Trade-off between light deprivation and desiccation in intertidal seagrasses due to periodic tidal inundation and exposure: insights from a data-calibrated model

Abstract

Many seagrass species thrive in shallow intertidal zones globally, adapting to periodic tidal inundation and exposure with distinctive physiological traits and offering crucial ecosystem services. However, predicting the responses of intertidal seagrasses to external stressors is hampered by the complexity of the dynamic and harsh environments they occupy. Consequently, intertidal seagrass growth models, especially those incorporating dynamic physiological responses, are scarce in the literature. Our study comprehensively collated relevant data from the literature to parameterize the relationship between air exposure, seagrass leaf water content and photosynthetic efficiency to inform new growth rate functions for generalisable intertidal seagrass growth models. We tested the applicability of these model formulations for scenarios with varying physiological process assumptions, seagrass species, tidal conditions, meadow elevations and water turbidity. We found that neglecting air-exposed physiological responses (i.e., leaf water content loss and reduced photosynthetic efficiency) can substantially overestimate seagrass growth rates. We also observed a trade-off between light deprivation and desiccation on intertidal seagrass growth under specific tidal ranges and turbidity conditions. This can yield an "optimal" elevation where combined stressors of desiccation (increasing with meadow elevation) and light deprivation (decreasing with meadow elevation) are minimized. The predicted optimal elevation, i.e., the most suitable habitat for intertidal seagrass, moves upward as water turbidity increases. Our study provides both conceptual and quantitative guidance for ecological modellers to include air exposure responses of intertidal seagrasses in coastal ecosystem models. The model also helps to evaluate the viability of intertidal seagrass habitats and inform site selection for seagrass restoration.