Seagrass ecosystem multifunctionality under the rise of a flagship marine megaherbivore.

ABSTRACT: Large grazers (megaherbivores) have a profound impact on ecosystem functioning. However, how ecosystem multifunctionality is affected by changes in megaherbivore populations remains poorly understood. Understanding the total impact on ecosystem multifunctionality requires an integrative ecosystem approach, which is especially challenging to obtain in marine systems. We assessed the effects of experimentally simulated grazing intensity scenarios on ecosystem functions and multifunctionality in a tropical Caribbean seagrass ecosystem. As a model, we selected a key marine megaherbivore, the green turtle, whose ecological role is rapidly unfolding in numerous foraging areas where populations are recovering through conservation after centuries of decline, with an increase in recorded overgrazin

SUBMITTER: Christianen MJA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10099877 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature