Seagrass ecosystems of the Pacific Island Countries and Territories: A global bright spot

MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN

卷:167

Article

McKenzie, Len J.^1,2  Yoshida, Rudi L.^1,3  Aini, John W.⁴  Andrefouet, Serge⁵  Colin, Patrick L.⁶  Cullen-Unsworth, Leanne C.^7,8  Hughes, Alec T.⁹  Payri, Claude E.⁵  Rota, Manibua¹⁰  Shaw, Christina¹¹  Skelton, Posa A.¹²  Tsuda, Roy T.¹³  Vuki, Veikila C.¹⁴  Unsworth, Richard K. F.^8,15 

[1] James Cook Univ, Ctr Trop Water & Aquat Ecosyst Res TropWATER, Cairns, Qld 4870, Australia

[2] Seagrass Watch, Cairns, Qld 4870, Australia

[3] SeagrassFutures Fiji, Maafu St, Suva, Fiji

[4] Ailan Awareness, Kaselok, New Ireland Pro, Papua N Guinea

[5] Univ Nouvelle Caledonie, UMR 9220 ENTROPIE Inst Rech Dev, Univ Reun, Ifremer,CNRS, 101 Promenade Roger Laroque Anse Vata,BP A5, Noumea 98848, New Caledonia

[6] Coral Reef Res Fdn, POB 1765, Koror 96940, Palau

[7] Cardiff Univ, Sustainable Places Res Inst, 33 Pk Pl, Cardiff CF10 3BA, Wales

[8] Project Seagrass, POB 412, Bridgend CF31 9RL, Wales

[9] Wildlife Conservat Soc, Munda, Western Provinc, Solomon Islands

[10] Minist Fisheries & Marine Resources Dev, Tarawa, Kiribati

[11] Vanuatu Environm Sci Soc, POB 1630, Port Vila, Vanuatu

[12] Oceania Res Dev Associates, Townsville, Qld, Australia

[13] Bernice P Bishop Museum, Nat Sci Bot, 1525 Bernice St, Honolulu, HI 96817 USA

[14] Oceania Environm Consultants, POB 5214,UOG Stn, Mangilao, GU 96923 USA

[15] Swansea Univ, Coll Sci, Seagrass Ecosyst Res Grp, Swansea SA2 8PP, W Glam, Wales

关键词: Seagrass;    Ecosystem services;    Habitats;    Threats;    Resilience;    Management;    DPSIR;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112308

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

Seagrass ecosystems exist throughout Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs). Despite this area covering nearly 8% of the global ocean, information on seagrass distribution, biogeography, and status remains largely absent from the scientific literature. We confirm 16 seagrass species occur across 17 of the 22 PICTs with the highest number in Melanesia, followed by Micronesia and Polynesia respectively. The greatest diversity of seagrass occurs in Papua New Guinea (13 species), and attenuates eastward across the Pacific to two species in French Polynesia. We conservatively estimate seagrass extent to be 1446.2 km2, with the greatest extent (84%) in Melanesia. We find seagrass condition in 65% of PICTs increasing or displaying no discernible trend since records began. Marine conservation across the region overwhelmingly focuses on coral reefs, with seagrass ecosystems marginalised in conservation legislation and policy. Traditional knowledge is playing a greater role in managing local seagrass resources and these approaches are having greater success than contemporary conservation approaches. In a world where the future of seagrass ecosystems is looking progressively dire, the Pacific Islands appears as a global bright spot, where pressures remain relatively low and seagrass more resilient.

【 授权许可】

Free