Macrofauna communities across a seascape of seagrass meadows: environmental drivers, biodiversity patterns and conservation implications

Abstract Similar to other coastal biogenic habitats (e.g. tidal marshes, kelp forests, mangroves and coral reefs), a key function of seagrass meadows is the enhancement biodiversity. Variability at multiple spatial scales driver biodiversity, but our understanding response macrofauna communities variability limited. We examined community structure (abundance biomass) diversity patterns (?- ?-diversity) across seascape gradient eleven differing in number, composition density plant species . The macrobenthic was regulated by combination sedimentary (mainly for infauna) macrophyte epifauna) predictors. demonstrate that natural occurrence drifting algae trapped aboveground complexity benefits macrofauna. Seagrass-associated showed clear increase abundance ?-diversity metrics with increasing habitat attributes (i.e. shoot density, biomass canopy height). Furthermore, partitioning ?-diversity variation between sites) implied replacement some others sites turnover) instead process loss (or gain) from site nestedness). Therefore, an complexity, dominance turnover component suggest devoting conservation efforts on many different types meadows, including less diverse, should be priority habitat-management.