Is the seagrass Ruppia cirrhosa a functional surrogate for endangered Zostera capensis

Seagrass structural metrics (shoot density, leaf length, leaf width, canopy height, above-ground and below-ground biomass, epiphyte biomass) and macrofaunal abundance (morphotaxa-level counts per core) collected from 96 sediment cores in Zostera capensis and Ruppia cirrhosa beds at five sites along the Swartvlei Estuary, South Africa (October/November 2024). Data support the findings reported in Lawrence et al. "Is the seagrass Ruppia cirrhosa a functional surrogate for endangered Zostera capensis? Evidence from macrofaunal assemblages along an estuarine salinity gradient".