Philpott, Darcy E., Coles, Robert G., Omundsen, Sarah, Rasheed, Michael A., Smith, Timothy M., Lee Long, Warren J., Sheaves, Marcus, McKenzie, Len J., Sankey, Tonia, and York, Paul H. (2026) Multi-decadal Change in a Tropical Seagrass Meadow Reshapes Juvenile Fish Assemblages. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 342. 110155.

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Abstract

Seagrass meadows are essential habitats that support diverse and abundant fish assemblages, yet they are increasingly threatened by disturbance from anthropogenic impacts and extreme climate events. This study quantified changes in fish assemblages associated with seagrass loss and recovery in a tropical estuarine system in Cairns Harbour, Australia, using a multi-decadal beam trawl dataset spanning pre-disturbance, disturbance, and recovery periods.

Seagrass loss from consecutive storms and floods was associated with substantial declines in fish abundance (∼84%) and taxonomic richness (∼73%), consistent with major habitat loss. Following disturbance, both abundance and richness recovered to levels comparable to pre-disturbance conditions, indicating recovery based on fish abundance and richness. Despite this recovery, assemblage composition differed significantly among pre-disturbance, disturbance and recovery periods indicating a restructured fish community, with shifts in functional composition and trophic structure rather than a return to pre-disturbance conditions. Indicator species analysis further highlighted this transition, with taxa associated with disturbance conditions and seagrass-associated species absent or slower to recover.

These findings demonstrate that recovery following seagrass disturbance is characterised not by a simple return to pre-disturbance conditions, but by a reorganisation of fish assemblages across both taxonomic and functional dimensions. This highlights the importance of integrating abundance, composition and functional metrics when assessing ecosystem recovery in tropical seagrass habitats.

Item ID:	93365
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	1096-0015
Keywords:	Seagrass; Recovery; Disturbance; Fish assemblages; Nursery function; Trophic groups
Copyright Information:	© 2026 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Funders:	Australian Research Council (ARC), Ports North (PN), North Queensland Bulk Ports Corporation (NQBP), BHP Billiton, Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment (HWRE)
Projects and Grants:	ARC Linkage grant LP210300851
Date Deposited:	20 Aug 2026 02:39
FoR Codes:	31 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 3103 Ecology > 310305 Marine and estuarine ecology (incl. marine ichthyology) @ 60% 41 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES > 4101 Climate change impacts and adaptation > 410102 Ecological impacts of climate change and ecological adaptation @ 40%
SEO Codes:	18 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT > 1802 Coastal and estuarine systems and management > 180201 Assessment and management of coastal and estuarine ecosystems @ 50% 18 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT > 1802 Coastal and estuarine systems and management > 180203 Coastal or estuarine biodiversity @ 50%
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