Dynamics of seagrasses in a heterogeneous tropical reef ecosystem


Contact
Dominik.Kneer [ at ] awi.de

Abstract

In tropical Southeast Asia seagrasses can be found in three types of habitats: "River estuaries" (including mud flats), "Shallow Coastal / Back Reef" (including reef flats and lagoons) and "Deep Water / Deep Coastal / Fore Reef". Especially those seagrass meadows growing on reef flats are characterized by high temporal and spatial dynamics. Research conducted in the Spermonde Archipelago, Southwest Sulawesi, Indonesia, revealed that water motion and water depth are important structuring agents which influence the species composition of mixed meadows. Furthermore, burrowing alpheid and callianassid shrimp fulfill important roles in the meadows by enhancing nutrient recycling and controlling the lower boundary of the meadows. It is concluded that both abiotic (water motion and depth) and biotic (e.g. shrimp) factors affect the capacity of top-reef seagrass meadows to process and sequester carbon. The potential impact of sea level rise and ocean acidification on these meadows is also discussed.



Item Type
Conference (Invited talk)
Authors
Divisions
Primary Division
Programs
Primary Topic
Publication Status
Published
Event Details
Department of Biological Sciences Seminar, 02 Dec 2013 - 02 Dec 2013, Faculty of Science, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
Eprint ID
35336
Cite as
Kneer, D. (2013): Dynamics of seagrasses in a heterogeneous tropical reef ecosystem , Department of Biological Sciences Seminar, Faculty of Science, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 2 December 2013 - 2 December 2013 .


Share
Add to AnyAdd to TwitterAdd to FacebookAdd to LinkedinAdd to PinterestAdd to Email

Geographical region

Research Platforms
N/A

Campaigns
N/A


Actions
Edit Item Edit Item