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Increasing nutrients negatively impact seagrass-associated biodiversity

M. Hope, B.L.H. Jones, Richard Unsworth Orcid Logo

Global Ecology and Conservation, Volume: 67, Start page: e04164

Swansea University Author: Richard Unsworth Orcid Logo

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DOI (Published version): 10.1016/j.gecco.2026.e04164

Abstract

Seagrass meadows are globally important coastal habitats support high biodiversity and underpin key ecological functions, yet they are increasingly threatened by eutrophication. While the impacts of nutrient enrichment on seagrass condition and productivity are well established, its influence on the...

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Published in: Global Ecology and Conservation
ISSN: 2351-9894
Published: Elsevier BV 2026
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URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa71934
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In this study, we examined epifaunal assemblages associated with Zostera marina meadows at 16 sites spanning lagoon, estuarine, coastal, and island environments around the British Isles. Using standardised field sampling in combination with mixed-effects modelling, we investigated how variation in environmental setting within the seascape, seagrass morphological traits, and leaf tissue nutrient concentrations (nitrogen and phosphorus) shaped patterns of epifaunal abundance, richness, and community composition. Epifaunal assemblages exhibited strong spatial heterogeneity, with local site-level environmental conditions explaining a large proportion of variation in community structure. While broader habitat categories provided some explanatory value, seascape-level fine-scale environmental context consistently emerged as an additional driver. Seagrass morphological traits, including leaf length, width, biomass, and epiphyte cover, had limited influence on epifaunal richness and abundance, suggesting that small-scale habitat complexity was not the primary determinant of biodiversity within these meadows. In contrast, nutrient availability, particularly nitrogen enrichment, had a marked effect on epifaunal diversity. Higher nitrogen concentrations were generally associated with reduced epifaunal abundance and richness when standardised by leaf area, consistent with detrimental ecological effects of eutrophication. However, these relationships varied among habitat types: moderate nitrogen levels corresponded with increased diversity in estuarine and island sites, whereas coastal and lagoon meadows showed stronger declines under enhanced enrichment. Phosphorus exhibited especially negative effects in lagoon environments. 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spelling 2026-05-18T11:42:16.2487182 v2 71934 2026-05-18 Increasing nutrients negatively impact seagrass-associated biodiversity b0f33acd13a3ab541cf2aaea27f4fc2f 0000-0003-0036-9724 Richard Unsworth Richard Unsworth true false 2026-05-18 BGPS Seagrass meadows are globally important coastal habitats support high biodiversity and underpin key ecological functions, yet they are increasingly threatened by eutrophication. While the impacts of nutrient enrichment on seagrass condition and productivity are well established, its influence on the structure of associated epifaunal communities remains less clearly understood, particularly across broad spatial scales. In this study, we examined epifaunal assemblages associated with Zostera marina meadows at 16 sites spanning lagoon, estuarine, coastal, and island environments around the British Isles. Using standardised field sampling in combination with mixed-effects modelling, we investigated how variation in environmental setting within the seascape, seagrass morphological traits, and leaf tissue nutrient concentrations (nitrogen and phosphorus) shaped patterns of epifaunal abundance, richness, and community composition. Epifaunal assemblages exhibited strong spatial heterogeneity, with local site-level environmental conditions explaining a large proportion of variation in community structure. While broader habitat categories provided some explanatory value, seascape-level fine-scale environmental context consistently emerged as an additional driver. Seagrass morphological traits, including leaf length, width, biomass, and epiphyte cover, had limited influence on epifaunal richness and abundance, suggesting that small-scale habitat complexity was not the primary determinant of biodiversity within these meadows. In contrast, nutrient availability, particularly nitrogen enrichment, had a marked effect on epifaunal diversity. Higher nitrogen concentrations were generally associated with reduced epifaunal abundance and richness when standardised by leaf area, consistent with detrimental ecological effects of eutrophication. However, these relationships varied among habitat types: moderate nitrogen levels corresponded with increased diversity in estuarine and island sites, whereas coastal and lagoon meadows showed stronger declines under enhanced enrichment. Phosphorus exhibited especially negative effects in lagoon environments. These findings demonstrate that elevated nutrient concentrations alter seagrass-associated biodiversity in context-dependent ways. Effective management and restoration will therefore require site-specific nutrient reduction and monitoring strategies that reflect local ecological conditions rather than uniform regional targets. Journal Article Global Ecology and Conservation 67 e04164 Elsevier BV 2351-9894 Seagrass; Zostera; Diversity; Richness; Biodiversity; Seascape; Connectivity; Conservation 1 6 2026 2026-06-01 10.1016/j.gecco.2026.e04164 COLLEGE NANME Biosciences Geography and Physics School COLLEGE CODE BGPS Swansea University External research funder(s) paid the OA fee (includes OA grants disbursed by the Library) This work was funded by Natural Environment Research Council grant NE/V016385/1. 2026-05-18T11:42:16.2487182 2026-05-18T11:35:32.1518775 Faculty of Science and Engineering School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences M. Hope 1 B.L.H. Jones 2 Richard Unsworth 0000-0003-0036-9724 3 71934__36775__80de32507a6d433aa7d1f1da1d8eeef7.pdf 71934.VoR.pdf 2026-05-18T11:39:24.3324055 Output 3238160 application/pdf Version of Record true © 2026 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CC BY license. true eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
title Increasing nutrients negatively impact seagrass-associated biodiversity
spellingShingle Increasing nutrients negatively impact seagrass-associated biodiversity
Richard Unsworth
title_short Increasing nutrients negatively impact seagrass-associated biodiversity
title_full Increasing nutrients negatively impact seagrass-associated biodiversity
title_fullStr Increasing nutrients negatively impact seagrass-associated biodiversity
title_full_unstemmed Increasing nutrients negatively impact seagrass-associated biodiversity
title_sort Increasing nutrients negatively impact seagrass-associated biodiversity
author_id_str_mv b0f33acd13a3ab541cf2aaea27f4fc2f
author_id_fullname_str_mv b0f33acd13a3ab541cf2aaea27f4fc2f_***_Richard Unsworth
author Richard Unsworth
author2 M. Hope
B.L.H. Jones
Richard Unsworth
format Journal article
container_title Global Ecology and Conservation
container_volume 67
container_start_page e04164
publishDate 2026
institution Swansea University
issn 2351-9894
doi_str_mv 10.1016/j.gecco.2026.e04164
publisher Elsevier BV
college_str Faculty of Science and Engineering
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hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofscienceandengineering
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department_str School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Science and Engineering{{{_:::_}}}School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences
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description Seagrass meadows are globally important coastal habitats support high biodiversity and underpin key ecological functions, yet they are increasingly threatened by eutrophication. While the impacts of nutrient enrichment on seagrass condition and productivity are well established, its influence on the structure of associated epifaunal communities remains less clearly understood, particularly across broad spatial scales. In this study, we examined epifaunal assemblages associated with Zostera marina meadows at 16 sites spanning lagoon, estuarine, coastal, and island environments around the British Isles. Using standardised field sampling in combination with mixed-effects modelling, we investigated how variation in environmental setting within the seascape, seagrass morphological traits, and leaf tissue nutrient concentrations (nitrogen and phosphorus) shaped patterns of epifaunal abundance, richness, and community composition. Epifaunal assemblages exhibited strong spatial heterogeneity, with local site-level environmental conditions explaining a large proportion of variation in community structure. While broader habitat categories provided some explanatory value, seascape-level fine-scale environmental context consistently emerged as an additional driver. Seagrass morphological traits, including leaf length, width, biomass, and epiphyte cover, had limited influence on epifaunal richness and abundance, suggesting that small-scale habitat complexity was not the primary determinant of biodiversity within these meadows. In contrast, nutrient availability, particularly nitrogen enrichment, had a marked effect on epifaunal diversity. Higher nitrogen concentrations were generally associated with reduced epifaunal abundance and richness when standardised by leaf area, consistent with detrimental ecological effects of eutrophication. However, these relationships varied among habitat types: moderate nitrogen levels corresponded with increased diversity in estuarine and island sites, whereas coastal and lagoon meadows showed stronger declines under enhanced enrichment. Phosphorus exhibited especially negative effects in lagoon environments. These findings demonstrate that elevated nutrient concentrations alter seagrass-associated biodiversity in context-dependent ways. Effective management and restoration will therefore require site-specific nutrient reduction and monitoring strategies that reflect local ecological conditions rather than uniform regional targets.
published_date 2026-06-01T06:25:33Z
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