McKenna, Skye, Jarvis, Jessie, Rasheed, Michael, Reason, Carissa, and Fletcher, Adam (2022) Capacity for Cairns Harbour seagrass seed banks to fuel recovery following large-scale declines. In: AMSA 2022: Program Book. 425. p. 262. From: AMSA 2022: 58th Annual AMSA Conference, 7-11 August 2022, Cairns, QLD, Australia.

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Abstract

Seagrass meadows commonly occur near ports and urban centres, exposing them to increased risks and threats associated with anthropogenic activity. Effectively mitigating these risks requires a strategic approach to monitoring condition and resilience, and the development of appropriate management tools. This approach has been applied in the Ports North/JCU Seagrass monitoring program which has examined seagrass habitats in the port, as well as a range of targeted research for management application for the past 21 years. As part of this program, we conducted a targeted study on the sediment seed bank of Cairns seagrasses in response to meadow-scale seagrass loss, and concerns raised over their capacity for recovery and resilience. A spatially explicit seed bank analysis was paired with a long-term annual assessment of seagrass distribution to assess seed bank spatial patterns and their relationship with fuelling the recovery and presence of seagrass. Results demonstrated that the Cairns Harbour seed bank was not uniform and had a species dependent spatial and temporal structure related to previous seagrass distribution. Measurements of seed-bank viability over time demonstrated a rapid decline of seed viability following the seagrass loss and no replenishment. Recovery of the meadows occurred from the few viable seeds that remained 3-4 years after loss. The seed bank did not provide a static level of insurance distributed evenly across entire meadows and in the event of meadow scale loss there is a limited temporal capacity to generate recovery. Understanding these spatial, temporal and species-specific dynamics adds valuable context for management of seagrasses, especially for decisions on interventions such as restoration and informing recovery.

Item ID:	86544
Item Type:	Conference Item (Abstract / Summary)
Related URLs:	https://www.amsa.asn.au/amsa-home/amsa-a...
Date Deposited:	07 Aug 2025 02:00
FoR Codes:	31 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 3108 Plant biology > 310804 Plant developmental and reproductive biology @ 33% 41 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES > 4101 Climate change impacts and adaptation > 410102 Ecological impacts of climate change and ecological adaptation @ 33% 41 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES > 4104 Environmental management > 410402 Environmental assessment and monitoring @ 34%
SEO Codes:	18 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT > 1802 Coastal and estuarine systems and management > 180201 Assessment and management of coastal and estuarine ecosystems @ 100%
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