FINAL REPORT NARRATIVE Sandra L. Maldonado Ramírez (PI) and Rafael Montalvo Rodríguez (Co-PI) Department of Biology, PO Box 9012, University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus, Mayagüez, PR 00681-9012 PROBLEM Research in terrestrial plants has provide evidence that endophytic microorganisms can provide their hosts diverse benefits, including tolerance to salt and drought, seed vitality, enhanced resistance to herbivores and pathogens, and even solubilization of phosphorus and nitrogen. In the sea grass bed ecosystem the information related to the temporal and spatial distribution, host specificity, seasonality of the endophytic flora inhabiting healthy tissue, and the role of the endophytic microflora associated with the host does not exist. We proposed to gather this data sampling four different sites in Puerto Rico with different anthropogenic activity histories to provide this information and to propose new tools for restoration efforts and ecosystem management. METHODS USED Study areas: We collected a total of 120 plants of Thalassia testudinum during the extension of this research. Samples were collected twice (fifteen samples at each sampling event) from Buyé Beach and Los Morillos in Cabo Rojo, Cayo Enrique in Lajas, and Puerto de la Libertad in Vieques (Fig. 1).
Puerto de la Libertad, Vieques Buyé Beach, Cabo Rojo
Los Morillos, Cabo Rojo
Cayo Enrique, Lajas
Fig. 1. Location of sea grass beds of Thalassia testudinum evaluated. Maps were obtained from http://maps.google.com.
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