Over a decade monitoring Fiji's seagrass condition demonstrates resilience to anthropogenic pressures and extreme climate events

McKenzie, Len J., and Yoshida, Rudi L. (2020) Over a decade monitoring Fiji's seagrass condition demonstrates resilience to anthropogenic pressures and extreme climate events. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 160. 111636.

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Abstract

Seagrass are an important marine ecosystem of the Fiji Islands. We confirm six seagrass species from the archipelago and defined five broad categories of seagrass habitat. We report, with high confidence, seagrass meadows covering 59.19 km2 of Fiji's shallow water habitats from literature and this study. Long-term monitoring of seagrass abundance, species composition, and seed banks at eight sentinel sites, found no long-term trends. Examination of key attributes that affect seagrass resilience identified meadows as predominately enduring and dominated by opportunistic species which had moderate physiological resistance, and high recovery capacity. We examined threats to Fiji's seagrass meadows from extreme climatic events and anthropogenic activities using a suite of indicators, identifying water quality as a major pressure. Based on these findings, we assessed existing protections in Fiji afforded to seagrass and their services. This understanding will help to better manage for seagrass resilience and focus future seagrass research in Fiji.

Item ID: 64489
Item Type: Article (Research - C1)
ISSN: 1879-3363
Keywords: Seagrass, Habitats, Threats, Resilience, Monitoring, Management
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Copyright Information: © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Date Deposited: 30 Sep 2020 00:58
FoR Codes: 41 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES > 4101 Climate change impacts and adaptation > 410199 Climate change impacts and adaptation not elsewhere classified @ 60%
41 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES > 4104 Environmental management > 410404 Environmental management @ 40%
SEO Codes: 96 ENVIRONMENT > 9605 Ecosystem Assessment and Management > 960507 Ecosystem Assessment and Management of Marine Environments @ 50%
96 ENVIRONMENT > 9608 Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity > 960808 Marine Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity @ 50%
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