Ecology of seagrass beds in Sulawesi—Multifunctional key habitats at the risk of destruction

Indonesian seagrass communities are among the most diverse compared with those of other tropical or temperate regions. In this chapter, we describe some of the results of our research on seagrass beds in Sulawesi during the German-Indonesian Research Project “Science for the Protection of Indonesian Coastal Ecosystems” (SPICE) from 2004 to 2016. We studied aspects of the distribution and characteristics of these ecosystems within the Spermonde Archipelago, the role of keystone species and eco-engineers, their function as a habitat for fishes, their impact on carbon flow and storage as well as the threat they face due to anthropogenic activities. Our results contributed to these topics either by confirming known data or by originating new ideas on the interactions of seagrasses with animals and physical drivers. The alarming loss of seagrass beds globally is a serious threat for the function of our oceans as carbon sink. To save the seagrass beds, we suggest immediate measures at a regional level for the Spermonde Archipelago. We further recommend detailed research on the role seagrass ecosystems play within the complex interactions between land use and coastal changes.