Critical evaluation of the nursery role hypothesis for seagrass meadows

Abstract

generally associated with seagrasses and cited frequently in the seagrass literature include nutrient recycling, detrital production and export, sediment stabilization, and provision of optimal habitat for growth, survival and reproduction of a diverse array of vertebrate and invertebrate taxa. One of the more frequently cited measures of seagrass habitat value, and one that is very often argued for its conservation and restoration, is its 'nursery function'. The concept of the seagrass nursery function has been principally derived