Mts.

Iglit-Baco Natural Park Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park

Biodiversity Assessment and Monitoring

System for Seagrass Beds
Online Lecture Series on Biodiversity Assessment and Monitoring System (BAMS) and Biodiversity
Monitoring System (BMS)
22 October 2020

Turtle Islands Wildlife Sanctuary Apo Reef Natural Park

 Seagrass Beds
Biodiversity Assessment and Monitoring System
22 October 2020
 Outline

Seagrass Survey Method

Overview Materials and Equipment
Seagrass vs. Marine Algae Site Selection
Importance Data Collection
Seagrass in the Philippines Data Processing and Analysis
Seagrasses
• ”Pastures of the Sea”
• Local name: lusay, isay, damong-dagat
• Only flowering plants that can live
entirely immersed in seawater (except
for Enhalus sp.)
• More closely related to terrestrial lilies
and gingers than to true grasses
 Seagrass vs. Marine Algae
Seagrass Marine Algae
Complex root structure to anchor Simple holdfast to anchor to hard
plant in the sediment, and extract substrate such as rocks or shells
nutrients and minerals

Photosynthesis restricted to cells in Photosynthesis undertaken by all cells

leaves

Transport minerals and nutrients in Uptake of minerals and nutrients from

aerenchyma and the lacunae (veins) water column via diffusion

Reproduction via flowers, fruits, and Reproduction via spores

seeds
Importance of Seagrasses
● Maintenance of biodiversity: provide
shelter and food for a variety of
organisms
● Nutrient sink
● Coastal protection elements: Leaf
canopy and network of rhizomes
stabilize sediment and reduce
resuspension of the sediment by currents
and waves
● Act as filters improving water quality
● Traditional food (e.g. seeds of Zostera
marina)
Seagrasses in the Philippines
● Has the second highest seagrass
diversity in the world, second to
Australia
● Home to about 16 species of
seagrass (Fortes, n.d.; Burke et al.
2002; PNSC 2004) covering
around 978 km2 based on data
collected at 96 sites (Fortes and
Santos, 2004)
● Least studied tropical coastal
ecosystem
Survey Method
Materials and Equipment
● Three 50-m transect lines
● Pegs
● Global Positioning System (GPS) unit
● Quadrats
● Underwater camera
● Plastic slates
● Pencils
● Rulers
● Field guides (seagrass identification sheet, percent
cover standard sheet)
● Quadrat photo labeler
Site Selection
Sampling station (consideration):

● 1 sampling station every 25 Monitoring Sites (consideration):

hectares
● 3-6 randomly selected, depending ● A area that is relatively evenly
on patchiness shape and homogenous
● Relatively high seagrass cover
● No obvious impact
● Accessible, can come back easily
● Dugong feeding site (feeding
trails)
Fixed Transect Site
• Used for monitoring intertidal
seagrass meadows (or subtidal
meadows with the use of SCUBA)
• Transects laid perpendicular to the
shore
• GPS reading at the start and end
Fixed Transect Site
• A 0.5 m by 0.5 m quadrat shall be laid
starting from the 0 m mark on the
right side of each transect at 5 m
interval
• Data encoder should always walk on
the left side of transect to avoid any
sediment disturbance on the quadrats
to be measured
Taking Photographs
● Photograph of the quadrat will be taken at 5-, 25-, and 45- m or on
quadrats of particular interest (e.g. dugong rail, high algal abundance,
lots of gastropods, etc.)
● Taken BEFORE any measurements are taken to avoid sediment
disturbance.
● Labels (code for locality, site number, transect, and quadrat) on each
quadrat is highly recommended.
● Photo should be taken at a vertical angle as much as possible.
Sediment Composition
● Mud – has a smooth and sticky texture. Grain size is less than
63 μm
● Fine sand – fairly smooth texture with some roughness just
detectable. Not sticky in nature. Grain size greater than 63 μm
and less than 0.25 mm
● Sand – rough grainy texture, particles clearly distinguishable.
Grain size greater than 0.25 mm and less than 0.5 mm
● Coarse sand – coarse texture, particles loose. Grain size greater
than 0.5 mm and less than 1 mm
● Gravel – very coarse texture, with some small stones. Grain
size is greater than 1 mm
Estimating Seagrass Cover
• Use guide to estimate percent cover
(calibration sheets).
• Readings will be at every 5- m
starting from 0- m up to 50- m.
Seagrass Identification
 Syringodium Halophila ovalis (Ho) Halophila minor (Hm) Enhalus acoroides (Ea)
isoetifolium (Si)

Halodule uninervis (Hu) Halodule pinifolia (Hp) Cymodocea rotundata (Cr) Cymodocea serrulata (Cs) Thalassia hemprichii (Th)
Estimating Seagrass Species
Composition

• Identify the species of seagrass within

the quadrat and determine the
percent contribution of each species
to the seagrass cover.
• Seagrass composition must equal to
100% of the seagrass present in the
quadrat regardless of the total cover.
 Canopy Height
Using a ruler, the canopy height of
the dominant strap-leaved
species shall also be determined
by haphazardly selecting 3-5 leaf
blades from within the quadrat,
ignoring the tallest 20% of
leaves.
Epiphyte Cover
● Epiphytes are algae attached to seagrass blades and often
give the blade a furry appearance.
● Determine percent cover of epiphytes. To determine the %
cover of epiphytes, estimate the percentage of the total
surface area of leaves covered by algae.
Algae Percent Cover
● Non-epiphyte algae are those
plants that are not attached to
the seagrass but they may
cover or overlie the seagrass
blades
● Percentage of non-epiphytic
algae will also be measured
using the same technique used
for estimating seagrass cover.
 Other Features/
Organisms
Other organisms (e.g. invertebrates, turtle or
dugong grazing trails, etc.) in the quadrats
shall also be recorded.
Monitoring Data Sheet
Sample Data
 % %Seagrass
Seagrass %Epiphyt
Station Cover Th Cr Cs Ho Hp e Cover
Transect 1 67.73 32.45 58.64 0.73 0.64 7.55 58.27
Transect 2 38.18 25.45 27.73 42.73 3.64 0.45 57.00
Transect 3 53.18 28.18 42.27 19.55 5.45 3.80 50.73
53.03 28.70 42.88 21.00 3.24 3.93 55.33

Sample Data and Computation

Sample Graphs
Condition (Amran, 2010) Coverage
● Very Good ● >75.4%
● Good ● 50.5 – 75.4%
● Fair ● 25.5 – 50.4%
● Poor ● 5.5 – 25.4%
● Very Poor ● <5.5%

Data Interpretation
THANK YOU!

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