DISTRIBUTION OF SEAGRASSES AND ASSOCIATED MACROALGAE IN SOUTH SULAWESI, INDONESIA

Eleven seagrass species were found in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Seagr asses occurred in five different habitats, i.e. intertidal terrigenous mudflats, shallow terrigenous sandy bays, coastal reef flats, reef fl ats of patch reefs, and sandy reef bases, from the intertidal to a max imum depth of 35 m. Thalassia hemprichii and Enhalus acoroides were th e dominant constant species of stable environments (permanently presen t in climax vegetations). Cymodocea rotundata, Halodule uninervis and Halophila ovalis were the dominant pioneering species in the area A co nsiderable number (117) of macroalgal taxa were found associated with seagrass vegetation, but only 13 of these were found exclusively in as sociation with seagrasses. Macroalgal biomass in the seagrass beds was usually low (< 5 g AFDW m(-2)). However, in stressed habitats macroal gae may contribute up to 50% to the total biomass, notably during peri ods of occasional blooming. Species diversity of seagrasses and associ ated macroalgae was much lower in stressed habitats, which are charact erized by heavy sedimentation, physical instability of the substratum, or high turbidity.