Reti trofiche e flussi di energia nei sistemi a fanerogame marine

Abstract

Food webs and energy flow in seagrass ecosystems. A review on the pathways in the food webs of seagrass ecosystems, both tropical and temperate, with a particular emphasis to Mediterranean Posidonia oceanica meadows is given. Three main pathways of energy transfer from primary producers (host plant and algal epiphytes) were identified: i) the plant itself through photosynthetic tissue; ii) the leaf detritus which in some species forms a litter compartment; iii) the algal epiphytes of leaf blades. The detritus and epiphyte ways are the most common, but they can be differently important according to the season and the spatial patterns of the meadows.

Key Words:

• seagrasses
• food webs
• energy budget
• herbivory
• periphyton
• detritus