Nitrogen budget of the seagrass Thalassia testudinum in the western Gulf of Mexico

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dc.contributor.advisorDunton, Kenneth H.
dc.creatorLee, Kun-seop, 1961-
dc.date.accessioned2023-11-20T01:10:43Z
dc.date.available2023-11-20T01:10:43Z
dc.date.issued1998
dc.description.abstractThe nitrogen (N) budget of the seagrass Thalassia testudinum was examined with respect to inorganic-N acquisition and the effects of sediment NH₄⁺ enrichment on two distinct populations in south Texas. The two populations exhibit different biomass allocation patterns at Corpus Christi Bay (CCB) and lower Laguna Madre (LLM): plants at CCB have a higher above-ground biomass while plants at LLM have a higher below-ground biomass. Ambient sediment pore water NH₄⁺ concentrations at CCB (ca. 100 μM) were significantly higher than at LLM (ca. 30 μM). Therefore, it was hypothesized that 1) differences in biomass allocation are a result of the differential sediment N availability, 2) sediment NH₄⁺ enrichment will affect growth, leaf morphology and tissue nutritional content of T. testudinum to a greater degree at low sediment N conditions, and 3) the relative contributions by leaf and root tissues to total N acquisition will differ between the two study sites. To examine the effects of sediment NH₄⁺ enrichment, the seagrass bed sediments were fertilized with commercial N fertilizer, and changes in production, biomass, leaf morphology, tissue nutritional content and carbon (C) reserves were monitored. Additionally, N uptake by leaves and roots of T. testudinum from the two sites were measured seasonally. After fertilization, leaf production rates and shoot height at LLM increased to reach levels equivalent to CCB. However, sediment NH₄⁺ enrichment had little effect on production and leaf size of T. testudinum at CCB. These results suggest that sediment N availability at LLM limits seagrass production. Rhizome non-structural carbohydrates (NSC) decreased in response to sediment NH₄⁺ enrichment during the early periods of the experiment which suggests that C was reallocated from rhizome to leaf tissues to support the stimulated leaf growth. Thus, the NH₄⁺ enrichment affected concentration and allocation of C as well as N. Root NH₄⁺ uptake accounted for about 52 % of total N acquisition, while leaf NH₄⁺ uptake contributed about 38 % and leaf NO₃⁻ uptake accounted for the remaining 10 % at both sites. The high biomass, chlorophyll, and C content in leaf tissues at CCB and the high biomass, C and NSC content in rhizome tissues at LLM demonstrated that plants responded to high sediment N conditions by enhancing leaf function, and to low N conditions by enhancing function of below-ground tissues
dc.description.departmentMarine Science
dc.format.mediumelectronicen
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/2152/122675
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.26153/tsw/49478
dc.language.isoen
dc.relation.ispartofUT Electronic Theses and Dissertationsen
dc.rightsCopyright © is held by the author. Presentation of this material on the Libraries' web site by University Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin was made possible under a limited license grant from the author who has retained all copyrights in the works.en
dc.rights.restrictionOpen
dc.subjectTurtle grass
dc.subjectSeagrass
dc.subjectGulf of Mexico
dc.subjectSeagrass nitrogen budget
dc.subjectThalassia testudinum
dc.subjectSediment enrichment
dc.subjectBiomass allocation
dc.subjectNitrogen availability
dc.subjectMarine sediments
dc.subjectNitrogen acquisition
dc.subjectTissue nutritional content
dc.subjectNitrogen fertilizer
dc.subjectAmmonium uptake
dc.subject.lcshTurtle grass--Mexico, Gulf of
dc.subject.lcshSeagrasses--Mexico, Gulf of
dc.subject.lcshPlants--Effect of nitrogen on
dc.subject.lcshTurtle grass--Fertilizers
dc.subject.lcshSeagrasses--Fertilizers
dc.subject.lcshMarine sediments
dc.titleNitrogen budget of the seagrass Thalassia testudinum in the western Gulf of Mexico
dc.typeThesis
dc.type.genreThesisen
thesis.degree.departmentMarine Science
thesis.degree.disciplineMarine Science
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Texas at Austinen
thesis.degree.levelDoctoral
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophy
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