Seagrass meadows provide multiple benefits to adjacent coral reefs through various microhabitat functions  

作　　者：Jianguo Du Wenjia Hu Ivan Nagelkerken Laddawan Sangsawang Kar Hoe Loh Jillian Lean-Sim Ooi Jianji Liao Xinqing Zheng Shuting Qiu Bin Chen 

机构地区：[1]Third Institute of Oceanography,Ministry of Natural Resources,Xiamen,China [2]Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Marine Ecological Conservation and Restoration,Xiamen,China [3]School of Biological Sciences and the Environment Institute,The University of Adelaide,Adelaide,Australia [4]Eastern Gulf of Thailand,Marine and Coastal Resources Research and Development Center,Rayong,Thailand [5]Institute of Ocean and Earth Sciences,University of Malaya,Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia [6]Department of Geography,Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences,University of Malaya,Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia

出　　处：《Ecosystem Health and Sustainability》2020年第1期533-540,532,共9页生态系统健康与可持续性（英文）

基　　金：The present study was supported by grants from the National Key Research and Development Program of China(No.2018YFC1406503);the National Natural Science Foundation of China(no.41676096);the China-Australia Marine Ecosystem Research project,the China-ASEAN Maritime Cooperation Fund project“Monitoring and conservation of the coastal ecosystem in the South China Sea,”and the University of Malaya,Top 100 Universities in The World Fund(TU001-2018).

摘　　要：Tropical seagrass meadows and coral reefs often function as interconnected marine habitats,but they are often studied and managed as homogenous units.As macrohabitats,seagrass meadows provide important benefits to adjacent reef ecosystems by acting as natural filters of sediments and nutrients,and by providing critical feeding,nursery,and refuge habitats for reef fishes and other fauna.Whilst the macrohabitat functions of seagrass meadows have been often acknowledged,their microhabitats functions have largely been neglected.The purpose of the study is to explore how seagrass meadows provide multiple benefits to adjacent coral reefs through various microhabitat functions.The paper reveals some of the diversity of microhabitats that seagrass meadows contain,such as macroalgal mats,rubble cavities,sand patches with sparse seagrass,anemone gardens,hard substratum,and sponges mixed with seagrass.We highlight the ways in which reef creatures have diversified and specialized in using these different microhabitats,and postulate that seagrass microhabitat diversity enhances the habitat function and faunal diversity of seagrass meadows.

关 键 词：Coastal ecosystems habitat function CONNECTIVITY marine biodiversity 

分 类 号：P73[天文地球—海洋科学] X17[环境科学与工程—环境科学]