Climate-driven disease devastates seagrass health

Date:
December 13, 2021
Source:
Cornell University
Summary:
In an oceanic omen for climate change's intensifying effects,
new research shows that seagrass suffers from a lesion-filled
wasting disease through large swaths of intertidal meadows in the
Pacific Northwest. The grasses' once-vibrant plant root systems
are deteriorating, too.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
In an oceanic omen for climate change's intensifying effects, new research shows that seagrass suffers from a lesion-filled wasting disease through
large swaths of intertidal meadows in the Pacific Northwest. The grasses'
once- vibrant plant root systems are deteriorating, too.


==========================================================================
The research was published in the journalFrontiers in Marine Science.

"Not only are we seeing more seagrass wasting disease outbreaks, we're
seeing a severe impact within the vital nutrient stores of these plants
in the roots - - so they become compromised late in the growing season,
setting them up for a harder winter," said co-lead author Olivia Graham,
a doctoral student in the field of ecology and evolutionary biology at
Cornell University.

Eelgrass (Zostera marina) normally thrives in the San Juan Islands,
Washington, on the Salish Sea along the Canadian border. In typical
scenarios, Graham describes the seagrass meadow environment as bountiful underwater rainforests, which clean the waters and support herring,
salmon, perch, clams, mussels and oysters. Nearby, orca whales feast
on Chinook salmon -- the largest of the Pacific salmon -- which live in
these tidal grasslands.

Seagrass wasting disease has been present for years, thanks to the warming waters of climate change, which strengthens the plant's disease nemesis Labyrinthula zosterae. This paper confirms that below the muddy beds,
the plant's roots are compromised.

The research team marked hundreds of plants at low tide and followed
the meadow's fate over several weeks. This "mark and recapture" method
showed that seagrass with disease lesions grew more slowly and produced
less storage sugars than their healthy counterparts.

"This answers a long-standing question about whether this disease does
actual damage," said senior author Drew Harvell, professor emeritus in
ecology and evolutionary biology. "Unfortunately, it is a resounding
'yes.'" Eelgrass plants spread vegetatively, Harvell said, noting that seagrass roots have huge systems where carbohydrates and sugars get manufactured and stored, to expand their own lush networks.

"We learned that the lesioned plants had reduced starch reserves and
grew more slowly, so now we can say that the wasting disease is even
bigger than most thought -- and the harm goes well beyond the lesions,"
Harvell said.

The National Science Foundation provided funding.

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Cornell_University. Original written
by Blaine Friedlander, courtesy of the Cornell Chronicle. Note: Content
may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal References:
1. Olivia J. Graham, Lillian R. Aoki, Tiffany Stephens, Joshua Stokes,
Sukanya Dayal, Brendan Rappazzo, Carla P. Gomes, C. Drew
Harvell. Effects of Seagrass Wasting Disease on Eelgrass Growth and
Belowground Sugar in Natural Meadows. Frontiers in Marine Science,
2021; 8 DOI: 10.3389/ fmars.2021.768668
2. Olivia J. Graham, Lillian R. Aoki, Tiffany Stephens, Joshua Stokes,
Sukanya Dayal, Brendan Rappazzo, Carla P. Gomes, C. Drew
Harvell. Effects of Seagrass Wasting Disease on Eelgrass Growth and
Belowground Sugar in Natural Meadows. Frontiers in Marine Science,
2021; 8 DOI: 10.3389/ fmars.2021.768668 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/12/211213111637.htm

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