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Seagrass Epibiont Biodiversity In The Northern Gulf Of Mexico, Kathryn Wyssmann

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Epibionts on seagrass leaves contribute substantially to productivity and trophic interactions in seagrass ecosystems. Differences in epibiont assemblages and factors that contribute to epibiont diversity have been little studied on the seagrass Halodule wrightii in the northern Gulf of Mexico (nGoM). We used a metabarcoding approach to describe epibiont assemblages on H. wrightii leaves in four bays across the nGoM and to test whether epibiont assemblages differed spatially at local levels (within bays) or regional levels (from west to east). Furthermore, we tested if epibiont diversity was related to environmental conditions and/or seagrass productivity. Epibiont assemblages differed significantly between bays …