Publicaciones

@article{Ruiz-Diaz2024,

title = {A successful method to restore seagrass habitats in coastal areas affected by consecutive natural events},

author = {Claudia Patricia Ruiz-Diaz and Carlos Toledo-Hernández and Juan Luis Sánchez-González and Alex E. Mercado-Molina},

editor = {Haider Mahmood},

url = {https://peerj.com/articles/16700/

},

doi = {https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.16700},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-01-02},

journal = {PeerJ},

pages = {1-17},

abstract = {Seagrass meadows, known for providing essential ecosystem services like supporting fishing, coastline protection from erosion, and acting as carbon sinks to mitigate climate change effects, are facing severe degradation. The current deteriorating state can be attributed to the combination of anthropogenic activities, biological factors (i.e., invasive species), and natural forces (i.e., hurricanes). Indeed, the global seagrass cover is diminishing at an alarming mean rate of 7% annually, jeopardizing the health of these vital ecosystems. However, in the Island Municipality of Culebra, Puerto Rico, losses are occurring at a faster pace. For instance, hurricanes have caused over 10% of cover seagrass losses, and the natural recovery of seagrasses across Culebra’s coast has been slow due to the low growth rates of native seagrasses (Thalassia testudinum and Syringodium filiforme) and the invasion of the invasive species Halophila stipulacea. Restoration programs are, thus, necessary to revitalize the native seagrass communities and associated fauna while limiting the spread of the invasive species.},

keywords = {Carbon storage, Caribbean, Halophila stipulacea, Hurricanes, Plug propagation units (PUS), restoration, Syringodium filiforme, Thalassia testudinum},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Hernández-Delgado2020,

title = {Hurricane Impacts and the Resilience of the Invasive Sea Vine, \textit{Halophila stipulacea}: a Case Study from Puerto Rico.},

author = {E. A. Hernández-Delgado and C. Toledo-Hernández and C. P. Ruíz-Díaz and N. Gómez-Andújar and J. L. Medina-Muñiz and M. F. Canals-Silander and S. E. Suleimán-Ramos},

url = {https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12237-019-00673-4

},

doi = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-019-00673-4},

year  = {2020},

date = {2020-01-08},

urldate = {2020-01-08},

journal = {Estuaries and Coasts},

volume = {43},

pages = {1263–1283},

abstract = {Category five hurricanes Irma and María (September 2017) caused significant damage to shallow seagrass communities across Puerto Rico. The magnitude and spatial extent of hurricane impacts on representative seagrass habitats of Culebra Island were addressed using a combination of random photo-quadrats and before–after hurricanes GIS-based imagery analyses. There was a significant loss of shallow seagrasses across all nine surveyed locations. Most of the documented impacts were associated with sediment bedload (horizontal transport), which resulted in burial and suffocation. There was also localized physical disruption of the seagrass habitat matrix across locations exposed to stronger wave action, creating major scars and exposing below-ground structure to further disintegration by future storm events. Displaced coral rubble also caused seagrass burial. Aerial imagery analyses (2007, 2010, 2017) showed a significant decline in seagrass percent cover. Seagrass decline was positively correlated with wave exposure (p < 0.05). Seagrass cover, density, and changes in benthic community structure were documented across five of the surveyed locations during 2018, and these data were further compared to data collected in 2004 at these same sites. There was a decline in percent seagrass cover and density and a change in benthic community structure favoring habitat homogenization. A remarkable finding was the rapid recovery, expansion, and increased localized dominance of the invasive seagrass, Halophila stipulacea. This was particularly evident in areas impacted by recurrent land-based runoff pulses, anchoring, sediment resuspension due to navigation, trampling or by the accumulation of decaying Sargassum mats. Hurricanes triggered a localized shift in marine vegetation, favoring the invasion of H. stipulacea, with potentially significant consequences on ecosystem resilience and on the ability of native in seagrasses to persist and adapt to projected climate change impacts.},

keywords = {Coast, Coastal Erosion, Coastal Resilience, Halophila stipulacea, Hurricane Impacts, Hurricane Irma, Hurricane Maria, Hurricanes, Puerto Rico, Resilience},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}