title: The movement ecology of seagrasses.
abstract: A movement ecology framework is applied to enhance our understanding of the causes, mechanisms and consequences of movement in seagrasses: marine, clonal, flowering plants. Four life-history stages of seagrasses can move: pollen, sexual propagules, vegetative fragments and the spread of individuals through clonal growth. Movement occurs on the water surface, in the water column, on or in the sediment, via animal vectors and through spreading clones. A capacity for long-distance dispersal and demographic connectivity over multiple timeframes is the novel feature of the movement ecology of seagrasses with significant evolutionary and ecological consequences. The space-time movement footprint of different life-history stages varies. For example, the distance moved by reproductive propagules and vegetative expansion via clonal growth is similar, but the timescales range exponentially, from hours to months or centuries to millennia, respectively. Consequently, environmental factors and key traits that interact to influence movement also operate on vastly different spatial and temporal scales. Six key future research areas have been identified.
authors.affiliation: School of Natural Sciences and Centre for Marine Ecosystems Research, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, 6027 Western Australia, Australia k.mcmahon@ecu.edu.au.
authors.forename: Kathryn
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: McMahon
authors.affiliation: School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Australian Centre for Evolutionary Biology and Biodiversity, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, 5001 South Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Kor-Jent
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: van Dijk
authors.affiliation: The University of Western Australia Oceans Institute, Crawley, 6009 Western Australia, Australia School of Plant Biology, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, 6009 Western Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Leonardo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ruiz-Montoya
authors.affiliation: The University of Western Australia Oceans Institute, Crawley, 6009 Western Australia, Australia School of Plant Biology, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, 6009 Western Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Gary A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Kendrick
authors.affiliation: School of Plant Biology, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, 6009 Western Australia, Australia Kings Park and Botanic Garden, Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority, West Perth, 6005 Western Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Siegfried L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Krauss
authors.affiliation: School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Australian Centre for Evolutionary Biology and Biodiversity, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, 5001 South Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Waycott
authors.affiliation: Murdoch University, Murdoch, 6150 Western Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Verduin
authors.affiliation: The University of Western Australia Oceans Institute, Crawley, 6009 Western Australia, Australia School of Earth and Environment, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, 6009 Western Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Ryan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lowe
authors.affiliation: The University of Western Australia Oceans Institute, Crawley, 6009 Western Australia, Australia School of Plant Biology, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, 6009 Western Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Statton
authors.affiliation: School of Environmental Systems and Engineering, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, 6009 Western Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Eloise
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.affiliation: The University of Western Australia Oceans Institute, Crawley, 6009 Western Australia, Australia School of Plant Biology, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, 6009 Western Australia, Australia Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies, IMEDA (UIB-CSIC), 07190 Esporles, Islas Baleares, Spain.
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Duarte
mesh_terms: D035961:Alismatales / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D011157:Population Dynamics; D012098:Reproduction
keywords: clonal; dispersal; marine; pollen; seed