Sexual reproduction of the Lessepsian seagrass <i>Halophila stipulacea</i> in the Mediterranean Sea

Abstract

Abstract Sexual reproduction has hardly ever been reported in the Lessepsian seagrass Halophila stipulacea in the Mediterranean Sea. In the present study, fertile plants bearing fruits are reported for the first time from the North Aegean Sea, and for the second time from the whole Mediterranean Basin, confirming a successful and complete sexual reproduction of the species in the Mediterranean environment. In August 2012 on Chios Island, a large population of this plant in the northernmost limit of its Aegean Sea distribution was found and it was concluded that the fertility of the plants could be a response to the warming of the Mediterranean Sea, and may suggest that a further expansion of the species is occurring.