Unravelling complexity in seagrass systems for management

Managers are often time poor and need access to synthesised assessments, commonly referred to as narratives. However, there is no single narrative for management of seagrass habitats in Australia, due to the diversity of... [ view full abstract ]

Managers are often time poor and need access to synthesised assessments, commonly referred to as narratives. However, there is no single narrative for management of seagrass habitats in Australia, due to the diversity of seagrass meadows and environmental pressures. To assist the manager, we developed a classification structure based on attributes of seagrass life history, habitat and meadow form. Seagrass communities are formed from species whose life history strategies can be described as colonising, opportunistic or persistent. They occupy habitats defined by the range and variability of their abiotic environment. This results in seagrass meadows that are either transitory or enduring. Transitory meadows may come and go and are able to re-establish from complete loss through sexual reproduction. Enduring meadows may fluctuate in biomass but maintain a presence by resisting pressures across multiple scales. This contrast reflects the interaction between the spatial and temporal aspects of species life history and habitat variability. Most management and monitoring strategies in place today favour enduring seagrasses. We adopt a functional classification of seagrass habitats based on modes of resilience to inform management for all seagrass communities. We synthesise various aspects of seagrass ecology to aid environmental decision-making, management and policy and use the diversity of seagrass habitats in Australia to demonstrate that knowledge from a range of specializations is required to understand seagrass condition and resilience. These concepts have world-wide relevance as the Australian case-studies have many analogues throughout the world.