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The effect of pulsed versus gradual salinity reduction on the physiology and survival of Halophila johnsonii Eiseman

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Abstract

Plants of Halophila johnsonii Eiseman were exposed, in mesocosms, to either pulsed hyposalinity treatments of 30, 15, 10, and 8 or gradual salinity reductions of two every 2 days. When salinity was pulsed, survivorship (>80 %) and maximum quantum yields (>0.7) were high in the 30 and 15 salinity treatments, but both declined in the 10 and 8 salinity treatments. Leaf osmolality declined with respect to salinity treatment, but the difference between leaf and media osmolality remained relatively constant (675 ± 177 mmol kg−1). In contrast, when salinity was gradually reduced, survivorship remained high from salinities of 30 to 4, and maximum quantum yields remained high from salinities of 30 to 6. Leaf osmolality declined linearly with respect to media osmolality and, similar to the pulsed treatments, the difference between leaf and media osmolality remained relatively constant from salinities of 30 to 2 (638 ± 161 mmol kg−1). Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity declined over time in both pulsed and gradual salinity reduction. The results indicate that H. johnsonii is more tolerant of hyposalinity than has previously been reported and that gradually reducing salinity extended its low-salinity tolerance threshold by approximately a salinity of 10.

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Acknowledgments

This project was supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service (Order #GA133F09SE2426). The authors would like to thank Nathan Gavin, Jacqueline Howarth, Robert Roer, Paul Hosier, and Fred Scharf from the University of North Carolina Wilmington. All plants were collected under the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Special Activity License SAL-09-0972-SR.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology and Marine Biology, Center for Marine Science, University of North Carolina Wilmington, 5600 Marvin Moss Lane, Wilmington, NC, 28409, USA

    Nina E. Griffin & Michael J. Durako

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  1. Nina E. Griffin
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  2. Michael J. Durako
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Correspondence to Michael J. Durako.

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Communicated by P. Ralph.

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Griffin, N.E., Durako, M.J. The effect of pulsed versus gradual salinity reduction on the physiology and survival of Halophila johnsonii Eiseman. Mar Biol 159, 1439–1447 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-012-1923-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-012-1923-8

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