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Ecological Applications - 2025 - Sievers - Optimizing seagrass planting arrangements for animal benefits in a multihabitat32.10 MB
Published VersionCC BY-NC V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
Optimizing seagrass planting arrangements for animal benefits in a multihabitat restoration seascape
Ecological Applications, Vol.35(8), pp.1-16
2025
PMID: 41358505
Abstract
Restoring lost and degraded ecosystems to enhance biodiversity and ecosystem services is a global priority, and animal responses to the restoration of habitats are a critical but undervalued component. Identifying the key drivers of animal colonization in restored habitats provides critical insights for restoration practitioners seeking to maximize ecological outcomes. When integrated into predictive frameworks and spatial decision-support tools, this knowledge becomes valuable for strategic planning, particularly in complex multihabitat restoration projects where spatial configuration remains a crucial yet understudied dimension influencing ecosystem recovery trajectories. We collect and analyze animal data from one of the world's largest multihabitat coastal restoration systems in Denmark, comprising restored seagrass (Zostera marina), boulder reefs, and mussel reefs. Using fine-scale spatial patterns in population abundances, we develop spatially explicit predictions across the seascape for various seagrass restoration scenarios and produce a series of optimizations. We consequently demonstrate that it is practical to configure restoration to optimize biodiversity objectives, including those linked with fished species. Species-specific responses translated to variable outcomes across restoration scenarios and optimizations. While the optimal number and arrangement of restored patches varied depending on the target species or species group (e.g., fisheries species or seagrass specialists), one near-ubiquitous arrangement was patchy seagrass planting. This aligns with current practice in the region, maximizes restoration efficiency and highlights the importance of not homogenizing seascapes for biodiversity. Our approach provides a practical framework for incorporating animal monitoring data into restoration planning, helping practitioners design and optimize spatial planting configurations to achieve specific ecological objectives.
Details
- Title
- Optimizing seagrass planting arrangements for animal benefits in a multihabitat restoration seascape
- Authors
- Michael Sievers (Corresponding Author) - Griffith UniversityChristopher J Brown - University of TasmaniaJasmine A Rasmussen - Griffith UniversityBenjamin Nielsen - University of Southern DenmarkRune C Steinfurth - University of Southern DenmarkMogens R Flindt - University of Southern DenmarkTimi L Banke - University of Southern DenmarkBen L Gilby - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and EngineeringRod M Connolly - Griffith University
- Publication details
- Ecological Applications, Vol.35(8), pp.1-16
- Publisher
- John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
- Date published
- 2025
- DOI
- 10.1002/eap.70163
- ISSN
- 1939-5582; 1051-0761
- PMID
- 41358505
- Copyright note
- © 2025 The Author(s). Ecological Applications published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of The Ecological Society of America. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes.
- Data Availability
- Data and code (msievers100, 2025) are available in Zenodo at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17479211.
- Grants
- Grant note
- Velux Foundation. Grant Number: 25098
- Organisation Unit
- School of Science, Technology and Engineering
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991191489902621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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