Marine Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning
EU Network of Excellence

 
Main Menu

· Home
· Contacts
· Data Systems
· Documents
· FAQ
· Links
· MarBEF Open Archive
· Network Description
· Outreach
· Photo Gallery
· Quality Assurance
· Register of Resources
· Research Projects
· Rules and Guidelines
· Training
· Wiki
· Worldconference

 

Register of Resources (RoR)

 People  |  Datasets  |  Literature  |  Institutes  |  Projects 

[ report an error in this record ]basket (0): add | show Print this page

The structural aspect in the ecology of sea-grass communities
den Hartog, C. (1967). The structural aspect in the ecology of sea-grass communities. Helgol. Wiss. Meeresunters. 15(1-4): 648-659. https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF01618658
In: Helgoländer Wissenschaftliche Meeresuntersuchungen. Biologische Anstalt Helgoland: Hamburg. ISSN 0017-9957
Also appears in:
Kinne, O.; Aurich, H. (Ed.) (1967). Vorträge und Diskussionen. Erstes Europäisches Symposion über Meeresbiologie = Papers and discussions. First European Symposium on Marine Biology = Rapports et discussions. Premier symposium européen sur biologie marine. European Marine Biology Symposia, 1. Helgoländer Wissenschaftliche Meeresuntersuchungen, 15(1-4). 669 pp., more
Peer reviewed article  

Available in  Author 

Keyword
    Marine/Coastal

Author  Top 
  • den Hartog, C.

Abstract
    1. Sea-grasses are aquatic angiosperms which are completely adapted to life in the marine environment. They belong to 2 families, the Potamogetonaceae with 9 marine genera and the Hydrocharitaceae with 3 marine genera.2. All sea-grasses satisfy the following indispensable conditions for a successful existence in the sea: (a) high salt tolerance, (b) ability to grow when fully submerged, (c) well-developed rhizomes, (d) hydrophilous pollination, and (e) sufficient competitive power in the marine environment.3. Plant taxa which fulfill the first 4 conditions excellently, but have a reduced competition capacity, are unable to establish themselves successfully in the marine environment and are restricted to poikilohaline environments, such as brackish waters and continental salt waters. Moreover, some of these taxa occur in instable fresh-water environments.4. Within the group of the sea-grasses 6 different growth-forms can be distinguished: parvozosterids, magnozosterids, syringodiids, enhalids, halophilids and amphibolids.5. The growth-forms are linked with the environmental conditions: they show a distinct horizontal zonation and in the succession series they follow each other in a fixed sequence.6. The structure of the communities is also dependent on the dominating growthforms. The communities of parvozosterids and halophilids are very simple in structure. The magnozosterid vegetations show some differentiation. In the enhalid and amphibolid communities a marked stratification occurs, as an upper layer, characterized by photophilous epiphytes on the leaves, and a lower layer with sciophilous epiphytes on the rhizomes can be distinguished.7. Sea-grass communities alter the physical environment by stabilizing the bottom, slackening the water movements and increasing the sedimentation.8. Sea-grass vegetations form a food resource for many marine organisms and water fowl, and are also of some importance as shelter and nurseries for a number of animal species.

All data in the Integrated Marine Information System (IMIS) is subject to the VLIZ privacy policy Top | Author 


If any information here appears to be incorrect, please contact us
Back to Register of Resources
 
Quick links

MarBEF WIKI

Erasmus Mundus Master of Science in Marine Biodiversity and Conservation (EMBC)
Outreach

Science
Responsive Mode Programme (RMP) - Marie Nordstrom, copyright Aspden Rebecca

WoRMS
part of WoRMS logo

ERMS 2.0
Epinephelus marginatus Picture: JG Harmelin

EurOBIS

Geographic System

Datasets

 


Web site hosted and maintained by Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) - Contact data-at-marbef.org