Indian J ournal of Marine Sciences

Vol. 30 (4), December 2001, pp. 253-256

Short Communication


Photosynthesis of seagrass Cymodocea serrulata (Magnoliophyta/
Potamogetonales/Cymodoceaceae) in field and laboratory
M K Abu Hena *, K Misri, B J apar Sidik, O Hishamuddin & H Hidir
Department of Biology, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor D E, Malaysia
Received 27 February 2001, revised 20 August 2001
In situ photosynthetic study for seagrass Cymodocea serrulata at two depths (0.5 m, 2.0 m) at Port Dickson, Negeri
Sembilan was conducted. The photosynthetic rate at 0.5 m was comparatively higher (0.4760.080 mg O
2
/hr/g fr wt or
0.5710.182 g O
2
/hr/cm
2
) than at 2.0 m depth (0.2920.030 mg O
2
/hr/g fr wt or 0.4260.135 g O
2
/hr/cm
2
). Respiration
rate was not significantly difference at the two depths. Laboratory study showed that the rate of photosynthesis varied with
light intensity, exhibiting saturation at 200-800 mol/m
2
/sec with a light compensation point at 20-40 mol/m
2
/sec. The
in situ light measurement recorded at 2.0 m depth was 108.339.18 mol/m
2
/sec, which is comparatively higher than those
at compensation light point, which suggests that this seagrass may inhabit the depth more than 2.0 m. However, based on
field observation, this seagrass was only found at depth of 1.5-2.0 m HWL.
Seagrass is a productive component in shallow marine
ecosystems that contribute significantly to the coastal
water carbon balance
1
. In many coastal areas,
seagrasses form extensive meadows, and are
recognised to be important in stabilising sea floor
2
.
The growth, distribution and abundance of seagrasses
are influenced by current regime
3
, nutrient
availability
4
, light intensity
5
, water temperature
6
and
salinity ranges
7
where they are growing. The seagrass
biomass generally decreases with increasing depth
due to light attenuation and the vertical distribution of
different seagrasses also depends on different light
intensity
9,10
.
The seagrass bed of Batu Tujuh (Port Dickson),
which consists seven of the 13 seagrass species
reported from Malaysia
11,12
are distributed along a
depth gradient ranging from intertidal zone down to
about 6 m. Among the seven seagrasses, C. serrulata
(Magnoliophyta/Potamogetonales/ Cymodoceaceae)
grows in intertidal area and never found in deeper
area with Halophila decipiens and big leaves variant
Halophila ovalis in this seagrass bed
12
. Therefore, it is
assumed that light availability is a contributing factor
that controls the penetration of C. serrulata in deeper
area in this seagrass bed. Hence, this study was
undertaken to detect the rate of photosynthesis of C.
serrulata at different depths and the adaptational
responses of this seagrass to different light intensities.
This study will reveal the possible contribution of
light on this intertidal species in one of the seagrass
bed at Port Dickson, Malaysia.
The present study was conducted at Port Dickson,
Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. It is an inshore tidal area
along the straits of Malacca (lat. 2 27 N ; long. 101
51 E). Presently, in situ photosynthesis study at
different depths was conducted under natural light
intensity from 1100 to 1400 hrs. Shoots of seagrass of
this species were collected and placed in the glass
cylinder (30 cm height, 2.6 cm diameter) filled with
seawater. The mouths of cylinder were closed with
rubber stopper ensuring that no air bubble was
present. Some of the cylinders were wrapped with
aluminium foil to generate the dark condition for dark
respiration. Ambient seawater was used for both light
and dark bottle experiments. Three replicates were
used at each depth for both photosynthesis and
respiration measurement. Other glass cylinders were
used as blanks including seawater without plants to
detect the water photosynthesis and respiration by
phytoplankton and bacteria. All cylinders were
incubated for 3 h at 0.5 m and 2.0 m depth of
seawater. After incubation for 3 h, the oxygen
produced or consumed was detected by oxygen
electrode methods (Rank Brothers Limited, UK). The
light intensity was determined by using a light sensor
(LICOR, Model 189). For the light response of
photosynthesis study, experiment was carried out in
the laboratory immediately after collection of

*Corresponding author
E mail: hena71@yahoo.com
INDIAN J MAR. SCI., VOL. 30, No. 4, DECEMBER 2001



254
specimens. The rate of photosynthesis was determined
as O
2
evolution
13
. About 1.5 to 2.0 cm long leaf
segment was placed in the cuvet chamber. Three
replicates were used for this detection and the mean
value was used. The photosynthesis measurement was
carried out at 28C with the light source provided by
250 watt halogen lamp. Light intensity (20 - 1600
mol/m
2
/sec) was varied by adjusting the distance of
light source from the chamber. Total chlorophyll
content was measured by the procedure described by
Arnon
14
.
Photosynthesis is a process of energy fixation that
is strongly affected by environmental factors,
temperature and light intensity. The rate of
photosynthesis of C. serrulata was higher at 0.5 m
than at 2 m (Fig. 1). This difference could be
attributed to higher light intensity at the depth of 0.5
m than 2 m (Fig. 2). However, the reduction of
photosynthesis at 2 m depth was not consistent with
the light attenuation. The light attenuation was almost
linear (y =-132.33x+363.46, r
2
=0.974, P <0.05)
with the depth to 2 m below the water surface. The
light intensity at 2 m reduced to around 72% of the
light at 1 m. However, the photosynthetic rate at 2 m
reduced only by about 39% (based on fr wt) or 26%
(based on leaf area). This could possibly be due to
difference in light quality at various depths as a result
of light absorption by water molecule and various
suspended matter in the water body. Since samples
used in the experiment were collected from the same
locality, the variation in sample could be ruled out.
In contrast, respiration rates for both fresh leaf
tissue and leaf surface area of this species were not
significantly different (t-test, P >0.05) between the
two depths (Fig. 1). Respiration remains
approximately the same provided that temperature
and other factors are essentially unchanged
15
, which
support the present finding. The normal oxygen
requirement for respiration of C. serrulata was almost
equal to the Halophila stipulacea (0.20 mgO
2
/hr/g dry
weight
16
. The respiration rates for other seagrasses
Halophila ovalis and Halodule uninervis were
0.920.13 and 0.340.13 mgO
2
/hr/g dry weight,
respectively
16
, with a much oxygen requirement when
compared to C. serrulata.
In laboratory study of C. serrulata, the maximum
photosynthetic rate recorded was 39.869.57 g
O
2
/min/g fr wt, 0.0620.02 g O
2
/min/cm
2
leaf area
or 40.946.54 g O
2
/min/mg chlorophyll at the light
intensity of 800 mol/m
2
/sec (Fig. 3). No net
photosynthesis was observed at 20 and 40
mol/m
2
/sec. Photosynthetic rates decreased
gradually when the light intensity increased above
800 mol/m
2
/sec. The light compensation of
C. serrulata was at the light intensity of 20-40 mol
/m
2
/sec. Clarke
15
stated that at light intensities below
this value, photosynthesis may still go on but the plant
cannot survive because the energy lost due to the
activities of catabolic process represented by
respiration, which exceed the gain in energy, brought


Fig. 1Photosynthesis and respiration rate at 0.5 and 2.0 m
depths of seagrass Cymodocea serrulataA) based on fresh
weight, B) based on leaf surface area


Fig. 2Light intensity of different depths during the experimental
time (J uly 10, 1999) of seagrass Cymodocea serrulata of Batu
Tujuh seagrass bed, Teluk Kemang, Port Dickson.
SHORT COMMUNICATION



255
by the anabolic process of photosynthesis. The light
compensation of the present study was comparable
with the values of other seagrass reported by
Dennison
9
and Bulthuis
17
. Pollard & Greenway
18

found that high light compensation for Cymodocea
serrulata, Thalassia hemprichii and Zostera
capricorni were due to high respiration demand of the
plants, which resulted from the high water
temperature. They also found that the light
compensation points were 80 to 98 mol/m
2
/sec due
to high water temperature (29-33C) in Australian
seagrass beds. In present experiment the temperature
was 28C throughout the experimental period.
The light response of seagrass C. serrulata showed
increased photosynthesis correspondingly with the
light intensity from 40 to 200 mol/m
2
/sec and
photosynthesis peaked at light saturation at 200-800
mol/m
2
/sec. The photosynthesis irradiance (PI)
curve relation revealed that photoinhibition was set
when the light intensity increased beyond
800 mol/m
2
/sec for C. serrulata. The light intensity
at 1 cm below the surface during the study period was
around 370 mol/m
2
/sec. This is far below the
minimum intensity that may cause photoinhibition. It
is predicted that based on laboratory experiments,
C. serrulata is capable to carry out photosynthesis at
very shallow water such as low tide, as well as below
2 m depth. On the other hand, this seagrass could also
penetrate deeper area with Halophila decipiens and
big leaves variant Halophila ovalis in this study
area
12
. However, in the present study area the limited
intertidal distribution of C. serrulata could possibly
be affected by other environmental factors i.e.
substratum, current movement or other factors.
Authors are grateful to Malaysian Government for
financial support (IRPA) project no. 08-02-04-019.
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Fig. 3Photosynthesis rate of seagrass Cymodocea serrulata at
different light intensities,A) based on fresh weight, B) based on
leaf surface area, C) based on chlorophyll content
INDIAN J MAR. SCI., VOL. 30, No. 4, DECEMBER 2001



256
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