Towards a more integrative environmental assessment: Infauna as tool for Zostera marina conservation management.

ABSTRACT: Seagrasses are highly sensitive to human-induced disturbances and global environmental changes. Since the 1980s, Zostera marina meadows along the West Swedish coast (Skagerrak) have declined significantly, as evidenced by changes in morpho-anatomical traits, reductions in area coverage, and shifts in associated communities. However, infaunal assemblages within Z. marina meadows remain understudied compared to epifaunal communities and have not been previously used as indicators of seagrass regression. To investigate spatial variability in infaunal composition, we analysed samples from 15 coastal stations at depths of 1.5-3 m depth. Using an n-dimensional hypervolume framework, we assessed functional differences between infaunal and epifaunal communities. We examined infaunal community desc

SUBMITTER: Riera R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12539717 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature