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Anthropogenic activities including climate change affect the development of structural complexity in seagrass and the state of environmental variables. It remains unclear whether these variables, alone or in combination, have an important influence on fish larvae assemblages. This study examined the influence of the structural complexity of seagrass meadows and various environmental variables on fish larvae assemblages in tropical coastal waters of Tanga, Tanzania. The study was conducted in four Thalassia hemprichii dominated seagrass meadows from June 2019 to January 2021. Multiple regression analysis indicated that the structural complexity of seagrass (canopy height, seagrass cover, and shoot density) and environmental variables (dissolved oxygen, temperature and salinity) were the foremost predictors for fish larvae assemblages; abundance and richness (R2 = 0.75, p = 0.0185, R2 = 0.54, p = 0.0396, respectively). Based on these findings, the structural complexity of seagrass and environmental variables are both important determinants of fish larvae assemblages in tropical coastal waters. The findings suggest that reducing anthropogenic activities that affect the development of structural complexity of seagrass and negatively impact environmental variables in seagrass meadows through more effective governance would result in increased production of fish larvae in meadows and, as a result, increased fish recruitment in tropical coastal waters.

Climate change‐induced ocean warming is expected to greatly affect carbon dynamics and sequestration in vegetated shallow waters, especially in the upper subtidal where water temperatures may fluctuate considerably and can reach high levels at low tides. This might alter the greenhouse gas balance and significantly reduce the carbon sink potential of tropical seagrass meadows. In order to assess such consequences, we simulated temperature stress during low tide exposures by subjecting seagrass plants (Thalassia hemprichii) and associated sediments to elevated midday temperature spikes (31, 35, 37, 40, and 45°C) for seven consecutive days in an outdoor mesocosm setup. During the experiment, methane release from the sediment surface was estimated using gas chromatography. Sulfide concentration in the sediment pore water was determined spectrophotometrically, and the plant's photosynthetic capacity as electron transport rate (ETR), and maximum quantum yield (Fv/Fm) was assessed using pulse amplitude modulated (PAM) fluorometry. The highest temperature treatments (40 and 45°C) had a clear positive effect on methane emission and the level of sulfide in the sediment and, at the same time, clear negative effects on the photosynthetic performance of seagrass plants. The effects observed by temperature stress were immediate (within hours) and seen in all response variables, including ETR, Fv/Fm, methane emission, and sulfide levels. In addition, both the methane emission and the size of the sulfide pool were already negatively correlated with changes in the photosynthetic rate (ETR) during the first day, and with time, the correlations became stronger. These findings show that increased temperature will reduce primary productivity and increase methane and sulfide levels. Future increases in the frequency and severity of extreme temperature events could hence reduce the climate mitigation capacity of tropical seagrass meadows by reducing CO2 sequestration, increase damage from sulfide toxicity, and induce the release of larger amounts of methane., In order to estimate responses to warming in seagrass sediments, a mesocosm experiment with tropical seagrasses was performed. We measured methane release, sulfide concentration in the sediment pore water, and the plant's photosynthetic capacity. The higher temperatures had clear negative effects on the photosynthetic performance of seagrass plants and, at the same time, a clear positive effect on methane emission and the level of sulfide in the sediment. Future increases in the frequency and severity of extreme temperature events could hence cause tropical seagrass meadows to suffer increased damage from sulfide toxicity and induce the release of larger amounts of methane.

The effect of repeated midday temperature stress on the photosynthetic performance and biomass production of seagrass was studied in a mesocosm setup with four common tropical species, including Thalassia hemprichii, Cymodocea serrulata, Enhalus acoroides, and Thalassodendron ciliatum. To mimic natural conditions during low tides, the plants were exposed to temperature spikes of different maximal temperatures, that is, ambient (29–33°C), 34, 36, 40, and 45°C, during three midday hours for seven consecutive days. At temperatures of up to 36°C, all species could maintain full photosynthetic rates (measured as the electron transport rate, ETR) throughout the experiment without displaying any obvious photosynthetic stress responses (measured as declining maximal quantum yield, Fv/Fm). All species except T. ciliatum could also withstand 40°C, and only at 45°C did all species display significantly lower photosynthetic rates and declining Fv/Fm. Biomass estimation, however, revealed a different pattern, where significant losses of both above‐ and belowground seagrass biomass occurred in all species at both 40 and 45°C (except for C. serrulata in the 40°C treatment). Biomass losses were clearly higher in the shoots than in the belowground root–rhizome complex. The findings indicate that, although tropical seagrasses presently can cope with high midday temperature stress, a few degrees increase in maximum daily temperature could cause significant losses in seagrass biomass and productivity.

The exponential increase of atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations over the past 50 years has caused a rise in the global average temperature by more than 1ºC above pre-industrial levels. Ninety-three percent of this heat energy has been absorbed and stored by the oceans, increasing their temperatures, particularly in surface waters. This can produce both negative and positive impacts on the health and function of vital coastal shallow-water communities, hosting seagrasses and macroalgae, which are key primary producers and ecosystem engineers in the coastal zone. The physiological processes of these plants and the biogeochemical processes in associated sediments operate over a wide range of temperatures and their response can serve as early indicators of changes in their ecosystem function. This thesis employed a combination of laboratory, mesocosm and field based experiments to understand: 1) the responses of key physiological processes to elevated temperatures occurring frequently (and likely to occur in a future warming scenario) in seagrass meadows, and how these will affect biogeochemical processes in associated sediments, 2) the exchange of carbon dioxide between seagrass, water and atmosphere, and 3) effects of the tidal variability on biogeochemical processes of tropical seagrass sediments. The results showed that elevated water temperatures cause increased rates of photosynthesis in seagrasses up to a threshold temperature above which rates declines rapidly. The negative effects of temperatures reaching beyond threshold levels increased with repeated days of exposure. The rates of mitochondrial respiration in seagrasses increased with elevated temperatures until a collapse of their respiratory machinery occurred. Photorespiration did not increase linearly with elevated temperatures. The responses of the different components of the seagrass plant (i.e. leaves, shoots, rhizomes and roots) to temperature increase clearly differed, and varied within different parts of each component. Spikes of very high water temperatures, up to 40-44ºC, occur frequently during daytime at low spring tides during the northeast monsoon in the tropical intertidal areas of the western Indian Ocean, and if they occur repeatedly over several days, lead to large biomass loss in seagrasses. Such temperatures also increased methane emission and sulphide levels in seagrass-associated sediments. Submerged macrophytes in shallow coastal waters had pronounced effects on air-water fluxes of carbon dioxide, with an upward flux occurring when partial pressure of carbon dioxide is higher in the seawater than in the air and carbon dioxide escapes the water phase, and a downward flux when carbon dioxide enters the water phase. Plant cover, time of day and tidal level had pronounced consequences on emissions of methane and nitrous oxide as well as sulphide levels in tropical seagrass sediments. Emissions of methane and nitrous oxide positively correlated to sediment organic matter content and the relationship became stronger during high tide. The findings of this thesis indicate that intertidal seagrasses of the tropical WIO region are at special risk of declining under future warming, as they are currently living in an environment where ambient water temperatures frequently reach at, or beyond, threshold levels of key physiological processes during midday hours of low spring tides of the northeast monsoon. The negative effects of high temperature spikes may be further intensified by other anthropogenic stressors (e.g. eutrophication by land-based pollution sources). Taken together, these will reduce seagrass cover and promote the release and emission of historically deposited carbon back to the atmosphere, and this would possibly change these ecosystems from being carbon sinks to being sources and further exacerbate the negative impacts of greenhouse gases. At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 2: Manuscript. Paper 3: Manuscript. Paper 4: Manuscript. Paper 5: Manuscript. Paper 6: Manuscript.