MODELING SEAGRASS LANDSCAPE PATTERN AND ASSOCIATED ECOLOGICAL ATTRIBUTES

Water flow through seagrass beds transports nutrients, affects sediment stability and chemistry, and imposes hydrodynamic forces on shoots that alter canopy configuration. Past studies done under diverse conditions yielded conflicting results about the effects of shoot density on flow through seagrass bed canopies. We used eelgrass, Zostera marina, to study how the density of flexible shoots affect the hydrodynamics of seagrass beds in unidirectional water flow. By exposing randomly-arranged shoots of uniform length to current velocities controlled in a flume, the effects of shoot density and distance downstream from the bed edge could be determined without confounding factors. Comparison of velocity profiles within beds to those upstream of beds showed that flow was slower in the beds. However, shoot density, downstream distance, and current velocity did not affect the percent reduction in flow velocity in a bed. Turbulence enhances mixing of substances carried in the water. Here, turbulence intensity (index of the importance of turbulent velocity fluctuations relative to average current velocity) was lower when ambient flow was faster, but was not affected by shoot density or downstream position, Drag (hydrodynamic force on a shoot that bends it over in the flow direction) provides another measure of how the canopy affects flow experienced by a shoot. Drag was not affected by current velocity, shoot density, or downstream position in the bed. Gaps between shoots can enhance light and flow penetration into the canopy, but when shoots are bent over by flow, they can cover gaps. Faster ambient currents caused greater gap closure, which at each current speed was greater for high shoot densities. Thus, canopy gap closure did not correlate with percent flow reduction in grass beds or with drag on individual shoots, both of which were independent of shoot density and ambient current velocity. Since changing shoot density does not affect the flow in a grass bed exposed to a given ambient current, our results are inconsistent with the hypothesis that the high shoot densities observed in grass beds in habitats exposed to rapid flow are due to a direct, adaptive response of the grass to the flow environment.

There is considerable debate about the role of competition in shaping species distributions over broad spatial extents. This debate has practical implications because predicting changes in species' geographic ranges in response to ongoing environmental change would be simpler if competition could be ignored. While this debate has been the subject of many reviews, recent literature has not addressed the rates of relevant processes. This omission is surprising in that ecologists hypothesized decades ago that regional competitive exclusion is a slow process. The goal of this review is to reassess the debate under the hypothesis that competitive exclusion over broad spatial extents is a slow process. Available evidence, including simulations presented for the first time here, suggests that competitive exclusion over broad spatial extents occurs slowly over temporal extents of many decades to millennia. Ecologists arguing against an important role for competition frequently study modern patterns and/or range dynamics over periods of decades, while much of the evidence for competition shaping geographic ranges at broad spatial extents comes from paleoecological studies over time scales of centuries or longer. If competition is slow, as evidence suggests, the geographic distributions of some, perhaps many species, would continue to change over time scales of decades to millennia, even if environmental conditions did not continue to change. If the distributions of competing species are at equilibrium it is possible to predict species distributions based on observed species–environment relationships. However, disequilibrium is widespread as a result of competition and many other processes. Studies whose goal is accurate predictions over intermediate time scales (decades to centuries) should focus on factors associated with range expansion (colonization) and loss (local extinction), as opposed to current patterns. In general, understanding of modern range dynamics would be enhanced by considering the rates of relevant processes.

MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 516:49-59 (2014) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps10873 Comparison of the influence of patch-scale and meadow-scale characteristics on flow within seagrass meadows: a flume study A. Adhitya1,5,*, T. J. Bouma1, A. M. Folkard2, M. M. van Katwijk3, D. Callaghan4, H. H. de Iongh5, P. M. J. Herman1 1Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), PO Box 140, 4400 AC Yerseke, the Netherlands 2Lancaster Environment Centre, University of Lancaster, Lancaster LA1 4YQ, UK 3Department of Environmental Science, Institute for Wetland and Water Research, Faculty of Science, Radboud University Nijmegen, PO Box 9010, 6500 GL Nijmegen, The Netherlands 4School of Civil Engineering, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia 5Institute of Environmental Sciences, CML/Conservation Biology, Van Steenis gebouw, Einsteinweg 2, PO Box 22333 CC Leiden, The Netherlands *Corresponding author: achmad.adhitya@nioz.nl ABSTRACT: Hydrodynamic processes are an important agent of stress and facilitation in seagrass meadows, but little is known about the effects of the common phenomenon of heterogeneity of seagrass meadows on their interactions with hydrodynamic processes. To address this gap in knowledge, 4 heterogeneous configurations of Posidionia oceanica mimics were analyzed in a laboratory flume. The 4 configurations were created by placing 4 boards of mimics, i.e. 2 with high shoot density (~1100 shoots m-2) and 2 with low shoot density (~400 m-2), in different patterns (checkerboard, parallel, dense-sparse, and sparse-dense). Our results show that volumetric flow rate through each canopy, which is an indicator of the rate of supply of resources transported by the flow, tended to be greater in the low-density patches, regardless of the configuration. We also found that the Reynolds stress component τRe was positive in the lower-density patches (indicating that horizontal momentum was being transferred into the patch) and negative in the high-density patches (indicating that horizontal momentum was being transferred upwards out of the patch). Our results suggest that in resource-limited environments, hydrodynamic processes favor the growth of lower-density patches in heterogeneous seagrass meadows, thereby causing meadows to become more homogeneous over time. KEY WORDS: Seagrass · Posidionia oceanica · Hydrodynamics · Heterogeneity · Patches · Shoot density Full text in pdf format PreviousNextCite this article as: Adhitya A, Bouma TJ, Folkard AM, van Katwijk MM, Callaghan D, de Iongh HH, Herman PMJ (2014) Comparison of the influence of patch-scale and meadow-scale characteristics on flow within seagrass meadows: a flume study. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 516:49-59. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps10873 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 516. Online publication date: December 03, 2014 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2014 Inter-Research.

Effective management of invasive species requires robust projections of how alternative management strategies influence long-term invasion outcomes, required effort, and associated trade-offs. We used a spatially explicit population model, linked with empirical data on aerial culling efficiency, to project (from 2023 to 2060) alternative management scenarios for limiting the spread and establishment of an invasive fallow deer ( Dama dama ) population in a high-value conservation area, the Walls of Jerusalem National Park (WJNP), Tasmania, Australia. We compared six feasible aerial culling scenarios that varied in the frequency (annual, biennial, or five-yearly) and spatial extent (broad versus concentrated management zones) of control, relative to a baseline scenario with no future management. Scenarios were evaluated in terms of their ability to limit deer occupancy and abundance within the WJNP, the cumulative presence of deer over time, the amount of management effort required, and population-level animal welfare outcomes. All management scenarios reduced deer invasion into the WJNP relative to no management, but strategies that applied culling across a broad spatial extent were consistently more effective than those targeting only high-density source areas. More frequent culling further improved outcomes, although gains were modest relative to changes in spatial extent. Strategies that combined broad-scale culling with annual or biennial frequency achieved the best balance between reducing invasion pressure and limiting management effort, while also resulting in fewer deer being culled overall. Complete exclusion of deer from the WJNP was achievable only under a more intensive strategy involving annual culling across a substantially expanded area, but this required a nearly four-fold increase in effort compared to the scenarios aimed at minimising, rather than eliminating, invasion. Our results highlight trade-offs between management effectiveness, effort, and welfare outcomes, and demonstrate how spatial population models coupled with operational data can support practical, evidence-based decisions for managing invasive species.

Pest control services provided by naturally occurring species (the so-called biocontrol services) are widely recognized to provide key incentives for biodiversity conservation. This is particularly relevant for vertebrate-mediated biocontrol services as many vertebrate species are of conservation concern, with most of their decline associated to landscape modification for agricultural purposes. Yet, we still lack rigorous approaches evaluating landscape-level correlates of biocontrol potential by vertebrates over broad spatial extents to better inform land-use and management decisions. We performed a spatially-explicit interaction-based assessment of potential biocontrol services in Portugal, using 1853 pairwise trophic interactions between 78 flying vertebrate species (birds and bats) and 53 insect pests associated to two widespread and economically valuable crops in the Euro-Mediterranean region, olive groves (Olea europaea subsp. europaea) and vineyards (Vitis vinifera subsp. vinifera). The study area was framed using 1004 square cells, each 10 × 10 km in size. Potential biocontrol services were determined at all those 10 × 10 km grid-cells in which each crop was present as the proportion of the realized out of all potential pairwise interactions between vertebrates and pests. Landscape correlates of biocontrol potential were also explored. Our work suggests that both birds and bats can effectively provide biocontrol services in olive groves and vineyards as they prey many insect pest species associated to both crops. Moreover, it demonstrates that these potential services are impacted by landscape-scale features and that this impact is consistent when evaluated over broad spatial extents. Thus, biocontrol potential by vertebrates significantly increases with increasing amount of natural area, while decreases with increasing area devoted to target crops, particularly olive groves. Overall, our study highlights the suitability of our interaction-based approach to perform spatially-explicit assessments of potential biocontrol services by vertebrates at local spatial scales and suggest its utility for integrating biodiversity and ecosystem services in conservation planning over broad spatial extents.

Tolerance of tropical seagrasses Zostera muelleri and Halophila ovalis to burial: Toward an understanding of threshold effects

Identifying and understanding functional process domains (sensu Montgomery, 1999) in rivers is paramount for linking the physical habitat template to ecosystem structure and function. To date, efforts to do this have been rare, especially in large rivers, as they require appropriate tools for quantifying habitat heterogeneity with fine-scale resolution across broad spatial extents. In this study, we used side-scan sonar technology to map riverbed substrate at six sites in the Yellowstone and Missouri rivers. Substrate maps were then analyzed and visualized using geospatial analysis to relate fine-grained spatial substrate patterns to process domain structure. Our findings revealed two distinct nested domains of substrate patchiness, suggesting that different factors are responsible for shaping patterns of substrate at different scales. Although small-scale patchiness in substrate was likely driven by internal, or autogenic, physical processes, patterns at larger segment extents (>3 km) were often driven by abrupt transitions in habitat related to exogenous factors such as lateral erosion of talus, tributary inputs, and bank armoring. Additionally, we found that heterogeneity in benthic substrate increased with spatial extent at all of our study sites; however, this relationship was lower in the Missouri River, which is altered by impoundment. Our study represents one of the first efforts to relate benthic habitat heterogeneity to nested process domain structure in large riverscapes, and offers a unique perspective for linking landscape processes, geomorphological habitat heterogeneity, and biological structure and function in large rivers.

Species loss is occurring globally at unprecedented rates, and effective conservation planning requires an understanding of landscape characteristics that determine biodiversity patterns. Habitat heterogeneity is an important determinant of species diversity, but is difficult to measure across large areas using field-based methods that are costly and logistically challenging. Satellite image texture analysis offers a cost-effective alternative for quantifying habitat heterogeneity across broad spatial scales. We tested the ability of texture measures derived from 30-m resolution Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) data to capture habitat heterogeneity and predict bird species richness across the conterminous United States. We used Landsat 8 satellite imagery from 2013-2017 to derive a suite of texture measures characterizing vegetation heterogeneity. Individual texture measures explained up to 21% of the variance in bird richness patterns in North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) data during the same time period. Texture measures were positively related to total breeding bird richness, but this relationship varied among forest, grassland, and shrubland habitat specialists. Multiple texture measures combined with mean EVI explained up to 41% of the variance in total bird richness, and models including EVI-based texture measures explained up to 10% more variance than those that included only EVI. Models that also incorporated topographic and land cover metrics further improved predictive performance, explaining up to 51% of the variance in total bird richness. A texture measure contributed predictive power and characterized landscape features that EVI and forest cover alone could not, even though the latter two were overall more important variables. Our results highlight the potential of texture measures for mapping habitat heterogeneity and species richness patterns across broad spatial extents, especially when used in conjunction with vegetation indices or land cover data. By generating 30-m resolution texture maps and modeling bird richness at a near-continental scale, we expand on previous applications of image texture measures for modeling biodiversity that were either limited in spatial extent or based on coarse-resolution imagery. Incorporating texture measures into broad-scale biodiversity models may advance our understanding of mechanisms underlying species richness patterns and improve predictions of species responses to rapid global change.

Seagrass habitats exhibit high structural variability at local (<1 to 10s of m) and landscape (100 to 1000s of m) scales, which is closely linked with physical setting. In this study, we conducted 2s pring and 2 fall field surveys in 1991 and 1992 over a 25 km long portion of Core and Back Sounds, North Carolina, USA, to relate macrofaunal abundance to measures of seagrass landscape structure and associated ecological variables. Independent variables included seagrass bed structure (percent cover and total linear edge), local-scale ecological attributes (shoot density, shoot biomass, percent sediment organic matter) and elements of physical setting (water depth and energy regime as esti- mated by a relative wave exposure index (REI)). Seagrass beds were composed of eelgrass (Zostera marina: fall/spring-dominant), shoalgrass (Halodule wrightii: summer-dominant), some widgeongrass (Ruppia maritima) and minor amounts of macroalgae. Seagrass coverage ranged from highly patchy (13% cover) dune-like beds to continuous (100% cover) low-relief beds within 18 replicate 50 × 50 m plots. Twelve species (8 decapods and 4 fishes) made up 95% or more of the catch, and densities of nearly all varied significantly between seasons and years. Multiple regression analysis indicated that relationships between faunal densities and environmental variables varied greatly between species and between collection periods. In addition, species-specific correlations between faunal density and environmental variables generally were not consistent among the 4 collection periods. REI and sea- grass shoot biomass appeared to have the greatest influence on species' densities, with REI having more influence on densities in 1991 and shoot biomass having more influence on densities in 1992. Seagrass percent cover and total linear edge explained little of the variation in species' densities. Only blue crab Callinectes sapidus density was (positively) correlated with seagrass percent cover in the spring of 1992. In principal components analyses, species groupings were inconsistent between col- lection periods, though grouping by relative abundance was evident in some collection periods. There was little separation between crustaceans and fishes in principal component space, but sites of high faunal abundance were distinct from sites of low faunal abundance. Sites with consistently high faunal abundance generally were found in western Core and Back Sounds, whereas sites with consistently low faunal abundance were found in eastern Core Sound, suggesting that processes operating at larger than landscape spatial scales (e.g. larval delivery by currents) may influence faunal commu- nity patterns in these seagrass landscapes. The influence of a variety of covarying factors on fauna operating over a range of spatial scales highlights fundamental differences in the relationship between landscape structure and animal abundance in seagrass versus terrestrial habitats.

Landscape ecology includes the study of the effects of spatial patterning of habitats on biotic and abiotic processes. Seagrass beds occur in a variety of spatial configurations providing a model system to test how spatial patterning of habitats influences ecological processes. We established four replicate plots over very patchy (22% cover), patchy (70% cover), and continuous (97% cover) seagrass beds so that each plot contained approximately 100 m 2 of vegetated bottom. Fifty individually marked scallops were placed within the seagrass in each plot and their survivorship monitored over three replicate 24-h periods, and growth and survival monitored over an additional four-week period. There was no pattern in survivorship with differences in habitat configuration over the first three 24-h of the experiment. By four weeks, more scallops were lost to predation in the very patchy seagrass beds than in the patchy or continuous beds. There was a non-significant trend for increased growth of juvenile scallops with increased patchiness of the seagrass habitat. Vegetation characteristics such as shoot density, biomass, and blade length, which have been shown to affect survival of seagrass-associated invertebrates, were not significantly different among seagrass beds with different spatial configurations. Our results demonstrate that spatial patterning of the habitat, independent of structural characteristics of the seagrass, can alter rates of predation on seagrass inhabitants. This implies that habitat utilization and/or foraging strategies of predators change with the spatial patterning of the vegetation and that very patchy seagrass beds may provide habitats where transfer of secondary production to higher trophic levels is great

PDF HTML阅读 XML下载 导出引用 引用提醒 环境影响评价的尺度约束性及技术框架 DOI: 10.5846/stxb201405221058 作者: 作者单位: 福建师范大学环境科学与工程学院,福建师范大学地理科学学院,福建师范大学环境科学与工程学院,福建师范大学环境科学与工程学院,厦门市华测检测技术有限公司 作者简介: 通讯作者: 中图分类号: 基金项目: 欧盟第七框架项目(IGIT247608);科技部国际合作专项(247608);福建省2012年高等学校优秀学科带头人赴海外访学研修项目 Scale constraint and technique frame for environmental impact assessment Author: Affiliation: Institute of Environment Science, College of Chemistry and Material Science, Fujian Normal University,,,, Fund Project: 摘要 | 图/表 | 访问统计 | 参考文献 | 相似文献 | 引证文献 | 资源附件 | 文章评论 摘要:尺度约束是地表复杂系统的基本规律,环评尺度约束常隐存于主观经验或零存于环评导则中,环评尺度约束较少被明确关注。讨论了环境影响尺度约束、环评尺度约束和环评技术框架尺度约束。研究发现,环境影响的尺度约束性内在原因在于环境影响主体、客体和影响内容存在等级结构;环评受空间、时间和分析三类尺度约束,空间尺度约束体现于空间范围和空间信息分辨率对环评影响,时间尺度约束体现于环评的时长和时频,分析尺度约束表现为环评技术方法和环境影响主观认知水平对评价的影响,三类尺度约束同时贯穿于环评过程,任何环评都可以在三类尺度空间中定位;环评技术框架的关键环节都受空间、时间和分析尺度约束,且以环境影响主体的空间、时间尺度为核心,具有一定弹性,一般空间或时间范围先放大再缩小、分辨率由粗到细。 Abstract:Scale constraint is a basic rule of the surface complex system on earth. For environmental impact assessment (EIA), scale constraint is hid in the experience of EIA professionals, or scattered among EIA technical guidelines; it is not a large concern for EIA professionals. This paper discusses the scale constraints of environmental impact, EIA, and the EIA technical frame. Results show that scale constraint of environmental impact responds to the hierarchical structures of human activities, environmental elements, and the influence of human activities on the physical environment. EIA is apparently restricted by spatial extent and resolution, temporal duration and frequency, and analysis scale, which includes the EIA technical models and the perception or the level of understanding about the environmental impact. The spatial, temporal, and analysis scales are independent, while being integrated in the process of EIA and restricting the EIA conclusion. Any EIA can be positioned in the three scales. Generally, the spatial data with low resolution may be available for EIA with large spatial extent, while spatial data with high resolution is required for EIA with small extent, so is the relationship between temporal frequency and duration. Furthermore, spatial, temporal and analysis scale restrict the key technical contents of EIA based on the officially published EIA technical guidelines both for project and for planning EIA. It proposes that the spatial and temporal scales of EIA subject should be the core scale, during the process of EIA, spatial and temporal extents may vary flexibly from large to small, while their resolutions may change from coarse to fine. 参考文献 相似文献 引证文献

Data availability limits phenological research at broad temporal and spatial extents. Butterflies are among the few taxa with broad-scale occurrence data, from both incidental reports and formal surveys. Incidental reports have biases that are challenging to address, but structured surveys are often limited seasonally and may not span full flight phenologies. Thus, how these data source compare in phenological analyses is unclear. We modeled butterfly phenology in relation to traits and climate using parallel analyses of incidental and survey data, to explore their shared utility and potential for analytical integration. One workflow aggregated “Pollard” surveys, where sites are visited multiple times per year; the other aggregated incidental data from online portals: iNaturalist and eButterfly. For 40 species, we estimated early (10%) and mid (50%) flight period metrics, and compared the spatiotemporal patterns and drivers of phenology across species and between datasets. For both datasets, inter-annual variability was best explained by temperature, and seasonal emergence was earlier for resident species overwintering at more advanced stages. Other traits related to habitat, feeding, dispersal, and voltinism had mixed or no impacts. Our results suggest that data integration can improve phenological research, and leveraging traits may predict phenology in poorly studied species.

Ocean acidification may be one of the greatest challenges facing 'Society over the next SO- 100 years. In the Mediterranean Sea, meadows of the seagrass <i>Posidonia oceanica</i> play a pivotal role in coastal systems, providing shelter and food for a highly diversified plant and animal community, and nursery for several commercial species of fish and bivalves. This thesis aims to provide a broad overview of the effect of acidification on <i>P. oceanica</i>, and its associated community, through observation of seagrass meadows associated with subtidal CO₂ vents off the Castello Aragonese, Ischia, Italy. Control (mean pH 8.1) and acidified (mean pH 7.8) stations were situated in seagrass meadows on both the north and south side of the Castello Aragonese. Research was concentrated into three main objectives; to investigate the effect of acidification on 1) plant structure and function, 2) invertebrate community dynamics, and 3) macroherbivore grazing pressure. Results suggested that <i>P. oceanica</i> and its associated community should be robust to levels of acidification projected for the end of this century. Seagrass density, invertebrate abundance, and <i>P. oceanica</i> grazing pressure all increased in response to acidification. Although a slight decrease in invertebrate diversity was observed in 'acidified stations, species richness was maintained. Increased grazing by the fish <i>Salpa salpa</i> was most highly correlated to a decrease in epiphytic algal cover and C:N content of the [eaves, and an increase seagrass density. Whilst fish may select leaves with low algal cover and C:N content, previous research suggests that increased shoot density is a response to high grazing pressure. The abundance of many groups of invertebrate taxa was positively correlated to shoot density, whilst decapods decreased during months of reduced canopy height, suggesting changes in <i>P. oceanica</i> condition variables, in response to acidification, may lead to a cascade of indirect effects which have positive or negative influences on the abundance of the associated invertebrate community. One of the most striking findings of this thesis was the ability of calcifying species to persevere, and even flourish in acidified conditions. This may be due to the complex nature of the seagrass, and high levels of photosynthesis, leading to local maintenance of pH microclimates. Secondly, the high degree of pH variability that naturally occurs in these shallow water habitats may result in organisms that are be better equipped to withstand pH variation. This research suggests that highly productive, non-calcifying, biogenic habitats, such as seagrass beds, may provide a refuge from OA, and highlights the importance of their conservation.

<strong class="journal-contentHeaderColor">Abstract.</strong> Seagrass meadows provide valuable socio-ecological ecosystem services, including a key role in climate change mitigation and adaption. Understanding the natural history of seagrass meadows across environmental gradients is crucial to decipher the role of seagrasses in the global ocean. In this data collation, spatial and temporal patterns in seagrass meadow structure, biomass, production and reproduction data are presented as a function of biotic and abiotic habitat characteristics. The biological traits compiled include measures of meadow structure (e.g., percent cover and shoot density), biomass (e.g., above-ground biomass), production (e.g., shoot production), and reproduction effort (e.g., flowering intensity and seed bank density). Categorical factors include bioregion, geotype (coastal or estuarine), genera and year of sampling. This dataset contains data extracted from peer-reviewed publications published between 1975 and 2020 based on a Web of Science search, and includes 15 data variables across 12 seagrass genera. The top four most studied genera are <em>Zostera</em>, <em>Thalassia</em>, <em>Halophila</em> and <em>Cymodocea</em> (80 % of data), and the least studied genera are <em>Phyllospadix</em>, <em>Amphibolis</em> and <em>Thalassodendron</em> (2.3 % of data). The data hotspot bioregion is the Tropical Indo Pacific (25 % of data), whereas data for the other five bioregions are evenly spread (ranging between 13 and 16 % of total data within each bioregion). From the data compiled, 39 % related to seagrass biomass, while the least number of data were related to seagrass production (10 % of data). This data collation can inform several research fields beyond seagrass ecology, such as the development of nature-based solutions for climate change mitigation, which include readership interested in blue carbon, engineering, fisheries, global change, conservation and policy.

Seagrass meadows provide valuable socio-ecological ecosystem services, including a key role in climate change mitigation and adaption. Understanding the natural history of seagrass meadows across environmental gradients is crucial to decipher the role of seagrasses in the global ocean. In this data collation, spatial and temporal patterns in seagrass meadow structure, biomass, production and reproduction data are presented as a function of biotic and abiotic habitat characteristics. The biological traits compiled include measures of meadow structure (e.g., percent cover and shoot density), biomass (e.g., above-ground biomass), production (e.g., shoot production), and reproduction effort (e.g., flowering intensity and seed bank density). Categorical factors include bioregion, geotype (coastal or estuarine), genera and year of sampling. This dataset contains data extracted from peer-reviewed publications published between 1975 and 2020 based on a Web of Science search, and includes 15 data variables across 12 seagrass genera. The top four most studied genera are Zostera, Thalassia, Halophila and Cymodocea (80 % of data), and the least studied genera are Phyllospadix, Amphibolis and Thalassodendron (2.3 % of data). The data hotspot bioregion is the Tropical Indo Pacific (25 % of data), whereas data for the other five bioregions are evenly spread (ranging between 13 and 16 % of total data within each bioregion). From the data compiled, 39 % related to seagrass biomass, while the least number of data were related to seagrass production (10 % of data). This data collation can inform several research fields beyond seagrass ecology, such as the development of nature-based solutions for climate change mitigation, which include readership interested in blue carbon, engineering, fisheries, global change, conservation and policy.