Journal article
Physiological adaptations of the invasive cordgrass Spartina anglica to reducing sediments: rhizome metabolic gas fluxes and enhanced O2 and H2S transport
Marine biology, Vol.143(1), pp.9-15
07/2003
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/104774
Abstract
Cordgrasses of the genus Spartina form dense monospecific stands worldwide, profoundly influencing the ecology of estuaries. One species, Spartina anglica, originated by allopolyploidy in the 1800s and has been particularly prolific as an invasive species worldwide. S. anglica tolerates low-lying estuarine mudflats that its progenitor species and other coastal halophytes cannot. However, very little is known of the physiology of S. anglica. In the present study, an automated flow-through respirometry system was used to quantify metabolic gas fluxes (O2, H2S, CO2, and NH3) of S. anglica rhizomes. Enhanced physiological mechanisms to transport O2 and H2S in both directions between the rhizosphere and the atmosphere were exhibited by S. anglica, but not by the native North American species S. alterniflora. These results suggest that tolerance of anoxia and H2S may assist S. anglica in colonizing extensively flooded environments. Enhanced sediment oxygenation by S. anglica may be potentially useful for phytoremediation of contaminated sediments, since microbial degradation of organic pollutants is often limited by O2 availability.
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Details
- Title
- Physiological adaptations of the invasive cordgrass Spartina anglica to reducing sediments: rhizome metabolic gas fluxes and enhanced O2 and H2S transport
- Creators
- R Lee - School of Biological Sciences Washington State University Pullman WA 99164 USA
- Publication Details
- Marine biology, Vol.143(1), pp.9-15
- Publisher
- Springer-Verlag; Berlin/Heidelberg
- Identifiers
- 99900546517501842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article