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An Interview with Helen Taylor, Seagrasses Scientist

Safeguarding Seagrasses

SeaWeb is celebrating seagrasses for the month of November with news, photos and science features titled "The Importance of Ocean Meadows." SeaWeb caught up with seagrasses scientist Helen Taylor to discuss this important topic and how she is helping to safeguard this species.

SeaWeb: How did you first get involved working with seagrasses?

Helen Taylor: It was pure chance that I first started working on seagrass. Throughout my Bachelor of Science and while completing my Honours thesis I worked on sharks and rays, which were my real passion at that time. My thesis led to me being lucky enough to be offered a job at Fisheries Queensland working in the Observer Program for shark fisheries. Sadly, the program was downsized after 6 months and I was faced with unemployment. I heard that the seagrass team that was based down the corridor in the building were looking for someone to assist with fieldwork and the rest is history.

SW: What is your role in seagrass conservation and how is your organization involved in protecting them?

HT: I work with a team of dedicated seagrass scientists within the Marine Ecology Group at Fisheries Queensland. The Marine Ecology Group was initially formed nearly 30 years ago to describe and investigate inshore fisheries habitats in Queensland with emphasis on the penaeid shrimp fishery and inshore seagrass meadows. It has expanded its research over the years to take a leading state-wide role in fisheries habitat assessment, policy development, environment monitoring and coastal management. The group uses this experience to support and foster seagrass research, monitoring and habitat assessment nationally and globally with a special focus on the Indo-Pacific region.

One of the most exciting programs that I am currently involved with sees me spending a large amount of my time living and working in an island community in the Torres Strait. The Torres Strait is an archipelago of islands located between the tip of Queensland and Papua New Guinea. Torres Strait Islanders are deeply connected to their sea country and have a high dependency on marine resources for subsistence and cultural reasons. I have been working with local community Rangers to help train them how to best monitor their valuable seagrass resource and also what any changes may mean to regionally and globally important dugong and turtle populations, the main food source of which is seagrass.

SW: Seagrasses play a critical role in the marine environment yet few people give them much thought, if any at all. What do you think people would be most surprised to find out about seagrasses?

HT: I think that people would be most surprised to learn that almost fifteen percent of seagrass species worldwide are threatened with extinction, three of which are classified as Endangered under the IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species. Of great concern is the fact that seagrasses, including those threatened, have been experiencing a declining trend worldwide. It is estimated that 110km² of seagrass habitat was lost every year between 1980 and 2006. This is a real worry for marine biodiversity, the health of other marine ecosystems, and the human livelihoods that depend on seagrass resources. For a distressing example of what could happen without seagrasses, you don’t have to look any further than the east coast of Queensland, Australia, this year. Major flooding that occurred very early in 2011 caused flushing of large rivers and associated silt smothered and killed much of the extensive seagrass beds along the coast. The flow on impact of this is that 44% more dugong deaths have occurred than at this time last year and a staggering 113% increase in turtle deaths. There is simply not enough food for these animals.

SW: What do you believe are the major threats facing seagrasses today?

HT: Seagrasses occupy coastal areas at the land/sea boundary and face a multitude of threats. They are constantly under pressure from complex natural and human induced processes. Seagrasses are a naturally resilient group of marine plants that are generally able to withstand and recover from natural environmental change, such as that seen in Queensland this year. However, many of the human induced changes are permanent. Urban/industrial runoff, coastal development and dredging are some of the most threatening processes that often cause permanent loss of seagrass.

Climate change is another factor altogether. There is still very little understanding of how seagrasses may be affected by changing climates in the future, and this is an area that needs to be addressed sooner rather than later.

SW: What immediate and/or long term steps need to be taken in order to safeguard seagrass populations for the future?

HT: Seagrasses have long been thought of as the boring or unattractive marine habitat when compared to alluring coral reefs. As a result, there has been much less focus on these important habitats and we are still learning some of the absolute basic biological, physiological and ecological characteristics of these plants.

There is a great need to raise the awareness of both the general public and also industry as to the importance of seagrasses and to garner support for their protection. We are fortunate in Queensland, Australia, that seagrasses are protected by law and that any sort of removal requires undergoing a strict permitting process. This has allowed us to develop meaningful collaborative partnerships with port industries in particular and has meant that many development decisions have been made with the protection of seagrasses in mind. It is important that we continue to develop these alliances with industry into the future.

As I’ve mentioned, the issue of climate change is harder to address. As with the predicted impact of climate change on terrestrial systems, it is expected that the impact on seagrasses will be great. Changes to seagrass growth rates, distribution patterns and reproductive capability are just some of the predicted impacts. At this point in time, more research is desperately needed to help quantify what the actual impacts will be, so that we can take steps now to safeguard the future of our seagrass ecosystems.

SW: Conservation is a truly a community effort which benefits all of us.  What can the public do to help safeguard seagrasses?

HT: There is a fantastic community-run seagrass monitoring and assessment program called Seagrass-Watch that anyone can get involved with. Seagrass-Watch is currently running at over 300 sites in 26 countries around the world. The program aims to raise awareness on the condition and trend of near shore seagrass ecosystems and provides an early warning of major coastal environment changes. The information collected helps inform management decisions and supports conservation measures to ensure the long-term resilience of seagrass ecosystems. Participants are from a wide variety of backgrounds who all share the common interest in marine conservation. The level of involvement changes depending on local support and resources, but if you don’t mind getting wet feet and spending the occasional afternoon out and about in the great outdoors, then you can get more information at www.seagrasswatch.org

To protect the valuable seagrass meadows along our coasts worldwide, everyone must work together.

Helen Taylor Helen Taylor first acquired her passion for the marine environment when she was just six years of age whilst on a family holiday to the Maldives, promptly declaring that she was going to be a marine biologist. Since then she graduated from James Cook University in Townsville, Australia in 2004 after completing her Bachelor of Science, majoring in Marine Biology. She went on to complete her Honours thesis in the innovative study of movement patterns and feeding ecology of coastal rays. Helen has been researching seagrass for the past seven years and has gained an international reputation as an expert in her field. Some of her current research is focusing on trying to identify the potential impact of climate change on seagrasses in the Torres Strait, Australia. She currently lives between Cairns, Australia and Papua New Guinea and continues to hope for a healthy future for our oceans.