Moreira-Saporiti Agustín am.saporiti@gmail.com 0000-0002-4798-3775 GEOMAR - Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel GEOMAR http://www.geomar.de https://ror.org/02h2x0161 Teichberg Mirta mteichberg@mbl.edu 0000-0003-1586-738X MARINE BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY https://ror.org/046dg4z72 O'Sullivan Aoife aoifeosullivan42@gmail.com Marine Institute https://ror.org/05581wm82 2026 Seagrass morphological traits in Changuu Island (Zanzibar Archipelago, Tanzania) during a macrofauna exclusion and nutrient enrichment experiment dataset https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.992560 2026-04-13T09:01:08 Seagrass morphological traits (leaf maximum length, leaf maximum width, sheath length and rhizome diameter) were measured during a nutrient enrichment and macrofauna exclusion experiment. A total of 24 plots were set up parallel to the shore, with presence of the three seagrass species (Syringodium isoetifolium, Thalassodendron ciliatum and Thalassia hemprichii) in each plot. The experiment was the factorial combination of two treatments: macrofauna exclusion using cages (three levels: open, closed and uncaged) and nutrient enrichment using garden NPK fertilizer (two levels: ambient and enriched). Each treatment combination was replicated four times. Exclusion treatment simulates the consequences for the food web of losing a top predators and macrograzers. Nutrient enrichment was simulated by issuing nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium (NPK) [15:9:20] fertilizer pellets. NPK fertilizer fast release pellets were packed into cotton tubes and then into a perforated plastic tubes to simulate slow release of nutrients. The tubes were buried half-way into the sediment to ensure enrichment of both the water column and the sediment. Data was collected between July 19th and September 20th of 2017 in four sampling times. Day 0 (19.07.2017), Day 20 (09.08.2017), Day 38 (31.08.2017) and Day 63 (19.09.2017). Data collection and experiment took place in Changuu Island (Zanzibar Archipelago, Tanzania; 06˚11'S, 39˚16'E). Changu Island is located 3 km from Stone Town, Zanzibar's busiest town. Changuu remains relatively unaffected by nutrient runoff pollution. The study area is characterised by a fringing reef around a multi-specific seagrass ecosystem. The substrate is primarily carbonate sediment. Average water depth is approximately 30 cm at Spring Low and 5 m at Spring high tide with an average depth of 2 m. Seagrass morphological traits were measured to understand the morphological responses of the three seagrass species present in Changuu Island to the nutrient enrichment and macrofauna exclusion treatments. To determine the morphological responses of the seagrass species to the treatments, we measured traits linked to disturbance, and specifically nutrient enrichment and eutrophication. Three ramets of each species were collected per treatment plot and sampling time from the biomass cores used to determine seagrass biomass. One biomass core was taken per experimental plot, with a radius of 15cm. The morphological traits were measured once for each ramet collected. In the case of the traits measured at the shoot level, the biggest shoot was always selected to avoid the confounding effect of young and newly sprouted shoots. The traits measured were: Maximum leaf length (Leaf ML, cm), maximum leaf width (Leaf MW, cm; for S. isoetifolium, the maximum diameter of the leaf was measured), sheath length (SheathL, cm), and number of leaves per shoot (Leaves/Sh, leaves shoot -1) as indicators for changes in the aboveground structures. Rhizome diameter (RhD, cm) was measured as an indicator for changes in the belowground structures. The three values measured were then averaged per experimental plot. All the traits in length units were measured with a ruler to the nearest millimeter. Moreira-Saporiti Agustín am.saporiti@gmail.com 0000-0002-4798-3775 Teichberg Mirta mteichberg@mbl.edu 0000-0003-1586-738X O'Sullivan Aoife aoifeosullivan42@gmail.com 2026 Mesofauna density in seagrass meadows of Changuu Island (Zanzibar Archipelago, Tanzania) during nutrient enrichment and macrofauna exclusion experiment dataset https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.992558 39.16728 39.167509 -6.118093 -6.117863 39.16739874999998 -6.117970874999995 2017-07-19T00:00:00 2017-09-19T00:00:00 SEAMAC Seagrass and Macroalgal Community Dynamics and Performance under Environmental Change https://www.leibniz-zmt.de/en/research/research-projects/seamac.html Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research, Bremen, Germany ZMT http://www.zmt-bremen.de https://ror.org/019w00969 SEATRAIT Seagrass Ecosystem Service Evaluation using a Trait-based Approach https://www.leibniz-zmt.de/en/research/research-projects/seatrait.html Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research, Bremen, Germany ZMT http://www.zmt-bremen.de https://ror.org/019w00969 German Research Foundation DFG http://www.dfg.de/en/ https://doi.org/10.13039/501100001659 278616556 SEAMAC - Seagrass and Macroalgal Community Dynamics and Performance under Environmental Change https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/278616556 Changuu_C1_T0 -6.11788 39.16729 2017-07-19T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C1_T1 -6.11788 39.16729 2017-08-09T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C1_T2 -6.11788 39.16729 2017-08-31T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C1_T3 -6.11788 39.16729 2017-09-19T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C2_T0 -6.117863 39.167333 2017-07-19T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C2_T1 -6.117863 39.167333 2017-08-09T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C2_T2 -6.117863 39.167333 2017-08-31T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C2_T3 -6.117863 39.167333 2017-09-19T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C3_T0 -6.117881 39.167354 2017-07-19T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C3_T1 -6.117881 39.167354 2017-08-09T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C3_T2 -6.117881 39.167354 2017-08-31T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C3_T3 -6.117881 39.167354 2017-09-19T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C4_T0 -6.11792 39.167354 2017-07-19T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C4_T1 -6.11792 39.167354 2017-08-09T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C4_T2 -6.11792 39.167354 2017-08-31T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C4_T3 -6.11792 39.167354 2017-09-19T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C5_T0 -6.117941 39.167335 2017-07-19T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C5_T1 -6.117941 39.167335 2017-08-09T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C5_T2 -6.117941 39.167335 2017-08-31T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C5_T3 -6.117941 39.167335 2017-09-19T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C6_T0 -6.117963 39.167361 2017-07-19T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C6_T1 -6.117963 39.167361 2017-08-09T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C6_T2 -6.117963 39.167361 2017-08-31T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C6_T3 -6.117963 39.167361 2017-09-19T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C7_T0 -6.117962 39.167392 2017-07-19T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C7_T1 -6.117962 39.167392 2017-08-09T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C7_T2 -6.117962 39.167392 2017-08-31T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C7_T3 -6.117962 39.167392 2017-09-19T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C8_T0 -6.11793 39.167413 2017-07-19T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C8_T1 -6.11793 39.167413 2017-08-09T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C8_T2 -6.11793 39.167413 2017-08-31T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C8_T3 -6.11793 39.167413 2017-09-19T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C9_T0 -6.117969 39.167436 2017-07-19T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C9_T1 -6.117969 39.167436 2017-08-09T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C9_T2 -6.117969 39.167436 2017-08-31T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C9_T3 -6.117969 39.167436 2017-09-19T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C10_T0 -6.117956 39.167464 2017-07-19T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C10_T1 -6.117956 39.167464 2017-08-09T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C10_T2 -6.117956 39.167464 2017-08-31T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C10_T3 -6.117956 39.167464 2017-09-19T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C11_T0 -6.117994 39.167486 2017-07-19T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C11_T1 -6.117994 39.167486 2017-08-09T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C11_T2 -6.117994 39.167486 2017-08-31T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C11_T3 -6.117994 39.167486 2017-09-19T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C12_T0 -6.117968 39.167502 2017-07-19T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C12_T1 -6.117968 39.167502 2017-08-09T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C12_T2 -6.117968 39.167502 2017-08-31T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C12_T3 -6.117968 39.167502 2017-09-19T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C13_T0 -6.117928 39.167509 2017-07-19T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C13_T1 -6.117928 39.167509 2017-08-09T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C13_T2 -6.117928 39.167509 2017-08-31T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C13_T3 -6.117928 39.167509 2017-09-19T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C14_T0 -6.117896 39.167498 2017-07-19T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C14_T1 -6.117896 39.167498 2017-08-09T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C14_T2 -6.117896 39.167498 2017-08-31T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C14_T3 -6.117896 39.167498 2017-09-19T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C15_T0 -6.11791 39.16728 2017-07-19T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C15_T1 -6.11791 39.16728 2017-08-09T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C15_T2 -6.11791 39.16728 2017-08-31T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C15_T3 -6.11791 39.16728 2017-09-19T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C16_T0 -6.117983 39.167312 2017-07-19T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C16_T1 -6.117983 39.167312 2017-08-09T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C16_T2 -6.117983 39.167312 2017-08-31T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C16_T3 -6.117983 39.167312 2017-09-19T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C17_T0 -6.117999 39.167331 2017-07-19T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C17_T1 -6.117999 39.167331 2017-08-09T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C17_T2 -6.117999 39.167331 2017-08-31T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C17_T3 -6.117999 39.167331 2017-09-19T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C18_T0 -6.118008 39.167374 2017-07-19T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C18_T1 -6.118008 39.167374 2017-08-09T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C18_T2 -6.118008 39.167374 2017-08-31T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C18_T3 -6.118008 39.167374 2017-09-19T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C19_T0 -6.118007 39.167401 2017-07-19T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C19_T1 -6.118007 39.167401 2017-08-09T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C19_T2 -6.118007 39.167401 2017-08-31T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C19_T3 -6.118007 39.167401 2017-09-19T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C20_T0 -6.118043 39.167417 2017-07-19T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C20_T1 -6.118043 39.167417 2017-08-09T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C20_T2 -6.118043 39.167417 2017-08-31T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C20_T3 -6.118043 39.167417 2017-09-19T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C21_T0 -6.118067 39.167403 2017-07-19T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C21_T1 -6.118067 39.167403 2017-08-09T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C21_T2 -6.118067 39.167403 2017-08-31T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C21_T3 -6.118067 39.167403 2017-09-19T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C22_T0 -6.118093 39.167405 2017-07-19T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C22_T1 -6.118093 39.167405 2017-08-09T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C22_T2 -6.118093 39.167405 2017-08-31T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C22_T3 -6.118093 39.167405 2017-09-19T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C23_T0 -6.118093 39.167447 2017-07-19T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C23_T1 -6.118093 39.167447 2017-08-09T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C23_T2 -6.118093 39.167447 2017-08-31T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C23_T3 -6.118093 39.167447 2017-09-19T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C24_T0 -6.118047 39.167473 2017-07-19T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C24_T1 -6.118047 39.167473 2017-08-09T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C24_T2 -6.118047 39.167473 2017-08-31T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND Changuu_C24_T3 -6.118047 39.167473 2017-09-19T00:00:00 Sampling by hand HAND 3748 CC-BY-4.0 Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Event label Event Moreira-Saporiti Agustín am.saporiti@gmail.com 0000-0002-4798-3775 Event Sample code/label Sample label Moreira-Saporiti Agustín am.saporiti@gmail.com 0000-0002-4798-3775 Sample label Sampling date/time, experiment Date/time sampling exp Time T http://dbpedia.org/resource/Time Moreira-Saporiti Agustín am.saporiti@gmail.com 0000-0002-4798-3775 Date/time sampling exp Day of experiment DOE day day Time T http://dbpedia.org/resource/Time Moreira-Saporiti Agustín am.saporiti@gmail.com 0000-0002-4798-3775 DOE [day] LATITUDE Latitude http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_6709 Moreira-Saporiti Agustín am.saporiti@gmail.com 0000-0002-4798-3775 Latitude LONGITUDE Longitude http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_6709 Moreira-Saporiti Agustín am.saporiti@gmail.com 0000-0002-4798-3775 Longitude Site Site site Moreira-Saporiti Agustín am.saporiti@gmail.com 0000-0002-4798-3775 Site Station label Station Moreira-Saporiti Agustín am.saporiti@gmail.com 0000-0002-4798-3775 Station Experimental treatment Exp treat Moreira-Saporiti Agustín am.saporiti@gmail.com 0000-0002-4798-3775 Level of macrofauna exclusion. Uncaged= no exclusion; Open=no exclusion, control for cage effects; Closed=total exclusion Exp treat Treatment: nutrients T:nutrients treatment Moreira-Saporiti Agustín am.saporiti@gmail.com 0000-0002-4798-3775 Level of nutrient enrichment. Ambient=no enrichment; Enriched=nutrient enriched T:nutrients Species, unique identification Species UID species Moreira-Saporiti Agustín am.saporiti@gmail.com 0000-0002-4798-3775 Species UID Sample type Samp type Moreira-Saporiti Agustín am.saporiti@gmail.com 0000-0002-4798-3775 Sample taken in the sediment Samp type Rhizome diameter Rhizome diam cm Length L http://dbpedia.org/resource/Length Moreira-Saporiti Agustín am.saporiti@gmail.com 0000-0002-4798-3775 Rhizome diam [cm] Sheath length Sheath l cm Length L http://dbpedia.org/resource/Length Moreira-Saporiti Agustín am.saporiti@gmail.com 0000-0002-4798-3775 Sheath l [cm] Leaf length, maximum Leaf l max cm maximum Length L http://dbpedia.org/resource/Length Moreira-Saporiti Agustín am.saporiti@gmail.com 0000-0002-4798-3775 Leaf l max [cm] Leaf width, maximum Leaf w max cm maximum Length L http://dbpedia.org/resource/Length Moreira-Saporiti Agustín am.saporiti@gmail.com 0000-0002-4798-3775 Leaf w max [cm] Type of study Study type type Moreira-Saporiti Agustín am.saporiti@gmail.com 0000-0002-4798-3775 Study type CurationLevelC Enhanced curation https://wiki.pangaea.de/wiki/Curation_levels leaf morphology tropical seagrass Western Indian Ocean ZMT author112185 author53312 author82460 award528 curlevel30 event3330755 event3330756 event3330757 event3330758 event3330759 event3330760 event3330761 event3330762 event3330763 event3330764 event3330765 event3330766 event3330767 event3330768 event3330769 event3330770 event3330771 event3330772 event3330773 event3330774 event3330775 event3330776 event3330777 event3330778 event3330779 event3330780 event3330781 event3330782 event3330783 event3330784 event3330785 event3330786 event3330787 event3330788 event3330789 event3330790 event3330791 event3330792 event3330793 event3330794 event3330795 event3330796 event3330797 event3330798 event3330799 event3330800 event3330801 event3330802 event3330803 event3330804 event3330805 event3330806 event3330807 event3330808 event3330809 event3330810 event3330811 event3330812 event3330813 event3330814 event3330815 event3330816 event3330817 event3330818 event3330819 event3330820 event3330821 event3330822 event3330823 event3330824 event3330825 event3330826 event3330827 event3330828 event3330829 event3330830 event3330831 event3330832 event3330833 event3330834 event3330835 event3330836 event3330837 event3330838 event3330839 event3330840 event3330841 event3330842 event3330843 event3330844 event3330845 event3330846 event3330847 event3330848 event3330849 event3330850 funder20472 geocode1599 geocode1600 geocode1601 inst11138 inst20147 inst22271 inst46 license21 method11566 param102005 param137706 param145095 param185520 param48491 param501386 param510679 param516121 param559596 param559597 param7059 param78394 param790 param82404 pi82460 project4573 project5052 refds992558 term37810 term38492 term40415 term41013 term43863 term43975 term47306 term48982 term49384 term49506 term49630 term52981 term70412