Eric N. Madrid, Anna R. Armitage, Jorge López-Portillo
Abstract
Over the last several decades, the distribution of the black mangrove Avicennia germinans in the Gulf of Mexico has expanded, in part because it can survive the occasional freeze events and high soil salinities characteristic of the area. Vessel architecture may influence mangrove chilling and salinity tolerance. We surveyed populations of A. germinans throughout the Gulf to determine if vessel architecture was linked to field environmental conditions. We measured vessel density, hydraulically weighted vessel diameter, potential conductance capacity, and maximum tensile fracture stress. At each sampling site we recorded mangrove canopy height and soil salinity, and determined average minimum winter temperature from archived weather records. At a subset of sites, we measured carbon fixation rates using a LI-COR 6400XT Portable Photosynthesis System. Populations of A. germinans from cooler areas (Texas and Louisiana) had narrower vessels, likely reducing the risk of freeze-induced embolisms but also decreasing water conductance capacity. Vessels were also narrower in regions with high soil salinity, including Texas, USA and tidal flats in Veracruz, Mexico. Vessel density did not consistently vary with temperature or soil salinity. In abiotically stressful areas, A. germinans had a safe hydraulic architecture with narrower vessels that may increase local survival. This safe architecture appears to come at a substantial physiological cost in terms of reduction in conductance capacity and carbon fixation potential, likely contributing to lower canopy heights. The current distribution of A. germinans in the Gulf is influenced by the complex interplay between temperature, salinity, and vessel architecture. Given the plasticity of A. germinans vessel characters, it is likely that this mangrove species will be able to adapt to a wide range of potential future environmental conditions, and continue its expansion in the Gulf of Mexico in response to near-term climate change.
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 5. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 03 December 2019.
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Altmetric has tracked 22,764,165 research outputs across all sources so far. This one has received more attention than most of these and is in the 72nd percentile.
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