PMID- 33246728
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20210106
LR  - 20210106
IS  - 1879-1026 (Electronic)
IS  - 0048-9697 (Linking)
VI  - 757
DP  - 2021 Feb 25
TI  - Plastics and sedimentation foster the spread of a non-native macroalga in 
      seagrass meadows.
PG  - 143812
LID - S0048-9697(20)37343-5 [pii]
LID - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.143812 [doi]
AB  - Plastics are found in marine environments worldwide, and their effects on 
      macrophytes (seagrasses and macroalgae) colonizing sandy bottoms are still poorly 
      known. Seagrass meadows are valuable but declining ecosystems due to local and 
      global-change related stressors, including sediment disturbance and introduced 
      macroalgae. Understanding whether plastics pose a further threat to seagrasses is 
      critically important. In two simultaneous additive experiments performed in an 
      aquaculture tank, we examined the individual and combined effects of 
      macroplastics (non-biodegradable high-density polyethylene and biodegradable 
      starch-based) and sedimentation (no and repeated sedimentation) on the 
      performance (in terms of biomass and architectural variables) of a native 
      Mediterranean seagrass (Cymodocea nodosa) and an introduced macroalga (Caulerpa 
      cylindracea), and on the intensity of their interactions. Macroplastics were 
      still present in sediments after 18 months. Cymodocea nodosa produced a greater 
      biomass and longer horizontal rhizome internodes forming clones with more spaced 
      shoots probably to escape from plastics. Plastics prevented C. nodosa to react to 
      sedimentation by increasing vertical rhizome growth. Under C. cylindracea 
      invasion, C. nodosa allocated more biomass to roots, particularly to fine roots. 
      In the presence of C. nodosa, C. cylindracea performance was reduced. 
      High-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic and sedimentation shifted species 
      interactions from competitive to neutral. These results suggest that both HDPE 
      and biodegradable starch-based macroplastics, if deposited on marine bottoms, 
      could make seagrasses vulnerable to sedimentation and reduce plant cover within 
      meadows. HDPE plastic and sedimentation could contribute to the decline of 
      seagrass habitats by facilitating the spread of non-native macroalgae within 
      meadows. Overall, the study highlights the urgent need to implement more 
      effective post-marketing management actions to prevent a further entering of 
      plastics in natural environments in the future, as well as to establish to 
      conservation measures specifically tailored to protect seagrass habitats from 
      plastic pollution.
CI  - Copyright (c) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
FAU - Menicagli, Virginia
AU  - Menicagli V
AD  - Department of Biology, University of Pisa, via Derna 1, 56126 Pisa, Italy.
FAU - Balestri, Elena
AU  - Balestri E
AD  - Department of Biology, University of Pisa, via Derna 1, 56126 Pisa, Italy. 
      Electronic address: elena.balestri@unipi.it.
FAU - Vallerini, Flavia
AU  - Vallerini F
AD  - Department of Biology, University of Pisa, via Derna 1, 56126 Pisa, Italy.
FAU - De Battisti, Davide
AU  - De Battisti D
AD  - Department of Biology, University of Pisa, via Derna 1, 56126 Pisa, Italy.
FAU - Lardicci, Claudio
AU  - Lardicci C
AD  - Department of Earth Sciences, University of Pisa, via S. Maria 53, 56126 Pisa, 
      Italy; Centre for Climate Change Impact, University of Pisa, Via Del Borghetto 
      80, Pisa 56124, Italy.
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
DEP - 20201119
PL  - Netherlands
TA  - Sci Total Environ
JT  - The Science of the total environment
JID - 0330500
RN  - 0 (Plastics)
SB  - IM
MH  - *Alismatales
MH  - Biomass
MH  - Ecosystem
MH  - Plastics
MH  - *Seaweed
OTO - NOTNLM
OT  - Biodegradable plastic
OT  - Biological invasion
OT  - Biotic resistance
OT  - Burial
OT  - High-density polyethylene
OT  - Plastic pollution
COIS- Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known 
      competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared 
      to influence the work reported in this paper.
EDAT- 2020/11/29 06:00
MHDA- 2021/01/07 06:00
CRDT- 2020/11/28 05:28
PHST- 2020/08/26 00:00 [received]
PHST- 2020/10/26 00:00 [revised]
PHST- 2020/10/27 00:00 [accepted]
PHST- 2020/11/29 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2021/01/07 06:00 [medline]
PHST- 2020/11/28 05:28 [entrez]
AID - S0048-9697(20)37343-5 [pii]
AID - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.143812 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Sci Total Environ. 2021 Feb 25;757:143812. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.143812. 
      Epub 2020 Nov 19.