Is light involved in the vertical growth response of seagrasses when buried by sand?

Abstract

Involvement of light in the vertical growth response of Cymodocea nodosa (Ucria) Ascherson seedlings to sand burial was tested by comparing the growth response of seedlings that were buried and seedlings that were buried but had the shoot meristem illuminated using an optic fiber. Mortality of shoots was higher in the buried and illuminated shoots than in those only buried. The number of new leaves and the length of the vertical rhizome internodes produced during the experiment tended to decrease when the shoots were buried and illuminated, while the length of the leaf sheaths was not affected. Results indicate that light is one of the environmental signals that control the vertical growth response of C. nodosa when buried by sand, and that the shoot meristem is the place where the changes in the light environment of the shoot are detected.