Modeled Dugong Effects on Seagrass Carbon Storage in Bahrain

A supplementary document presents a general animal-driven carbon-nutrient cycling model applied to estimate the impact of dugong grazing on seagrass carbon storage. The model, parameterized with literature data, compares scenarios with and without dugongs in the Halodule seagrass beds of Bahrain. Results indicate a realistic dugong aggregation of about 700 individuals can enhance carbon capture and sediment storage by factors of 2.4 and 2.63 on average, respectively.

Use Cases

• Modeling the functional role of marine megafauna in blue carbon budgets based on the described animal-driven carbon-nutrient cycling model.
• Estimating the climate mitigation value of seagrass conservation areas based on the modeled net ecosystem carbon balance (NECB) and sediment carbon stocks.
• Parameterizing ecosystem models with literature-derived data on seagrass productivity, grazing, and nutrient recycling as described in the document.

Strengths

• Model outputs are validated against literature-based and field measurements for net primary production (NPP), net ecosystem carbon balance (NECB), and sediment carbon stocks.
• Quantifies dugong impact with specific multipliers, such as an average 2.4x increase in NPP and NECB and a 2.63x increase in sediment carbon stocks.
• Focuses on a defined geographic area of 145 km² in a globally important dugong hotspot.

Limitations

• The dataset is a 57.0 KB DOCX file, suggesting limited raw data and a primary focus on model description and results.
• Row count and column-level data are unknown; the file likely contains textual analysis and figures rather than a structured data table.
• The description does not specify the underlying literature data sources or field measurement methodologies in detail.

Provenance

Source

figshare, authored by Oswald J. Schmitz.

Collection Method

Model parameterization and validation using literature data and field measurements.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-26 04:37:34.

Geography

Halodule seagrass beds of Bahrain.