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Waycott, Michelle; Duarte, Carlos M.; Carruthers, Tim J. B.; Orth, Robert J.; Dennison, William C.; Olyarnik, Suzanne; Calladine, Ainsley; Fourqurean, James W.; Heck, Kenneth L., Jr.; Hughes, A. Randall; Kendrick, Gary A.; Kenworthy, W. Judson; Short, Frederick T.; Williams, Susan L.
(detail)
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2009 |
Accelerating loss of seagrasses across the globe threatens coastal ecosystems.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 106(30): 12377-12381. 1 tab. 2 figs. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0905620106. July 28, 2009.
–ABSTRACT: Coastal ecosystems and the services they provide are adversely affected by a wide variety of human activities. In particular, seagrass meadows are negatively affected by impacts accruing from the billion or more people who live within 50 km of them. Seagrass meadows provide important ecosystem services, including an estimated $1.9 trillion per year in the form of nutrient cycling; an order of magnitude enhancement of coral reef fish productivity; a habitat for thousands of fish, bird, and invertebrate species; and a major food source for endangered dugong, manatee, and green turtle. Although individual impacts from coastal development, degraded water quality, and climate change have been documented, there has been no quantitative global assessment of seagrass loss until now. Our comprehensive global assessment of 215 studies found that seagrasses have been disappearing at a rate of 110 km2 yr?1 since 1980 and that 29% of the known areal extent has disappeared since seagrass areas were initially recorded in 1879. Furthermore, rates of decline have accelerated from a median of 0.9% yr?1 before 1940 to 7% yr?1 since 1990. Seagrass loss rates are comparable to those reported for mangroves, coral reefs, and tropical rainforests and place seagrass meadows among the most threatened ecosystems on earth.
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Parr, Leslie; Santos, Fabrício R.; Waycott, Michelle; Vianna, Juliana A.; McDonald, Brenda; Caballero, Susana; Lopes, Maria José de Souza
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2012 |
Sirenian genetics and demography. Chap. 19 in: E. M. Hines, J. E. Reynolds III, L. V. Aragones, A. A. Mignucci-Giannoni, & M. Marmontel (eds.) Sirenian conservation: issues and strategies in developing countries (q.v.).
Gainesville, University Press of Florida (xiv + 326): 168-178. 1 tab. 6 figs.
–Includes box essay by Ann Marie Clark (pp. 168-170, "Handling animal tissue for genetic analysis").
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Blair, David; McMahon, Adrian; McDonald, Brenda; Tikel, Daniela; Waycott, Michelle; Marsh, Helene D.
(detail)
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2014 |
Pleistocene sea level fluctuations and the phylogeography of the dugong in Australian waters.
Marine Mammal Science 30(1): 104-121. 2 tabs. 3 figs. DOI:10.1111/mms.12022. January 2014.
–ABSTRACT: We investigated phylogeography, demography, and population connectivity of the dugong (Dugong dugon) in Australian waters using mitochondrial control region DNA sequences from 177 Australian dugongs and 11 from elsewhere. The dugong is widespread in shallow Indo-West Pacific waters suitable for growth of its main food, seagrass. We hypothesized that the loss of habitat and creation of a land barrier (the Torres Strait landbridge) during low sea level stands associated with Pleistocene glacial cycles have left a persisting genetic signature in the dugong. The landbridge was most recently flooded about 7,000 yr ago. Individual dugongs are capable of traveling long distances, suggesting an alternative hypothesis that there might now be little genetic differentiation across the dugong's Australian range. We demonstrated that Australian dugongs fall into two distinct maternal lineages and exhibit a phylogeographic pattern reflecting Pleistocene sea-level fluctuations. Within each lineage, genetic structure exists, albeit at large spatial scales. We suggest that these lineages diverged following the last emergence of the Torres Strait landbridge (ca. 115 kya) and remained geographically separated until after 7 kya when passage through Torres Strait again became possible for marine animals. Evidence for population growth in the widespread lineage, especially after the last glacial maximum, was detected.
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Bibliography and Index of the Sirenia and Desmostylia 