SEAGRASSES IN SINGAPORE � CURRENT STATUS AND LONG-TERM MANAGEMENT PLANS

Abstract

The management of marine habitats in Singapore faces various conflicting interests from stakeholders in the public, private and industry groups. Seagrasses form an integrated component of the fragile marine ecological system, and perform valuable roles such as providing food and shelter for marine animals, and offering a form of biodiversity and coastal protection. In Singapore‟s context, on-going coastal development projects make it especially pertinent to apply cost-effective approaches to manage remaining seagrass meadows. This study provides an up-to-date account of seagrass distribution in Singapore, and highlights various threats that seagrass habitats face here. The national legislation, policies and guidelines to manage seagrass habitats are examined in detail to investigate the level of protection accorded to such habitats. Apart from the enforcement of appropriate laws, effective management techniques require the enhancement of seagrass monitoring and mapping methods to gather accurate and precise data for influencing management decisions. In particular, the traditional, visual estimation method is compared with the use of digital photography to record seagrass cover in the field. In the new method, the seagrass cover is determined subsequently by processing the photos ex-situ in the laboratory, point-sampling a pattern of points overlaid on the images and identifying the substrate/biota underneath each point. Results from the comparison of the two monitoring methods showed that the use of digital photography and random point-sampling is a promising monitoring tool, with high precision in determining moderate and abundant seagrass covers. I conclude with an overview of available and potential management responses and strategies for seagrass habitats in Singapore such as raising awareness and community involvement, and the carrying out of potential seagrass restoration work. Key areas for future research such as determining threshold limits for seagrasses to elevated levels of suspended sediments and sedimentation are also explored.