MeerWissen – Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity at the University of Oldenburg (HIFMB-UOL); Institute of Marine Sciences (IMS), University of Dar es Salaam; Institute for Coastal and Marine Research (CMR) Nelson Mandela University – Germany; Tanzania; South Africa
Sasakawa Global Ocean Institute, World Maritime University – Sweden
The overall goal of this collaborative project is to assess the status of tropical (Tanzania) and temperate (South Africa) seagrass-reef ecotones and more specifically the role of seagrass meadows for reducing watershed pollution through nutrient, pollutant and pathogen removal for natural reef habitats and aquaculture, thereby improving livelihoods of local communities.
The project aims to assess the strength of biogeochemical connectivity between seagrass and adjacent reef habitats under different environmental conditions. Both field surveys and experiments will help to unravel underlying mechanisms through which seagrasses can enhance water quality and thereby benefit local communities that rely on healthy reef-communities for food production and tourism.
Start Date: 2022
End Date: 2025
Lead Contacts: Peter Schupp (peter.schupp@uni-oldenburg.de), Leonard Chauka (leonejchauka@gmail.com) and Janine Adams (Janine.Adams@mandela.ac.za)