Experimental Studies of Caribbean Seagrass Bed Development

Processes important in the development of subtidal seagrass beds composed of Thalassia testudinum, Syringodium filiforme, Halodule wrightii, and many rhizophytic algal species were examined in situ for 52 mo in a coral reef lagoon on St. Croix, United States Virgin Islands. The study emphasized the early stages of development of the seagrass beds and the role played by colonizing rhizophytic algae. I tested the hypotheses that nutrient accumulation in the sediments limits seagrass recolonization, and that rhizophytic algae facilitate sediment nutrient accumulation by stabilizing the sediments and adding organic matter from rapidly decomposing thalli. Vegetation was removed from 0.25— and 1—m 2 plots in 3 m of water. Plot treatments consisted of: (1) no further manipulation, (2) adding nitrogen plus phosphorus fertilizer to the sediments, (3) removing colonizing rhizophytic algae to minimize algal effects (e.g., sediment stabilization, organic input), and (4) removing colonizing algae and adding "plastic algae" to stabilize sediments without organic input. Plant densities, sediment grain size, redox potential, inorganic nitrogen concentrations in porewaters, and ammonium production rates were measured over time in all plots, including undisturbed controls. All recolonization occurred through vegetative propagation. The sequence of plant recolonization was unaffected by the treatments, corresponding instead to life history characteristics and nutrient requirements of the species involved. Rhizophytic algae invaded the plots within a few months, followed by the seagrass Syringodium, then Thalassia. The seagrass Halodule was insignificant in the recolonization. Densities of rhizophytic algae and Syringodium declined when the density of Thalassia reached 200 leaf shoots/m 2 . The rates of increase in seagrass leaf shoot densities and biomass were greatest in the fertilized plots, supporting the nutrient limitation hypothesis. Rhizophytic algae facilitated seagrass recolonization; seagrass densities, biomass, and porewater ammonium concentrations were lowest in plots where algae were removed. Sediment ammonium concentrations decreased when Thalassia became dominant. Ammonium production in the sediments increased as the plant community developed. The nitrogen required for Syringodium productivity was met easily by ammonium production, assuming no competition from Thalassia. In contrast, Thalassia accounted for >93% of the nitrogen required for total seagrass productivity, and ammonium production could supply up to 45% of this requirement. At the end of the experiment (52 mo), Thalassia density and ammonium production rates in the sediments were lower than in the surrounding undisturbed seagrass bed. The experiment provides evidence for a resource—ratio model where the rate of succession is controlled by a sediment nutrient supply that increases over time. The sequence of colonization is determined by relative rates of vegetative propagation by stolons and rhizomes across the sediment surface, which are inversely correlated with whole plant productivity and thus with requirements for nutrients. Algal colonizers tolerate low nutrients by having low productivities. The climax species Thalassia is a competitive species effective at exploiting the sediment nutrient resource. Co—existence, rather than replacement, of species occurs, despite a relatively benign disturbance regime.