetres long. Each leaf has seven to nine veins running along its length. The plant produces rhizomes which are only 1 mm in diameter and have leaf scars at intervals.[5] Inconspicuous grass-like flowers are sometimes produced at the end of long stems in the spring when water temperatures begin to rise after their winter minimum. The pollen is liberated into the sea and the seeds remain dormant until the following spring.[6]
Distribution and habitat
This seagrass is found in shallow parts of the Mediterranean Sea and the adjoining parts of the Atlantic Ocean, the coasts of Portugal, Mauritania and Senegal and round the Canary Islands and Madeira.[2] It grows at depths of down to nineteen[7] metres in sandy sediments in sheltered locations and needs clear waters for photosynthesis.[4] Off the Catalan coast in the western Mediterranean, a single meadow of this grass covering at least 800 hectares (2,000 acres) has been discovered.[8]
Ecology
Cymodocea nodosa grows in meadows on the seabed
In the Canary Islands, fifty-three species of epiphytic algae were found to grow on the leaves and rhizomes of C. nodosa. Many of these were encrusting species of Corallinaceae.[10]
C. nodosa tends to grow in patches. This is because it favours unstable sandy sediments and subaqueous dunes tend to move over time. If the sand accretion is not too fast, the stolons can grow vertically through it, but the seagrass can be overwhelmed by rapid accretion. Patch death was mostly caused by erosion as roots were uncovered, encrusting and drilling organisms increased and plants were swept away. The dune movement cycle tended to take two to six years, which gives the seagrass time to recolonise bare areas. Sand accretion also stimulates flowering and dormant seeds can enable recolonisation when conditions allow it.[14]
The fact that the pattern of C. nodosa growth changes as sand is deposited provides a means of measuring the travel of subaqueous dunes. In the Alfacs Bay in the northwest Mediterranean Sea, it was found that the rate of dune advance averaged 13 metres per year, and that the seagrasses could be used to monitor movement rates ranging from 0.15 metres to 980 metres per year.[15]
The invasive
References
- ^ . Retrieved 20 November 2021.
- ^ a b Cymodocea nodosa (Ucria) Asch. Encyclopedia of Life. Retrieved 2011-08-17
- ^ a b "Cymodocea nodosa (Ucria) Asch". Plants of the World Online. The Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. n.d. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
- ^ a b Lesser Neptune Grass (Cymodocea nodosa) Archived 2012-03-30 at the Wayback Machine Archipelagos Wildlife Library. Retrieved 2011-08-17
- ^ Boudouresque, C.-F..A.M.a.M.V., 1992. Guide des Algues des Mers d’Europe. Paris: Delachaux et Niestle.
- .
- ^ "Crònica immersió 17 de setembre del 2020". Archived from the original on 2020-10-20. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
- ^ "La badia de Roses detecta una extensió de 800 ha coberta per una praderia de Cymodocea nodosa". Vila de Roses. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
- ^ Cymodocea nodosa IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 2011-08-17
- ^ Distribution of the epiphytes along the leaves of Cymodocea nodosa in the Canary Islands[permanent dead link] Retrieved 2011-08-17
- ^ Fish assemblages associated with Cymodocea nodosa and Caulerpa prolifera meadows in the shallow areas of the Mar Menor coastal lagoon Archived 2012-03-17 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2011-08-17
- ^ Polychaetes associated with Cymodocea nodosa meadow in the Canary Islands: assemblage structure, temporal variability and vertical distribution compared to other Mediterranean seagrass meadows Archived 2012-04-06 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2011-08-17
- ^ Biology of Posidonia Seagrasses: Biology, Ecology and Conservation. Retrieved 2011-08-17
- JSTOR 2261592.
- JSTOR 2838368.
- ^ A Pilot Study of Nutrient Enriched Sediments in a Cymodocea nodosa Bed Invaded by the Introduced Alga Caulerpa taxifolia Retrieved 2011-08-17
External links
- Fotos of Cymodocea nodosa in iNaturalist