The relationship between plant functional traits and primary production in temperate seagrass meadows

This project aims to investigate how seagrass functional traits can be linked to primary production, nutrient cycling and carbon acquisition locally (Western Australia) and in geographically different regions (WA and Finland). Field surveys have been conducted in coastal and estuarine mixed-species meadows between Shark Bay and Albany. We have measured a broad range of traits and environmental parameters and these will be compared to data from the Baltic Sea, Finland. The derived results will extend our present understanding of the linkages between biodiversity and functional roles of seagrass meadows and contribute to more targeted seagrass conservation and management.