''Zostera capensis'' is a species of dwarf eelgrass growing along the shores of the

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and

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

oceans on the African coast. Its range extends from southern

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Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

, and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

up to

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

. This species is the dominant seagrass species in South Africa, occurring as fragmented populations along the coast and occupying subtidal and intertidal habitats in shallow bays, estuaries and lagoons. The two largest meadows in South Africa are present in the Knysna lagoon and Berg river estuary. When last mapped in 2007, ''Zostera capensis'' cover in the Berg river estuary was estimated at 206 hectares, while in 2019 the Knysna lagoon was mapped at 316 hectares. Further north in its distribution, Maputo bay in Mozambique is an important habitat for this species, containing approximately 4016 hectares of mixed ''Zostera capensis'' and ''Halodule wrightii'' on muddy flats. Over its total distribution, this species is estimated to occupy less than 2000 km².

Threats

''Zostera capensis'' can grow fast, but it is a slow colonizer, with numerous anthropogenic threats. Populations of ''Zostera capensis'' are threatened by nutrient enrichment (i.e., eutrophication) Mvungi, E. F., and Pillay, D. 2019. Eutrophication overrides warming as a stressor for a temperate African seagrass (''Zostera capensis''). PLOS ONE 14:e0215129. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0215129 which affect their physiological performances by increasing epiphytic fouling/loading; these epiphytic fouling are strongly associated with lower shoot survival. In addition, flooding of estuarine areas, pollution and sedimentation also present major threats to ''Z. capensis''; bioturbation also poses a negative impact on populations with lower biomass and highly fragmented patches. In Mozambique, shellfish harvesting (i.e., gleaning) has been reported as one of the major threats to ''Z. capensis''. Nonetheless, ''Z. capensis'' remains a poorly protected yet severely fragmented keystone species Phair, L.N. Toonen, R.J. Knapp, I.S. von der Heyden, S. 2020. Anthropogenic pressures negatively impact genomic diversity of the vulnerable seagrass ''Zostera capensis'' Journal of Environmental Management 255: 109831

Phylogeography

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q13035729 capensis Flora of Kenya Flora of Tanzania Flora of Angola Flora of Mozambique Flora of the Cape Provinces Flora of KwaZulu-Natal Flora of Madagascar Biota of the Atlantic Ocean Biota of the Indian Ocean Plants described in 1933 Salt marsh plants Western Indo-Pacific flora Temperate Southern Africa Marine biota of South Africa