ZOSTERA MARINA IN VITRO CULTIVATION TECHNIQUES AS A NOVEL APPROACH TO SEAGRASS RESTORATION

Zostera marina is a species of seagrass that acts as a vital ecosystem engineer in coastal areas. Z. marina meadows in Cape Cod, Massachusetts are rapidly disappearing due to a reduction in water quality and rising temperatures in the area. Many restoration efforts have been attempted with low success rates, prompting the need for new restoration approaches. Our study evaluated Z. marina cultivation techniques through a series of experiments. The first experiment assessed optimal conditions for Z. marina seedling cultivation in vitro. We tested the effects of media composition (biphasic vs. liquid media) and aeration techniques (bubbling vs. shaking) over four weeks. Biomass accumulation was used as the primary indicator of seedling performance. A second experiment examined how cultivation environments (in vitro vs. natural conditions) and donor populations (seeds collected from different sites in southeastern MA) impact Z. marina seed germination and development. Seeds collected from 13 sites were cultivated in culture chambers under sterile conditions or in seawater aquaria for six weeks. Seed cultivation success was evaluated based on germination rates and seedling survivability. The third experiment focused on the acclimatization potential of in vitro-cultivated Z. marina seedlings, comparing their survival rates in sterile culture and non-sterile seawater aquaria after 8 weeks. Results from these studies will contribute to the optimization of Z. marina cultivation protocols and inform seagrass restoration strategies.

Presentation Preference: Oral

Primary Presenter: Sarah Merolla, Marine Biological Laboratory (smerolla@mbl.edu)

Authors:

Sarah Merolla, Marine Biological Laboratory  (smerolla@mbl.edu)

Grace Dixon, Marine Biological Laboratory  (gdixon@mbl.edu)

Saophea Chonn, Marine Biological Laboratory  (saophea.chhon91@gmail.com)

Agustín Moreira Saporiti, Marine Biological Laboratory  (amoreirasaporiti@mbl.edu)

Elena Lopez Peredo, Rochester Institute of Technology  (elpsbi@rit.edu)

Mirta Teichberg, Marine Biological Laboratory  (mteichberg@mbl.edu)