Abstract
Abstract. Seagrass meadows are constantly under threat from natural and man-made stresses due to its shallow existence in the coastal environment. Restoration and preservation of seagrasses by means of rehabilitation or transplanting strategies is possible, but the studies have been limited. An agent-based model of a mixed Philippine seagrass meadow is presented. Three species were used for testing: Enhalus acoroides, Thalassia hemprichii, and Cymodocea rotundata. The model features parameter-based clonal growth of seagrass species, recruitment of new seagrass apices through basic flowering/seeding, and a crowding logic for multiple coexisting species in a single meadow. Seagrass clonal growth is modeled using a modified Diffusion-Limited Aggregation (DLA) model. Each species has a preconfigured set of parameters for clonal growth including rhizome elongation, branching rate, vertical elongation rate, rhizome branching angle and shoot age. Seed recruitment is applied through occasional flowering/seeding events configurable per species. We developed a simple three-species competition model which controls the growth and direct competition effects based on a configurable population size and comparison radius. Upon further calibration and validation, the model would enable more accurate long-term predictions for different rehabilitation and transplanting strategies of mixed seagrass meadows. Further improvements can also be implemented, particularly taking into account the environmental variables within the meadows such as light attenuation and salinity, among other factors.
Highlights
Seagrasses are marine flowering plants found mainly in shallow and brackish waters in gently sloping, protected coastlines horizontally, with leaves reaching upward and roots growing sideways and down
There are around 60 species of seagrass found in the ocean throughout the world and at least 16 taxa of seagrass are found in the coastlines of the Philippines
Seagrasses contribute a lot to the blue carbon ecosystem
Summary
Seagrasses are marine flowering plants found mainly in shallow and brackish waters in gently sloping, protected coastlines horizontally, with leaves reaching upward and roots growing sideways and down. Their leaves have veins and air channels to allow gas and nutrient exchange while their roots and rhizomes are often buried to anchor the plant, store carbohydrates, and absorb nutrients. There are around 60 species of seagrass found in the ocean throughout the world and at least 16 taxa of seagrass are found in the coastlines of the Philippines Their ecological function make them a vital part of the marine ecosystem. Seagrasses contribute a lot to the blue carbon ecosystem They capture and store large amounts of carbon from the atmosphere. Sediment banks accumulated by of seagrasses by means of rehabilitation or transplanting strategies is possible, but the studies have been limited
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