Translational Fluctuating Asymmetry and Leaf Dimension in Seagrass, Zostera capricorni Aschers in a Gradient of Heavy Metals

摘要

Methodology for measuring translational fluctuating asymmetry (TFA) on leaves ofudseagrass, Zostera capricorni Aschers has been developed and tested to detect a subtleudeffect of environmental stress associated with heavy metal pollution on developmentaludinstability. Our analyses showed that concentration of heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Cu, Zn,udSe) in leaves and roots of the seagrass were significantly higher in the polluted locationudthan in relatively unpolluted locations. We found significant differences in TFAudbetween different locations, showing that the method is sensitive enough to detect spatialuddifferences even within a rather small water body, but these differences were notudassociated with a higher concentration of heavy metals, i.e. plants from the pollutedudlocation did not show higher TFA. Possibly, seagrass can store heavy metals in theirudtissues and protect their development from the toxic effect, or the effect of heavy metalsudin the natural environment is confounded by other environmental factors. At the sameudtime, we found that plants from the polluted location had narrower leaves than in relativelyudunpolluted ones, which may be caused by heavy metals or associated factors.