Authors

Roseller G. Sabilla

Author

Wilfredo H. Uy

Co-author

Mindanao State University at Naawan, 9023 Naawan, Misamis Oriental, Philippines

*Corresponding author: [email protected]

ABSTRACT

A study on the reproductive dynamics of the dugong grass, Thalassia hemprichii (Ehrenberg) Ascherson was carried out on the seagrass meadows of Tubajon, Laguindingan and Poblacion, Naawan, Misamis Oriental, and Danlugan, Lopez Jaena, Misamis Occidental from February to May, 2005. Age reconstruction technique through the analysis of leaf scars along the vertical rhizomes indicated that the flowering frequency of T. hemprichii is once every two years. The first flowering occurs between 1.5 to 2 years based on the presence of flower scars on vertical rhizomes. The average leaf plastochrone interval (LPI) on the shoots of T. hemprichii across sites was 6.4 days. The estimated biomass allocated to flowering ranged from 0.5 to 0.72 g DW m-2. Spatial differences in the morphology of flowers and fruits of T. hemprichii were observed across stations in the three study sites. The average number of fruits during peak reproductive season ranged from 5.5 to 6.2 m2, with an average number of 2.0 to 2.6 seeds fruit-1. These results indicate that the sexual reproduction of T. hemprichii is active and its capacity to provide new recruits from seedlings is relatively high.