Effects of enhanced loads of nutrients on epiphytes on leaves and rhizomes of Posidonia oceanica

摘要: The increase of anthropogenic activities has severely altered both terrestrial and aquatic systems. Urbanisation, excessive use agricultural fertilisers, organic runoff climate change have caused an nutrients in coastal waters, altering the diversity food-web structure benthic assemblages. aims present paper were to text if experimentally increased availability nutrients, primarily nitrogen phosphorous, oligotrophic basin, would affect epiphytic assemblages on leaves rhizomes P. oceanica whether this could rates consumption plant by herbivores. In particular, we tested hypothesis i) that changes species composition abundance generated enrichment vary between ii) alterations might, turn, modify feeding herbivorous fish. After two years, leaf rhizome responded nutrient concentrations before occurrence drastic host plant, but only former showed significant terms composition. Moreover, a larger intensity grazing was documented enriched areas than controls. findings conclusions are applicable other systems where patterns biodiversity depend due natural or events, likely interacting with biological processes, such as competition grazing.