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Morphological plastic responses to water depth and wave exposure in an aquatic plant (Myriophyllum spicatum)

Strand, J A and Weisner, Stefan LU (2001) In Journal of Ecology 89(2). p.166-175
Abstract
1 We investigated morphological responses of the submerged macrophyte Myriophyllum spicatum L. to water depth and wave exposure when grown in the same substrate at two sites in two eutrophic lakes. Periphyton production was 4-8 times higher at sheltered than at wave-exposed sites and its influence was further investigated in a glasshouse experiment. Morphological responses in both experiments were compared by allometric analyses, with shoot weight as covariate. 2 In the field study, plants shoots exhibited similar responses (increased plant height and branch length, and decreased branch number) to sheltered conditions as to deep water. The partitioning between above- and below-ground biomass however, differed, with below-ground decreasing... (More)
1 We investigated morphological responses of the submerged macrophyte Myriophyllum spicatum L. to water depth and wave exposure when grown in the same substrate at two sites in two eutrophic lakes. Periphyton production was 4-8 times higher at sheltered than at wave-exposed sites and its influence was further investigated in a glasshouse experiment. Morphological responses in both experiments were compared by allometric analyses, with shoot weight as covariate. 2 In the field study, plants shoots exhibited similar responses (increased plant height and branch length, and decreased branch number) to sheltered conditions as to deep water. The partitioning between above- and below-ground biomass however, differed, with below-ground decreasing with an increasing water depth, but increasing or remaining unaffected at sheltered compared with exposed conditions. 3 In the glasshouse experiment, plant responses to water depth were similar to those in the field study. Furthermore, plant height increased when plants were overgrown with periphyton. 4 High production of periphytic algae at sheltered sites appears to cause light limitation of macrophytes. However, other factors such as nutrient uptake also appears to determine morphological responses. At sheltered sites, where leaf nutrient uptake is reduced by abundant periphyton and thick boundary layers, plants allocate more biomass to roots. At deep and wave-exposed sites, the absence of periphyton allows plants to take up nutrients through their leaves and allocation of biomass to shoots increases photosynthesis. 5 Overall, relative allocation to shoot and root biomass appears to be primarily controlled by nutrient availability, whereas allocation of available shoot biomass to particular structures is controlled by light availability. (Less)
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author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Journal of Ecology
volume
89
issue
2
pages
166 - 175
publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
external identifiers
  • scopus:0035026808
ISSN
1365-2745
DOI
10.1046/j.1365-2745.2001.00530.x
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
The information about affiliations in this record was updated in December 2015. The record was previously connected to the following departments: Limnology (Closed 2011) (011007000)
id
1aabc5ad-5a67-4a95-bbdf-054ebb7e77c8 (old id 146669)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 12:36:46
date last changed
2022-04-21 17:49:35
@article{1aabc5ad-5a67-4a95-bbdf-054ebb7e77c8,
  abstract     = {{1 We investigated morphological responses of the submerged macrophyte Myriophyllum spicatum L. to water depth and wave exposure when grown in the same substrate at two sites in two eutrophic lakes. Periphyton production was 4-8 times higher at sheltered than at wave-exposed sites and its influence was further investigated in a glasshouse experiment. Morphological responses in both experiments were compared by allometric analyses, with shoot weight as covariate. 2 In the field study, plants shoots exhibited similar responses (increased plant height and branch length, and decreased branch number) to sheltered conditions as to deep water. The partitioning between above- and below-ground biomass however, differed, with below-ground decreasing with an increasing water depth, but increasing or remaining unaffected at sheltered compared with exposed conditions. 3 In the glasshouse experiment, plant responses to water depth were similar to those in the field study. Furthermore, plant height increased when plants were overgrown with periphyton. 4 High production of periphytic algae at sheltered sites appears to cause light limitation of macrophytes. However, other factors such as nutrient uptake also appears to determine morphological responses. At sheltered sites, where leaf nutrient uptake is reduced by abundant periphyton and thick boundary layers, plants allocate more biomass to roots. At deep and wave-exposed sites, the absence of periphyton allows plants to take up nutrients through their leaves and allocation of biomass to shoots increases photosynthesis. 5 Overall, relative allocation to shoot and root biomass appears to be primarily controlled by nutrient availability, whereas allocation of available shoot biomass to particular structures is controlled by light availability.}},
  author       = {{Strand, J A and Weisner, Stefan}},
  issn         = {{1365-2745}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{2}},
  pages        = {{166--175}},
  publisher    = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
  series       = {{Journal of Ecology}},
  title        = {{Morphological plastic responses to water depth and wave exposure in an aquatic plant (Myriophyllum spicatum)}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2745.2001.00530.x}},
  doi          = {{10.1046/j.1365-2745.2001.00530.x}},
  volume       = {{89}},
  year         = {{2001}},
}