Moreira-Saporiti, A. et al. (2023) A trait-based framework for seagrass ecology: trends and prospects. Frontiers in Plant Science, 14, 1088643. (doi: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1088643)
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Abstract
In the last three decades, quantitative approaches that rely on organism traits instead of taxonomy have advanced different fields of ecological research through establishing the mechanistic links between environmental drivers, functional traits, and ecosystem functions. A research subfield where trait-based approaches have been frequently used but poorly synthesized is the ecology of seagrasses; marine angiosperms that colonized the ocean 100M YA and today make up productive yet threatened coastal ecosystems globally. Here, we compiled a comprehensive trait-based response-effect framework (TBF) which builds on previous concepts and ideas, including the use of traits for the study of community assembly processes, from dispersal and response to abiotic and biotic factors, to ecosystem function and service provision. We then apply this framework to the global seagrass literature, using a systematic review to identify the strengths, gaps, and opportunities of the field. Seagrass trait research has mostly focused on the effect of environmental drivers on traits, i.e., “environmental filtering” (72%), whereas links between traits and functions are less common (26.9%). Despite the richness of trait-based data available, concepts related to TBFs are rare in the seagrass literature (15% of studies), including the relative importance of neutral and niche assembly processes, or the influence of trait dominance or complementarity in ecosystem function provision. These knowledge gaps indicate ample potential for further research, highlighting the need to understand the links between the unique traits of seagrasses and the ecosystem services they provide.
| Item Type: | Articles |
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| Additional Information: | The Euromarine Network funded the initial workshop that led to the development of this manuscript. AM-S was funded by the Leibniz Association as part of the project SEATRAIT and MT was supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG) within the individual Grants Program, project SEAMAC (TE 1046/3-1). AIS was funded by Portuguese national funds through the FCT - Foundation for Science and Technology, I.P., under the project CEECIND/00962/2017 and by FCT/MCTES through the financial support to CESAM (UIDB/50017/2020+UIDP/50017/2020 +LA/P/0094/2020). This study received Portuguese national funds from FCT - Foundation for Science and Technology through projects UIDB/04326/2020, UIDP/04326/2020 and LA/P/0101/2020 of CCMAR. IO was funded by the EU-H2020-MSCA grant n° 752250 (SEAMET). CB was funded by the Åbo Akademi University Foundation Sr and LM was funded by the doctoral network Functional Marine Biodiversity (FunMarBio) at Åbo Akademi University. RS acknowledges the support of the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program under the Grant Agreement Number 857251. GP, ED and MR were partially supported by the project Marine Hazard, PON03PE_00203_1 (MUR, Italy); MR was partially supported by a SZN PhD fellowship via the Open University. |
| Keywords: | Functional ecology, trait-based approach, seagrass traits database, ecosystem service vulnerability, response-effect framework. |
| Status: | Published |
| Refereed: | Yes |
| Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: | Olive Samarra, Dr Irene |
| Authors: | Moreira-Saporiti, A., Teichberg, M., Garnier, E., Cornelissen, J. H. C., Alcoverro, T., Björk, M., Boström, C., Dattolo, E., Eklöf, J. S., Hasler-Sheetal, H., Marbà, N., Marín-Guirao, L., Meysick, L., Olivé, I., Reusch, T. B. H., Ruocco, M., Silva, J., Sousa, A. I., Procaccini, G., and Santos, R. |
| College/School: | College of Science and Engineering > School of Geographical and Earth Sciences |
| Journal Name: | Frontiers in Plant Science |
| Publisher: | Frontiers Media |
| ISSN: | 1664-462X |
| ISSN (Online): | 1664-462X |
| Copyright Holders: | Copyright © 2023 Moreira-Saporiti, Teichberg, Garnier, Cornelissen, Alcoverro, Björk, Boström, Dattolo, Eklöf, Hasler-Sheetal, Marbà, Marín-Guirao, Meysick, Olivé, Reusch, Ruocco, Silva, Sousa, Procaccini and Santos |
| First Published: | First published in Frontiers in Plant Science 14: 1088643 |
| Publisher Policy: | Reproduced under a Creative Commons License |
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