Diversity and coverage of seagrass ecosystems in south-west Madagascar

Abstract

Seagrass meadows provide important nursery and feeding grounds for many commercially valuable fish species. Here, we address the paucity of published information on the status of seagrasses in Madagascar by documenting the results from ecological surveys of 11 seagrass beds in Velondriake, a locally managed marine area (LMMA) in south-west Madagascar. The diversity and coverage of meadows was highest in the north of the LMMA with up to 51% coverage, and lowest in the south (26%). Overall, eight seagrass species were recorded: Cymodocea rotundata, C. serrulata, Halodule uninervis, Halophila ovalis, H. stipulacea, Syringodium isoetifolium, Thalassia hemprichii and Thalassodendron ciliatum. We discuss the natural and anthropogenic factors that may account for the observed low diversity of seagrasses in southern Velondriake, including overfishing, beach-seining, cyclones, siltation and mangrove deforestation. Based on these baseline surveys, as well as discussions with local communities, it is recommended that measures should be taken to reinforce efforts to ban beach-seines and that the role of seagrasses as carbon sinks and potential sustainable financing options through blue carbon initiatives should be investigated through further, more detailed surveys.

A Systematic Review and Global Trends on Blue Carbon and Sustainable Development: A Bibliometric Study from 2012 to 2023

“…It presented new ideas for reducing carbon emissions and stimulated discussions regarding ocean-based CO 2 removal. From 2012 to 2015, the focus of the research is on determining the role that coastal ecosystems such as seagrass and mangroves play in carbon sequestration and conservation [69][70][71][72][73][74]. Moreover, the concept of blue carbon is a recurring theme, emphasizing the importance of carbon storage in these ecosystems for mitigating climate change [69][70][71][72][73][74][75][76].…”

“…From 2012 to 2015, the focus of the research is on determining the role that coastal ecosystems such as seagrass and mangroves play in carbon sequestration and conservation [69][70][71][72][73][74]. Moreover, the concept of blue carbon is a recurring theme, emphasizing the importance of carbon storage in these ecosystems for mitigating climate change [69][70][71][72][73][74][75][76]. From 2016 to 2018, due to the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement, research has been primarily focused on examining how blue carbon relates to the SDGs [77], as well as how to translate blue carbon into practical policies and actions [78][79][80].…”

The short-term impacts of a cyclone on seagrass communities in Southwest Madagascar

“…Andavadoaka is a remote fishing village in the Mozambique channel, lying 185 km north of the regional capital of Toliara and 50 km south of Morombe. The region supports extensive belts of tropical seagrass meadows (Hantanirina and Benbow, 2013) that are widely used by the local population living in close vicinity to the meadows. The village of Andavadoaka is the administrative center of the Velondriake LMMA, which is one of the largest community-based marine protected areas in the western Indian Ocean (Harris, 2007).…”

Seagrass beds as the buffer zone for fish biodiversity in coastal water of Bontang City, East Kalimantan, Indonesia

“…Structurally, the construction of seagrass beds provides nursery grounds for fish juvenile (Jones 2014), and coral fishes (Verweij et al 2008). It also serves as feeding grounds (Coles et al 1993;Erftemeijer and Allen 1993; Carroll and Peterson 2013) for economically highvalue fishes (Hantanirina and Benbow 2013;Blandon and zu Ermgassen 2014), to provide food, food chain and biodiversity, and ecosystem service (Cucio et al 2016) in supporting the coastal water productivity (Greening and Janicki 2006;Nadiarti et al 2012;Bahlmann et al 2015). Seagrass tends to be found close to mangrove forests and coral reefs (Short et al 2011).…”