Understanding ecosystem pressures, condition and marine macroinvertebrate ecosystem services in seagrasses and mangroves in a digital age: Case of Inhambane Bay, Mozambique

Marine macroinvertebrates (MMI) sustain high biodiversity, ecosystem functioning and multiple ecosystem services (ES), but they can be impacted by the pressures exerted on ecosystems and their condition. We assessed ecosystem pressures (habitat conversion, overexploitation and climate change) and condition (environmental quality and ecosystem attributes), and MMI ES (provisioning, regulation and maintenance, and cultural) in seagrasses and mangroves of the Inhambane bay (INB), Mozambique, using digital data from satellite, biodiversity platforms, natural history collections databases, scientific literature and fisheries national reports. The study revealed that both, seagrass and mangrove extents of the INB have increased significantly since 2016. The surface partial pressure CO2 and sea surface height above sea level (i.e., sea level anomalies), and surface pH have significantly increased and decreased respectively. While sea surface temperature showed no significant annual variation, there was an increasing trend. Out of the seven environmental quality variables which showed a decline in concentrations (except PO4 increasing), only silicate, PO4 and phytoplankton concentrations in the bay showed significant annual varying trends. The biological condition of the bay shows that seagrasses present higher species richness and occurrences than mangroves. The MMI ES included the temporal assessment of food (provisioning); water quality regulation, hydrological flux, climate regulation, MMI as decomposition precursors, and habitat modification (regulation and maintenance); and recreation, stewardship and sense of belonging, scientific and traditional knowledge, and formal and informal education and training (cultural). MMI production has increased significantly, which parallels rising fishing efforts and indicates overexploitation that needs urgent attention. MMI regulation and maintenance, and cultural ES did not show significant trends overtime and they were probably underestimated due to data gaps. Notwithstanding, the study provided relevant data that can support future regulation and maintenance as well as cultural ES assessments and suggests a relation to the establishment of marine protected areas and MMI biodiversity. Conserving MMI and enhancing their ‘traditional’ use is key to their sustainable use. The results of this study contribute to the baseline information of the pressures and changes in condition of the INB which are potentially threatening to the MMI ES. It also revealed unexplored services of MMI in the INB, hence this study can be used to address issues on the unexplored MMI ES which can promote local economy.

海洋大型无脊椎动物（Marine macroinvertebrates, MMI）支撑着极高的生物多样性、生态系统功能与多重生态系统服务（ecosystem services, ES），但其生存会受到施加于生态系统的压力及自身状态的影响。本研究以莫桑比克伊尼扬巴内湾（Inhambane bay, INB）的海草床与红树林为研究对象，整合卫星遥感数据、生物多样性平台数据集、自然历史馆藏数据库资料、科学文献及国家渔业报告，对生态系统压力（生境转换、过度开发与气候变化）、生态系统状态（环境质量与生态系统属性）以及MMI相关生态系统服务（供给服务、调节与维持服务、文化服务）开展了系统评估。

研究结果显示，自2016年以来，伊尼扬巴内湾的海草床与红树林面积均显著扩张。海湾表层二氧化碳分压、海平面相对高度（即海平面异常值）与表层pH值分别呈现显著上升、显著下降的变化趋势。尽管海表温度未出现显著的年际波动，但整体呈上升态势。在7项浓度呈下降趋势的环境质量变量中（磷酸盐PO4除外，其浓度呈上升趋势），仅硅酸盐、磷酸盐与浮游植物浓度存在显著的年际变化趋势。

该海湾的生物状态评估结果表明，海草床的物种丰富度与出现频次均高于红树林。本研究涵盖的MMI生态系统服务包括：食物供给（供给服务）、水质调节、水文通量调节、气候调节、作为分解前驱物的海洋大型无脊椎动物、生境改良（调节与维持服务）；以及休闲娱乐、资源管护与归属感、科学与传统知识、正式与非正式教育与培训（文化服务）。

海洋大型无脊椎动物的捕捞产量已显著提升，这与捕捞强度的上升相契合，表明存在亟待引起重视的过度开发问题。MMI的调节与维持服务以及文化服务未呈现显著的年际变化趋势，且可能因数据缺失而被低估。尽管如此，本研究仍提供了可支撑后续调节与维持服务及文化服务评估的有效数据，并指出其与海洋保护区建设及MMI生物多样性之间存在潜在关联。保护海洋大型无脊椎动物并强化其“传统”利用方式，是实现其可持续利用的核心关键。

本研究结果为伊尼扬巴内湾的压力来源与状态变化（这些因素可能威胁MMI相关生态系统服务）提供了基线数据。同时，本研究还揭示了伊尼扬巴内湾内MMI尚未被探索的服务价值，因此可用于解决未被充分认知的MMI生态系统服务相关问题，进而助力地方经济发展。