ESTIMATES OF POLLEN DISPERSAL AND CAPTURE WITHIN AMPHIBOLIS ANTARCTICA (LABILL.) SONDER AND ASCHERS. EX ASCHERS. MEADOWS

摘要

The hydrodynamic micro-climate created within seagrass meadows and their immediate surroundings has implications for pollen transport and settling within seagrass meadows. Quantitative estimates of plant and meadow architecture, flowering and pollination biology of Amphibolis antarctica indicated that the position of male and female flowers on a shoot coincided with areas of high turbulence in the canopy. A model on pollen dispersal and capture in an Amphibolis meadow was derived from both plant structure (meadow architecture) and in situ three dimensional velocity measurements. On a purely hydrodynamic basis, high pollen capture is expected in a more energetic and turbulent environment. However, the model results showed that the combination of flow dynamics and plant structure, i.e., plant-flow interactions, are more favorable for pollen capture in an area of less favorable conditions, e.g., less energetic. This suggests that, as a response to their hydrodynamic environment, the same species of seagrass may have differing meadow and plant structures, such as different shoot length and shoot density.