MARINE BOTANICAL COMMUNITIES IN SOUTHERN MOZAMBIQUE - SEA GRASS AND SEAWEED DIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION

Sea grasses together with mangroves and coral reefs are known to be th e most productive communities in shallow-water ecosystems. In southern Mozambique, south of Maputo Bay, the marine botanical communities can be divided into sea grass and seaweed types. Sea grass occurs in the dark sandy areas of sheltered locations and the seaweed in rocky sands tone areas with high hydrodynamics. Sea-grass beds are exploited quite intensively for fishing activities and by collectors of edible marine invertebrates. At least 20 nets and 100 collectors were observed each day during the spring-tide period (15 days per month) around Inhaca I sland. The present study emphasizes aspects of sea grass and seaweed b iodiversity and conservation of these ecologically important communiti es.