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Testing habitat suitability for seagrass restoration to inform future efforts in southwestern Australia
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Testing habitat suitability for seagrass restoration to inform future efforts in southwestern Australia

Giulia Ferretto, Jennifer J. Verduin, Rachel Austin, Henry Evans, Matthew R. Hipsey, Peisheng Huang, Sherry Yi Zhai, Mike van Keulen and Gary A. Kendrick
The Journal of applied ecology, Vol.63(7), 70491
2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.70491
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Published1.33 MBDownloadView
Open Access CC BY-NC-ND V4.0

Abstract

Biodiversity & Conservation Ecology Environmental Sciences & Ecology Life Sciences & Biomedicine Science & Technology
Coastal habitats underpin vital ecosystem services, yet urban and industrial expansion have driven widespread degradation, including extensive loss of seagrass meadows. With minimal natural recovery, effective seagrass restoration depends on targeting suitable habitats. Here, we assess a range of environmental factors to determine the drivers of habitat suitability in Cockburn Sound and Owen Anchorage, Perth, southwestern Australia, for future restoration efforts of the temperate foundational seagrass Posidonia australis. The region is a heavily industrialised port that has lost similar to 80% of its seagrass meadows and suffered ecosystem decline since the 1950-1960s. To test habitat suitability, 1536 P. australis sprigs were planted into twenty-four 20.25m2 plots across eight sites with differing environmental conditions and assessed over 18 months. Relationships between restoration success and biophysical processes from both in situ observations and modelled data (Cockburn Sound Integrated Ecosystem Model, CSIEM) were explored. Habitat suitability in the entire study area was further assessed by modelling Habitat Suitability Index (HSI) using the CSIEM output, based on established environmental requirements of the species, to identify areas with potential for future restoration. After 18 months, the average survival of P. australis transplants was 71.86%, however, this varied greatly between sites. Overall, we identified four well-performing sites where shoot density showed a clear increase over time, three sites with moderate performance and one unsuccessful site. Many surviving transplants were producing new shoots after 6 months and, overall, leaf growth averaged 0.84 cm2shoot-1 day-1. After exploring a wide range of site-specific physical and biological traits (including sediment characteristics, light availability and hydrodynamic variables), the sites were grouped into clusters based on the environmental characteristics, showing that wave energy and turbulent oscillatory hydrodynamics are the major drivers of restoration success, followed by fouling and bioturbation. Synthesis and applications. Combining habitat suitability modelling with field-based habitat assessment provides more precise inputs for mapping seagrass restoration suitability across regions and helps uncover the key drivers of restoration outcomes. This approach can greatly improve confidence in identifying the most suitable areas to maximise success in larger scale restoration efforts.

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UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This output has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#13 Climate Action
#14 Life Below Water

Source: SDGs in the Output

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