Deep-water Zostera marina meadows in the Mediterranean

Loubna Boutahar , Free Espinosa , Jonathan Richir (1) , Gilles Lepoint (1) , Sylvie Gobert (2, 1) , Mohamed Maanan (3) , Hocein Bazairi

1 FOCUS - Freshwater and Oceanic Sciences Unit of reSearch
2 STARESO - Station de Recherche Océanographiques et sous-marines
3 LETG - Nantes - Littoral, Environnement, Télédétection, Géomatique

Highlights Baseline data on the only known Zostera marina meadows on the Moroccan Mediterranean (Jbel Moussa) is provided. Bioavailable Ni, As, Mo, Ag, Cd, Sn, Sb and U measured in sediment are mainly accumulated in Z. marina roots. N is high in Z. marina leaves and sediment is more enriched in P. Moroccan Z. marina meadows are overall in good health status and well developed compared to many places worldwide. Implementation of measures against trawling and invasive algae are urgently needed to preserve Z. marina meadows in Morocco.

Mots clés: Zostera marina; Mediterranean; Morocco; Seagrass meadow description; Conservation

Domaines: Etudes de l'environnement

Loubna Boutahar, Free Espinosa, Jonathan Richir, Gilles Lepoint, Sylvie Gobert, et al.. Deep-water Zostera marina meadows in the Mediterranean. Aquatic Botany, 2020, 166, pp.103269. ⟨10.1016/j.aquabot.2020.103269⟩. ⟨hal-03120045⟩