Seagrass structural traits across five countries in the Central Indo-Pacific in 2022-2023

Surveys of seagrass morphometrics were conducted as part of a large-scale seagrass ecosystem services assessment conducted across five countries: Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines and Timor-Leste under the International Climate Initiative (IKI): Seagrass Ecosystem Services Project (https://www.dugongseagrass.org/projects/seagrass-ecosystem-services-project/), between July 2022 and April 2023. Data points were selected by local NGO's and/or community members. Five random 0.25 m² quadrats were placed around each Baited Remote Underwater Video system (BRUV) point, where data on seagrass cover, seagrass species composition, algae cover, canopy height, epiphyte cover and sediment type were recorded (modified from Jones et al., 2021). Data were collected from a total of 880 quadrats, observing nine seagrass species across Indo-Pacific sample sites.