Navigating biodiversity patterns in fragmented seagrass mosaics.

ABSTRACT: Human-driven fragmentation of natural habitats increasingly threatens biodiversity, particularly in coastal ecosystems like seagrass meadows. Fragmentation breaks continuous habitats into smaller, isolated patches, amplifying edge effects and disrupting community structures and ecosystem functions. This study examines the effects of habitat fragmentation on large (> 1 mm) and small (0.2-1 mm) epifauna, as well as infauna, within eelgrass (Zostera marina) meadows along the Skagerrak coast in western Sweden. We assessed faunal responses across three fragmentation levels (low, medium, and high) and patch zones (Edge, Near-Edge and Center), providing a novel multi-assemblage analysis of these dynamics. Field surveys and statistical modeling revealed distinct community responses: large epifauna

SUBMITTER: Riera R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11906824 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature