Spatial variation in the structural parameters of Cymodocea nodosa seagrass meadows in the Canary Islands: a multiscaled approach

Abstract

Meadows of the seagrass Cymodocea nodosa (legislated as an endangered species) are the dominant vegetated communities in shallow soft bottoms throughout the Canary Islands (central east Atlantic Ocean). We provide baseline ecological information for this key species for the whole Canarian Archipelago by describing the spatial distribution patterns of structural parameters (percent coverage and shoot density) at different hierarchical spatial scales (from tens of meters to hundreds of kilometers). The coverage values varied between 42.5 and 100% (mean±SE=76.7±2.5%, N=80) and the mean shoot density per location ranged between 164 and 710 shoots m−2 (mean±SE=403.6±17.0 shoots m−2, N=160). We observed a strong variability at small- to medium-spatial scales (locations within islands separated by tens of kilometres and sites hundreds of meters apart within locations) in contrast to a lack of inter-island variability. Additionally, the structural parameters respond differentially to different sets of ecological and physical processes operating at these scales.