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Ecology of Seagrass Seeds and Seagrass Dispersal Processes

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SEAGRASSES: BIOLOGY, ECOLOGYAND CONSERVATION

Abstract

Seagrasses began colonizing the marine environment 100 million years ago in the Cretaceaous (den Hartog, 1970) and, like their terrestrial, wetland, and freshwater angiosperm counterparts, established a highly effective method of dispersal - seeds. While the terrestrial plant literature is replete with studies on all aspects of seed ecology, ranging from the importance of seed size and storage reserves, morphology, to dispersal and recruitment strategies (see reviews by Baskin and Baskin, 1998; Clark et al., 1998; Nathan and Muller-Landau, 2000; Higgins et al., 2003; Levin et al., 2003) research on the ecology of seagrass seeds has been remarkably sparse.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Marine Science, College of William and Mary, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, Gloucester Point, VA, 23062, USA

    Robert J. Orth

  2. A. R. M. Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Boynton Beach, FL, 33437, USA

    Matthew C. Harwell

  3. National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, Christchurch, 8602, New Zealand

    Graeme J. Inglis

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  1. Robert J. Orth
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  2. Matthew C. Harwell
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  3. Graeme J. Inglis
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Orth, R.J., Harwell, M.C., Inglis, G.J. (2007). Ecology of Seagrass Seeds and Seagrass Dispersal Processes. In: SEAGRASSES: BIOLOGY, ECOLOGYAND CONSERVATION. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-2983-7_5

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