By the end of January, a team of CCMAR researchers went out to transplant seagrass (Z. noltei and Z. marina) in the Ria Formosa, South Portugal. Both seagrass species occur on Portuguese coasts near their thermal tolerance limits as they prefer colder waters over Portuguese standards. This raises the question of whether transplants are more likely to survive and expand when the restoration is carried out in winter rather than in summer.
Seagrasses are key species in coastal systems, as they contribute to primary production and their meadows form nursery areas for fish and invertebrate species. Globally, seagrasses are facing a decline with important consequences for marine biodiversity, environment, and economy. Likewise, Portuguese populations of Z. marina, Z. noltei and C. nodosa are endangered by anthropogenic stressors and environmental changes. Unfortunately, their importance is overlooked in most implemented marine conservation efforts. Besides, how to accomplish successful restoration still raises multiple questions.
Therefore, along with the winter transplantation project that was executed last week, samples for microbiome DNA sequencing were taken as we are interested in the composition and behavior of the seagrass-related microbiome of both species, under changing environments and conditions.
The importance of the seagrass microbiome has lately gained more attention, as its role is poorly understood and the benefits of a healthy microenvironment seem to be extant. Seagrasses and related microbes establish symbiotic relations, forming ecological units called holobionts which can respond to environmental changes as a single ecological unit. Recent studies show that the microbial community changes according to environmental conditions and the health status of its host.
Sediment and water samples were collected, along with seagrass tissue (leaves and roots) at the donor and restoration site, preserved, and stored in the freezer for later DNA analysis. By extracting and sequencing the metagenome we aim to gain more insight into the microbiome community shifts in taxonomy and function from a donor meadow and through all stages of restoration. Once we acquire more knowledge about the activity of these microbes, we propose to select specific microbes to apply as probiotics at a later stage in our research.
