DIFFERENTIATION IN HABITAT RESPONSE AMONG POPULATIONS OF NEW WORLD SEAGRASSES

Seagrass populations in diverse ecosystems show the selective influence of the local habitat conditions. The patterns of differentiation in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean seagrasses, Thalassia testudinum Banks ex Koenig, Syringodium filiforme Kutz. and Halodule wrightii Aschers., and in the circumboreal seagrass, Zostera marina L., were investigated by a variety of manipulative techniques in the laboratory and in the field. Although seagrasses may be vegetatively moved for long distances either by oceanic transport or by experimental procedures, their survival patterns reflect the selective influence of their indigenous habitats.