Ecosystem of Seagrass Meadow

Noverita Dian Takarina

October, 29th 2019
 Seagrasses
• Angiosperms (flowering plants) that live life entirely
underwater
• Primary productivity is among the highest measured
(500 - 4000 g C/m2/year)
• Important feeding and refuge habitat for fishery
species (shrimp, scallops, fishes)
• Seagrasses act as sediment stablizers help to filter
water
 Abiotic factors
• There are some parameters which influence
distribution and growth in ecosystem of
seagrass meadow. Those parameters are
consist of brightness (light), temperature,
salinity, substratum, and current speed.
 Brightness (Light)
• As plant, seagrass need light as photosynthesis
requirement.
• It is known that seagrass were rich at area
where the light are much.
 Temperature
• Seagrass can live both in temperate and tropical coastal.
• Although, at tropical area, seagrass has low tolerancy on
temperature dynamic.
• Optimal temperature for seagrass ranges from 28 oC to 30
oC.

• Cymodocea nodosa and P. oceanica grow in warmer

environments with temperatures ranging from
approximately 10 oC up to about 30 oC.
 Salinity
• Seagrass has different tolerancy to salinity.
• However, most seagrass perform wide range, which
are 10 – 40 o/oo.
• Optimum salinity for seagrass is 35 o/oo. C. nodosa
usually inhabits more saline areas with fluctuations
from 26 - 44‰,
• whereas P. oceanica only inhabits marine waters with
high salinities.
Major polyhaline seagrass species
Major oligohaline aquatic macrophytes
 Subtratum
• Seagrass can survive on various substratum.
• Seagrasses mainly require a soft substrate of gravel,
sand or mud, where rhizomes can elongate and roots
can fasten.
• Zostera marina, Z. noltii and C. nodosa can be found
on gravel as well as in mud rich in organic matter.
• In contrast, P. oceanica is usually found in more
coarse sediments.
 Current speed
• Productivity of seagrass can be affected by sea
current.
• On 0.5 m/sec, Thallasia testudinum can grow
maximally.
• Moreover, sea current is also responsible for
pollination process and seed distribution.
Seagrass productivity
 Habitat Complexity
• Habitat complexity is high in seagrass/Submerged
Aquatic Vegetation
• Predators are inhibited by complexity because the
prey have many places to hide
• Densities of many invertebrates (infaunal and
epifaunal) and small fishes are greater in SAV than in
nearby unvegetated areas
• Seagrass provides a refuge from predation
 Types of animals in seagrass
• Infauna: bury in sediment.
– Polychaete worms, amphipods, clams, benefit from root
and rhizome mat which protects from predators
– deeper-living animals survive better than shallow-living
(Mercenaria > Clione)
• Epifauna: Live on surface of blades and sediment
– Meiofauna (harpacticoid copepods), macrofauna
(amphipods. isopods), tube-dwelling sessile polychaetes,
gastropods, decapods
– Shoot and leaf complexity provides refuge
• Mobile fauna: Live in water over canopy
– fishes swim above canopy, dive into it when predator attack
 Biota associated
• Several groups of flora and fauna are associated
with seagrass in seagrass meadow. Those group
contain:
• Flora : algae
• Fauna invertebrates : meiofauna including
mollusc, echinoderm
• Fauna vertebrates : fish, reptil, mamals
 Algae
• Based on Veheij and Erftenmeiyer (1993), in
Sulawesi, there are
• 117 macroalgae species associated with
seagrass containing
• 50 species of Chlorophyta,
• 17 species of Phaeophyta and
• 50 species of Rhodophyta.
 Algae
• 13 algae having special association with seagrass
• Avrainviella stellata,
• Caulerpa bugineuse, C. racemosa ecad corynephora,
• Chaetomorpha crassa,
• Dictyota ciliolata, D. linearis,
• Hydroclathrus tenuis,
• Actinotrictia fragilis,
• Garacilaria salicornia,
• Trichogloea requierii,
• Fosliella sp.,
• Masthopora rosea,
• Neogoniolithonfloridum ecad frustesceus
 Meiofauna
• Study in Kuta, Gerupuk Gulf, and South
Lombok showed that meiofauna like
nematode, foraminifera, copepod, ostracod,
tubelaria, and polychaete associated with
seagrass (Susetiono, 1994).
 Meiofauna
• In Banten Bay, there are 15 species recorded
having association with seagrass, with two
dominant species are Pyrene versicolor and
Cerithium tenellum (Mudjiono et al. 1992).

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under

CC BY-SA
 Meiofauna
• In Kotania Bay, West Seram, Maluku, there
were 24 species of mollusc from Osi Island, 8
species from Pelita Jaya village, and 22 species
from Kotania village associated with seagrass.
Species like Anadara antiquata, Pinna nobilis,
P. muricata, and Atrina vexillum were
abundant
 Anadara antiquata
Pinna nobilis

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

Atrina vexillum
 Crustacea
• In Banten Bay, there are 28 species (Aswandy
& Hutomo, 1988), while in Kuta and Gerupuk
Gulf there are 70 species recorded. Two
members of Amphipod, Apseudeus chilkensis
and Eriopisa elongata were abundant in
Enhalus meadow of Grenyang Gulf
Eriopisa elongata

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND

 Echinoderm
• Study in Kuta and Gerupuk Gulf showed 45
species associated with seagrass containing
• 9 species of Asteroidea,
• 9 species of Echinoidea,
• 13 species of Holothuroidea,
• 12 species of Ophiuroidea, and
• 2 species of Crinoidea (Azis and Soegiarto, 1994).
 Fish
• Seagrass provides habitat for fish community.
• Study in Banten Bay showed 360 species of fishes
associated with seagrass.
• In South Lombok shore, there was finding about 85
species of fishes and including unique fish which live
in seagrass meadow. Those were Syngnathoides
biaculetus, Nova culichthys, Acreichthys sp.,
Centrogenys vaegensis
Syngnathoides biaculetus
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY
Nova culichthys
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY
Acreichthys sp
Centrogenys vaegensis
 Fish
• Basically, fishes live in seagrass meadow can be
grouped into:
• Live for whole life (spawn and other activity)
• Live from juvenile to adult, but spawn in other
places
• Live for juvenile
• Live for moment
 Reptil
• One of phenomenal reptil lives in seagrass
meadow is green sea turtle. For this species
seagrass is food source. This species consumes
several seagrasses like Cymodecea, Thalassia,
and Halophila
Food chains and food web
 Distribution of seagrass
• Seagrasses grow in salty and brackish (semi-salty)
waters around the world, typically along gently
sloping, protected coastlines.
• Antarctica is the only continent without
seagrasses. 
• Because they depend on light for photosynthesis, they are
most commonly found in shallow depths where light levels
are high.
• Many seagrass species live in depths of 3 to 9 feet (1 to 3
meters), but the deepest growing seagrass (Halophila
decipiens) has been found at depths of 190 feet (58 meters).
• While most coastal regions are dominated by one or a few
seagrass species, regions in the tropical waters of the Indian
and western Pacific oceans have the highest seagrass
diversity with as many as 14 species growing together .
 Seagrasses for human
• At 17 and 18 century, Zostera marina were major
food used by Seri Indians living along California Gulf.
The people harvested carbohydrate-rich seed which
used in various dishes
• Until 19 century, Zostera marina were also used as
medieval and filling material for pillows and
matresses, roofing material, and fodder.
• In north-west Pacific, eelgrass were consumed for
its root and leaf bases.
• In Netherland, eelgrass was applied to make dike
buliding.
• In South-East Asia, Enhalus are still food. Its
carbohydrate and protein content are
comparable with wheat and rice flour, even this
flour contain more calcium, iron, and phosporous
• Some area like Australia and America, Posidonia
oceania used as soil improver
 Seagrass for coastal zone system
• Seagrass meadow enhance the biodiversity
and habitat diversity of coastal waters.
• Seagrass meadow support production of living
marine resources
• Seagrass meadow improve water quality by
reducing particle loads in water and absorbing
dissolved nutrient
• Seagrass stabilize sediment
• Seagrass play siginificant role in global carbon and
nutrient cycling, and awareness of this aspect of
value of seagrasses is recently emerging
 Blue Carbon
• The carbon stored in sediments from coastal ecosystems
including seagrass meadows, mangrove forests and salt
marshes is known as "blue carbon" because it is stored in the
sea.
• One acre of seagrass can sequester 7,401 pounds of carbon
per year (83 g carbon per square meter per year), the same
amount emitted by a car traveling around 3,860 miles (6,212
km).
• It has been estimated that in this way the world's seagrass
meadows can capture 27.4 million tons of carbon each year
 Seagrass decline
• Decline of seagrass can be caused by natural
condition or antrhopogenic activity.
• Natural : earthquake, cyclone, animal activity
• Anthropogenic : eutrophication, siltation,
organic loading of sediments, toxic chemicals,
other phsyco-chemical change, mechanical
damage, invasion with exotic species