r'.' .S.."'^ '^^ '//'• £i UNEP WCMC World Atlas of Seagrasses Edmund P. Green and Frederick T. Short 3 qR^ Seagrasses a group of about sixty species of underwater marine flowering plants, grow in the shallow marine and estuary environments of all the world's continents except Antarctica. The primary food of animals such as manatees, dugongs, and green sea turtles, and critical habitat for thousands of other ani- mal and plant species, seagrasses are also considered one of the most important shallow-marine ecosystems for humans, since they play an important role in fishery production. Though they are highly valuable ecologically and economically, many seagrass habitats around the world have been completely destroyed or are now in rapid decline. The World Atlas of Seagrasses is the first authoritative and comprehensive global synthesis of the distribution and status of this critical marine habitat. Illustrated throughout with color maps, photographs. tables, and more, and written by an international team of collaborators, this unique volume covers seagrass ecology, scientific studies to date, current status. changing distributions, threatened areas, and conserva- tion and management efforts for twenty-four regions of the world. As human populations expand and continue to live disproportionately in coastal areas, bringing new threats to seagrass habitat, a comprehensive overview Digitized by tine Internet Arciiive in 2010 with funding from UNEP-WCIVIC, Cambridge http://www.arcliive.org/details/worldatlasofseag03gree World Atlas of Seagrasses Published in association with UNEP-WCMC by the University of California Press University of California Press Berkeley and Los Angeles, California University of California Press. Ltd. London, England ® 2003 UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre UNEP-WCMC 219 Huntingdon Road Cambridge CBS DDL, UK Tel: +^^101 1223 277 3U Fax:+4Z,(0| 1223 277 136 E-mail; infoHunep-wcmc.org Website: wvtfw.unep-wcmc.org No part of this book may be reproduced by any means or transmitted into a machine language without the written permission of the publisher The contents of ttiis volume do not necessarily reflect tfie views or policies of UNEP-WCMC. contributory organizations, editors or publishers. The designations employed and the presentations do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNEP-WCMC or contributory organizations, editors or publishers concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or its authority, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries or the designation of its name or allegiances. Cloth edition ISBN 0-520-24047-2 Cataloging-in-publication data is on file with the Library of Congress Citation Green E.P and Short F.t 120031 World Atlas of Seagrasses. Prepared by the UIMEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre. University of California Press, Berkeley, USA. iiPiSi UNEP WCMC World Atlas of Seagrasses Edmund P. Green & Frederick T. Short UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS Berkeley Los Angeles London WORLD ATLAS OF SEAGRASSES World Atlas of Seagrasses Prepared by UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre 219 Huntingdon Road UNEP WCMC Cambridge CB3 DDL, UK The UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre is the Tel: +U 10) 1223 277 3U biodiversity assessment and policy implementation arm Fax: +4ilOI 1223 277 136 of the United Nations Environment Programme lUNEPl, E-mail: infoOunep-wcmcorg the world's foremost intergovernmental environmental Website: www.unep-wcmc.org organization. UNEP-WCMC alms to help decision- makers recognize the value of biodiversity to people Director everywhere, and to apply this knowledge to all that they Mark Collins do. The Centre's challenge is to transform complex data into policy-relevant information, to build tools and systems for analysis and Integration, and to support the needs of nations and the international community as they engage In joint programs of action. UNEP-WCMC provides objective, scientifically rigorous products and services that include ecosystem assess- Scientific editors ments, support for Implementation of environmental Edmund P. Green agreements, regional and global biodiversity In- Frederick T. Short formation, research on threats and impacts, and Assistant scientific editor development of future scenarios for the living world. Michelle Taylor Cartographer Corinna Ravilious Technical editor Catherine Short Layout Yves Messer Illustrations in Appendix 3 and at foot of pages: A Banson production 27 Devonshire Road Mark Fonseca: Zostera marina Cambridge CBl 2BH, UK Phillips RC, Mehez EG [1988]. Seagrasses. Smithsonian Color separations Contributions to the Marine Sciences 3^. Smithsonian Swaingrove Institution Press, Washington DC: Zostera asiatica. Printed in China QDPI Northern Fisheries Centre, Cairns: Halophila australis. Halophila capncorni. Jackson Estuarine Laboratory contribution number 396. Ron Phillips: All remaining illustrations. Supporting institutions Supporting institutions The United Nations Environment Programme is the principal United Nations body in the field of the environment. Its role is to be the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment, http://www.unep.org The UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is working for sustainable development; a better quality of life for everyone, now and for generations to come. This includes a better environ- ment at home and internationally, and sustainable use of natural resources; economic prosperity defra through sustainable farming, fishing, food, water and other industries that meet consumers' requirements; thriving economies and communities in rural areas and a countryside for all to enjoy. The Department for International Development is the UK Government department working to DFID promote sustainable development and eliminate world poverty This publication is an output from a research program funded by DFID for the benefit of developing countries. The views expressed are not necessarily those of DFID. http;//v7ww.dfid.govuk/ international and national support The David and Lucile The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, started in 1964, provides Packard Foundation to non-profit organizations in conservation, science and many other areas. The foundation currently provides funding to SeagrassNet, a global seagrass monitoring program based at the University of New Hampshire. http;//www.packard. org/, http;//www.seagrassnet.org/ The University of New Hampshire is a land-grant, sea-grant and space-grant public institution with A'UNIVtRSirr of NiW HAMPSHlRf 10 000 undergraduate and 2 000 graduate students, and a well-established marine program. The Jackson Estuarine Laboratory is the primary marine research organization at UNH and has a strong seagrass research component, http://www.unh.edu/, http://marine.unh.edu/jel/home.html World Seagrass Association is committed to the science, protection and management of the woridMsugmss Asmi/moN The seagrass ecosystem worldwide. The members come from many countries and include leading scientists in marine and seagrass biology The association supports training and information exchange and raises global awareness of seagrass science and environmental management issues. http://www.worldseagra5s.org/ The Convention on Wetlands, signed In Ramsar, Iran, in 1971, is an intergovernmental treaty which provides the framework for local, regional and national actions for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. There are presently 135 Contracting Parties to the Convention, with 1 230 wetland sites, totaling 105.9 million hectares, designated for inclusion in the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance, http://ramsar.org/ The International Coral Reef Action Network is an innovative and dynamic global partnership of many of the world's leading coral reef science and conservation organizations. Established in 1999 to halt iCRAN partnership on its partners' and reverse the decline of the health of the world's coral reefs the draws investments in reef monitoring and management to create strategically linked actions at local, International Coral Reef A national and global scales, http://icran.org/ .^^-^ The Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCORl was the first interdisciplinary body formed by the International Council for Science. SCOR activities focus on promoting international cooperation in Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research planning and conducting oceanographic research, http://www.jhu.edu/-scor ^ The Estuarine Research Federation lERFI is a private, non-profit organization. The federation was created in 1971 to address broad estuarine and coastal issues; it holds biannual international ^ meetings and supports the scientific publication Estuaries, http://www.erf.org/ WORLD ATLAS OF SEAGRASSES Acknowledgments The World Atla5 of Seagrasses is a product of global collaboration between many different people but a few nnerit a special mention and deserve extra thanl<s. First and foremost amongst these are the 58 authors who have given freely and extensively of their time and experience in writing the 25 chapters that constitute this World Atlas. Without their attention to detail and efforts in sourcing data outside the mainstream scientific literature this book would not have been possible. The contributions of