Decomposition is essential for carbon and nutrients cycling for all ecosystems (Hoorens et al., 2003). In lentic aquatic environments (e.g., lakes and reservoirs), aquatic macrophytes are the main autochthonous detritus source, and their mineralization is fundamental for maintaining biogeochemical cycles, associated with energy flux and detritus food-webs. (Bianchini Junior et al., 2014). In di...

Vegetative propagule pressure may affect the establishment and structure of aquatic plant communities that are commonly dominated by plants capable of clonal growth. We experimentally constructed aquatic communities consisting of four submerged macrophytes (Hydrilla verticillata, Ceratophyllum demersum, Elodea nuttallii and Myriophyllum spicatum) with three levels of vegetative propagule pressu...

A chironomid midge, Cricotopus lebetis (Sublette) (Diptera: Chironomidae), was discovered attacking the apical meristems of Hydrilla verticillata (L.f. Royle) in Crystal River, Citrus Co., Florida in 1992. The larvae mine the stems of H. verticillata and cause basal branching and stunting of the plant. Temperature-dependent development, cold tolerance, and the potential distribution of the midg...

Heavy metal pollution has become an increasingly recognized threat to the aquatic environment. In response to heavy metal stresses, various terrestrial plants produce the hormone nitric oxide (NO), but minimal information is available about the role of NO in aquatic macrophytes under high zinc (Zn) stress. In this study, we measured physiochemical parameters in the leaves of Hydrilla verticilla...

Hydrilla verticillata is an aquatic macrophyte recently found in the Upper Paraná River floodplain. This species has a high potential to reproduce and disperse to new sites, mainly through stem fragments. In this study, we evaluated the colonization (the ability of roots to develop), regeneration (the ability of lateral shoots to develop) and growth rates of this species using fragments of diff...

The effects of water flow on the leaf-biofilm interface of Vallisneria natans and Hydrilla verticillata were investigated using artificial plants as the control. Water flow inhibited the growth of two species of submerged macrophytes, reduced oxygen concentrations in plant leaves and changed oxygen profiles at the leaf-biofilm interface. The results from confocal laser scanning microscopy and m...

Non-contact intracellular binding and controllable manipulation of chloroplasts in vivo was demonstrated using an optical fiber probe. Launching a 980-nm laser beam into a fiber, which was placed about 3 μm above the surface of a living plant (Hydrilla verticillata) leaf, enabled stable binding of different numbers of chloroplasts, as well as their arrangement into one-dimensional chains and tw...