Abstract
Seagrass is a valuable marine ecosystem engineer. However, seagrass population is declining worldwide. The lack of seagrass research in Malaysia raises questions about the status of seagrasses in the country. The seagrasses in Lawas, which is part of the coral-mangrove-seagrass complex, have never been studied in detail. In this study, we examine whether monthly changes of seagrass population in Lawas occurred. Data on estimates of seagrass percentage cover and water physicochemical parameters (pH, turbidity, salinity, temperature, and dissolved oxygen) were measured at 84 sampling stations established within the study area from June 2009 to May 2010. Meteorological data such as total rainfall, air temperature, and Southern Oscillation Index were also investigated. Our results showed that (i) the monthly changes of seagrass percentage cover are significant, (ii) the changes correlated significantly with turbidity measurements, and (iii) weather changes affected the seagrass populations. Our study indicates seagrass percentage increased during the El-Nino period. These results suggest that natural disturbances such as weather changes affect seagrass populations. Evaluation of land usage and measurements of other water physicochemical parameters (such as heavy metal, pesticides, and nutrients) should be considered to assess the health of seagrass ecosystem at the study area.
Highlights
Seagrasses are marine flowering plants that have the ability to complete their life cycle while fully submerged in marine environment constraints [1]
The stage of El-Nino events can be determined based on Southern Oscillation Index (SOI), which were obtained from the Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology
The differences of monthly seagrass percentage cover were analyzed by grouping the stations based on B-B Scale, a scale modified from Braun-Blanquet Scale [31], and Participatory Coastal Resource Assessment (PCRA) Scale [32] (Table 1)
Summary
Seagrasses are marine flowering plants that have the ability to complete their life cycle while fully submerged in marine environment constraints [1]. Combination of environmental changes such as physical parameters (temperature, salinity, and pH), natural phenomena (tidal effects, cyclone, and seasonal changes) and anthropogenic parameters has affected seagrass population [2, 11,12,13,14,15,16]. Other complex interactions such as water quality, grazers, and nutrients affect seagrass population by causing seagrass mortality [17]. Nutrients, and the physical characteristics of seagrasses were suggested as drivers that control seagrass population at the study area
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