The Dynamics of Seagrass Ecosystems: History, Past Accomplishments, and Future Prospects

The goal of this perspective is to review how seagrass research has evolved over the past half century to our current state of knowledge. We review how our knowledge of seagrass ecosystems changed from the pre-1970s when so little was known about seagrasses and how it progressed during the next 5 decades when seagrass knowledge rapidly expanded. Here, we concentrate on accomplishments in the areas of reproductive biology and ecology, population biology, seagrass-animal relationships, conservation and restoration, and mapping and monitoring. We also look ahead and discuss some areas that are ripe for future research, especially those employing new mapping and monitoring technologies, improved restoration methods that include multiple genetic variants, rhizosphere studies that result in a deeper understanding of microbial effects on nitrogen availability, sulfide levels and carbon sequestration, and how changing climatic regimes and tropicalization will likely affect temperate and tropical seagrass-dominated ecosystems.