Abstract
Seagrass conservation is critical for mitigating climate change due to the large stocks of carbon they sequester in the seafloor. However, effective conservation and its potential to provide nature-based solutions to climate change is hindered by major uncertainties regarding seagrass extent and distribution. Here, we describe the characterization of the world’s largest seagrass ecosystem, located in The Bahamas. We integrate existing spatial estimates with an updated empirical remote sensing product and perform extensive ground-truthing of seafloor with 2,542 diver surveys across remote sensing tiles. We also leverage seafloor assessments and movement data obtained from instrument-equipped tiger sharks, which have strong fidelity to seagrass ecosystems, to augment and further validate predictions. We report a consensus area of at least 66,000 km2 and up to 92,000 km2 of seagrass habitat across The Bahamas Banks. Sediment core analysis of stored organic carbon further confirmed the global relevance of the blue carbon stock in this ecosystem. Data from tiger sharks proved important in supporting mapping and ground-truthing remote sensing estimates. This work provides evidence of major knowledge gaps in the ocean ecosystem, the benefits in partnering with marine animals to address these gaps, and underscores support for rapid protection of oceanic carbon sinks.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Article number | 6328 |
| Journal | Nature Communications |
| Volume | 13 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:We thank our Bahamian partners and stakeholders who have enabled and supported this work. We thank and acknowledge The Government of The Commonwealth of The Bahamas: R. Newbold and N. C. Hamilton from The Office of the Prime Minister, L. Gittens from Dept. Marine Resources, as well as The Dept. of Environmental Planning and Protection. A.J.G. was funded via philanthropy to Beneath The Waves through foundations, individual donors, and corporate funders: K. and S. Linblad, Disney Conservation Fund, The Barry and Mimi Sternlicht Foundation, The Sant Family (R. Sant, D. Matsui, S. Sant), Pictet Foundation, Pacific Treasure Foundation, The King Family, D. and J. Harris, B. Coughlin and Family, P. Nicholson and WCPD Foundation, Southern Tide, Hillsdale, Thayer Academy, Discovery Communications, Mary O’Malley and Lupo Dion Trust, R. Saad, National Geographic, J. Lake and JDL, Inc., Towle Family Ocean Foundation, 36Pix, Cape Clasp, Karo Family Trust, and J. Nolan. N.L.P. was supported by Science Foundation Ireland Starting Investigator Research Grant (18/SIRG/5549). C.M.D. and C.F. were funded by King Abdullah University of Science and Technology through baseline funding provided to C.M.D. We thank all Beneath The Waves’ staff and volunteers who contributed to field work and organizational management, especially Jamie Fitzgerald, Scotty Gray, Jason Halvorsen, Rose Mann, Jeff Pankey, and Diego Camejo. For expeditionary support, we thank the crews and owners of the M/Y Marcato, M/Y Shredder, R/V Sharkwater, R/V Coral Reef II, The International Seakeeper’s Society, as well as Verijet. The authors also thank S. Cove, J. Todd, P. Nicholson, R. Sands, D. Phillips, as well as Grand Isle Resort and Residences, Bahamas Dive Guides, Dive Exuma, T. Gilbert, C. Mittermeier, and P. Nicklen.
Funding Information:
We thank our Bahamian partners and stakeholders who have enabled and supported this work. We thank and acknowledge The Government of The Commonwealth of The Bahamas: R. Newbold and N. C. Hamilton from The Office of the Prime Minister, L. Gittens from Dept. Marine Resources, as well as The Dept. of Environmental Planning and Protection. A.J.G. was funded via philanthropy to Beneath The Waves through foundations, individual donors, and corporate funders: K. and S. Linblad, Disney Conservation Fund, The Barry and Mimi Sternlicht Foundation, The Sant Family (R. Sant, D. Matsui, S. Sant), Pictet Foundation, Pacific Treasure Foundation, The King Family, D. and J. Harris, B. Coughlin and Family, P. Nicholson and WCPD Foundation, Southern Tide, Hillsdale, Thayer Academy, Discovery Communications, Mary O’Malley and Lupo Dion Trust, R. Saad, National Geographic, J. Lake and JDL, Inc., Towle Family Ocean Foundation, 36Pix, Cape Clasp, Karo Family Trust, and J. Nolan. N.L.P. was supported by Science Foundation Ireland Starting Investigator Research Grant (18/SIRG/5549). C.M.D. and C.F. were funded by King Abdullah University of Science and Technology through baseline funding provided to C.M.D. We thank all Beneath The Waves’ staff and volunteers who contributed to field work and organizational management, especially Jamie Fitzgerald, Scotty Gray, Jason Halvorsen, Rose Mann, Jeff Pankey, and Diego Camejo. For expeditionary support, we thank the crews and owners of the M/Y Marcato, M/Y Shredder, R/V Sharkwater, R/V Coral Reef II, The International Seakeeper’s Society, as well as Verijet. The authors also thank S. Cove, J. Todd, P. Nicholson, R. Sands, D. Phillips, as well as Grand Isle Resort and Residences, Bahamas Dive Guides, Dive Exuma, T. Gilbert, C. Mittermeier, and P. Nicklen.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, The Author(s).
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Chemistry
- General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
- General
- General Physics and Astronomy
