ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Conserv. Sci.
Sec. Plant Conservation
Volume 6 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fcosc.2025.1648415
This article is part of the Research TopicGlobal Conservation of Vulnerable, Threatened and Endangered SeagrassView all articles
The Vulnerable Seagrass Halophila beccarii Aschers. (Hydrocharitaceae) from Malaysia
Provisionally accepted
- 1Department of Aquaculture, Faculty of Agriculture, Putra Malaysia University, Serdang, Malaysia
- 2Universiti Putra Malaysia Institut Antarabangsa Akuakultur dan Sains Akuatik, Port Dickson, Malaysia
- 3No. 8 Jalan Sri Hartamas 18, Taman Sri Hartamas, 50480 Kuala Lumpur, Federal Territory, Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
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Seagrasses are brackish and marine angiosperms in the class Monocotyledoneae that have adapted to survive in underwater environments. In Malaysia, these submerged plants form patches or meadows, usually growing in shallow intertidal riverbanks, subtidal rivers, inland lagoons, and around islands. The seagrass Halophila beccarii Aschers., once considered rare, was found at 15 locations across various intertidal habitats, from freshwater to the brackish water of mangrove river systems, shallow coastal lagoons, marine coastal areas of the open sea, and subtidal shoals. It is commonly found at depths of 1.0 to 2.0 meters and rarely exceeds 3.0 meters during high tide. It thrives in areas with temperatures ranging from 25 to 38°C and salinity levels from 0 to 32 psu. Scattered patches or monospecific meadows of H. beccarii occur in association with other seagrasses, such as Halodule pinifolia, macroalgae, seaside grasses, or mangroves, in a variety of substrates including sand, silty sand, loam, and calcareous mud. This paper provides a historical overview of H. beccarii distribution, including past and current records, and emphasizes the importance of these areas and the disturbances they face.
Keywords: vulnerable seagrass1, Halophila beccarii2, coastal development3, dredging4, sandmining5, Malaysia6
Received: 17 Jun 2025; Accepted: 03 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zakaria and Bujang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Muta Harah Zakaria, Department of Aquaculture, Faculty of Agriculture, Putra Malaysia University, Serdang, Malaysia
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