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Australian Seagrass Seascapes: Present Understanding and Future Research Directions

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Seagrasses of Australia

Abstract

Seagrass seascapes are 100s m2 to 1000s of km2 coastal regions in nearshore, sandy to muddy benthic environments that are characterized by the presence of seagrasses. Here we explore the development of seagrass seascape research in Australia. Determining the distribution of seagrasses started with mapping their extent, but improvements in remote sensing and statistical modelling has allowed us assess the large scale spatial distribution and temporal dynamics of seagrass seascapes. We use a case study from Moreton Bay, near Brisbane, Queensland to demonstrate changes in seagrass meadows over time. Terrestrial landscape indices and their use in seagrass studies is reviewed. Some indices perform better to summarize patch to meadow scale changes in the distribution and structure of seagrasses. A case-study is then presented, comparing landscape indices calculated from observed changes in seagrass patches and meadows to a spatially-explicit model simulation, to explore the drivers for changes in the seagrass seascape’s demographic processes, clonal growth and recruitment from seeds. The role of landscape structure in the movement and abundance of associated fauna in seagrass seascapes using landscape approaches is then reviewed. This is followed by a summary outlining directions for future research that combine landscape ecology and remote sensing techniques with population and community biology.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biological Sciences and the Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, 6009, WA, Australia

    Gary A. Kendrick, Renae K. Hovey & Leonardo Ruiz Montoya

  2. Remote Sensing Research Centre, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Queensland, 4072, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

    Mitchell Lyons, Chris Roelfsema & Stuart Phinn

  3. Centre for Ecosystem Science, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Mitchell Lyons

Authors
  1. Gary A. Kendrick
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  2. Renae K. Hovey
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  3. Mitchell Lyons
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  4. Chris Roelfsema
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  5. Leonardo Ruiz Montoya
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  6. Stuart Phinn
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gary A. Kendrick .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Climate Change Cluster, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

    Anthony W. D. Larkum

  2. School of Biological Sciences and the Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Autralia, Australia

    Gary A. Kendrick

  3. Climate Change Cluster, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

    Peter J. Ralph

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Kendrick, G.A., Hovey, R.K., Lyons, M., Roelfsema, C., Montoya, L.R., Phinn, S. (2018). Australian Seagrass Seascapes: Present Understanding and Future Research Directions. In: Larkum, A., Kendrick, G., Ralph, P. (eds) Seagrasses of Australia. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71354-0_9

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