Assessment on the seagrass cover in Cabucan Island Hadji Panglima Tahil, Sulu Philippines
Paper Details
Assessment on the seagrass cover in Cabucan Island Hadji Panglima Tahil, Sulu Philippines
Abstract
The importance of seagrasses for the sustainability of the fisheries resources to ensure food security, cannot be discounted. It played an important role in the marine ecosystem due to their productivity level that benefits any organism in the marine ecosystem. An assessment on the seagrass cover is essential to provide a baseline data for the conservation and protection of this ecosystem to maintain sustainability of this resources. The study investigated the status of seagrasses using three transect lines and ocular inspection. Three species of seagrass were identified on the area, namely Enhalus acoroides, Thallasia hemprichii and Thallasia testudinum. The condition of the seagrass beds were determined and identified to be generally under good condition, 51-75% coverage. Results showed that sediment nutrient availability, water flow and water level were significantly associated to the abundance of the seagrasses. The observed activities like blast fishing and placement of seagrass meadows into seaweeds farm threaten the seagrass ecosystems of the area. Thus, the importance of seagrass should not be overlooked in implementing policies, management and conservation in the area.
Ahmad-Kamil EI, Ramli R, Jaaman SA, Bali J and Al-Obaidi JR. 2013. The effects of water parameters on monthly seagrass percentage cover in Lawas, East Malaysia. The Scientific World Journal, 1-8.
Anzai R. 2001. The effects of coral morphology and water flow rates on coral growth and passive diffusion. Doctoral dissertation, University of Ryukyus, Okinawa, Japan.
Boström C, Jackson EL, Simenstad CA. 2006. Seagrass landscapes and their effects on associated fauna: a review. Estuarine, Coastal and shelf science 68(3-4), 383-403.
Den Hartog C. 2003. Phytosociological classification of seagrass communities. Phytocoenologia 33(2-3), 203-229.
Doty MS. 1971. “Measurement of water movement in reference to benthic algal growth.” Botanica marina 14, 32-35.
Duartecm. 1991. Allometric scaling of seagrass form and productivity. Marine Ecololgy Progress Series 77, 289-300.
Duartecm. 2002. The future of seagrass meadows. Environmental conservation 29(2), 192-206.
Duffy JE. 2006. Biodiversity and the functioning of seagrass ecosystems. Marine Ecology Progress Series 311, 233-250.
Fortes MD. 1989. Seagrass: a resources unknown in the ASEAN region. International Center for living Aquatic Resources Management, ICRAM Education Manila, Philippines Series 5, 1-46.
Heck Jr, KL and Valentine JF. 2006. Plant–herbivore interactions in seagrass meadows. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 330(1), 420-436.
Holland D, Cook P, Nally RM, Thomson, Womersley B, Ball D, Longmore A. 2013. Preliminary assessment of water quality requirements of seagrasses in Western Port. Water Studies Centre, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, 1-30.
Jackson EL, Rowden AA, Attrill M.J, Bossey SJ, Jones MB. 2001. The importance of seagrass beds as a habitat for fishery species. Oceanography and marine biology 39, 269-304.
Masini RJ, Cary JL, Simpson CJ, and McComb AJ. 1995. Effects of light and temperature on the photosynthesis of temperate meadow-forming seagrasses in Western Australia. Aquatic botany 49(4), 239-254.
Newmaster AF, Berg KJ, Ragupathy S, Palanisamy M, Sambandan K, and Newmaster SG. 2011. Local Knowledge and Conservation of Seagrasses in the Tamil Nadu State of India. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, 7-37.
Orth R, Carruthers T, Dennison W, Duarte C, Fourqurean J, Heck K, Hughes A, Kendreick G, Kenworthy W, Olyarnik S, Short F, Waycott M and Williams SA. 2006. Global Crisis for Seagrass Ecosystems. BioScience 56(12), 987-996.
Reynolds PL, Duffy E, Knowlton N. 2016. Seagrass and seagrass beds. Smithsonian institution, 1-16.
Short and Duartecm FT. 2001. Methods for the measurement of seagrass growth and production. Global seagrass research methods, 155-198.
Short F, Carruthers T, Dennison W, Waycoot M. 2007. Global seagrass distribution and diversity: A bioregional model. Journal of Exprimental Marine Biology and Ecology 350, 3-20.
Short FT, Polidoro B, Livingstone SR, Carpenter KE, Bandeira S, Bujang JS, Calumpong HP, Carruthers TJ, Coles RG, Dennison WC and Erftemeijer PL. 2011. Extinction risk assessment of the world’s seagrass species. Biological Conservation 144(7), 1961-1971.
Vermaat JE, Agawin NSR, Duartecm, Fortes MD, Marba N and Uri JS. 1995. Meadow maintenance, growth and productivity of a mixed Philippine seagrass bed. Marine Ecology Progress Series 124, 215-225.
Walker DI, McComb AJ. 1990. Salinity response of the seagrass Amphibolis antarctica (Labill.) Sonder et Aschers: An experimental validation of field results. Aquatic Botany 36(4), 359-366.
Yhebron J. Lagud, Ferlyn V. Logronio, Junnasir M. Sakilan, Rosanilio M. Yagos, 2020. Assessment on the seagrass cover in Cabucan Island Hadji Panglima Tahil, Sulu Philippines. J. Biodiv. Environ. Sci., 17(3), 93-100.
Copyright © 2020 by the Authors. This article is an open access article and distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0) license.