ABSTRACT
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 Responses of Seagrass to Siltation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Effects of Siltation on Seagrass Depth Distribution and Abundance. . . . . . . . 94 Effects of Siltation on Diversity, Biomass, and Survival . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 Effects of Siltation on Seagrass Growth and Primary Productivity . . . . . . . . . 96 Effects of Siltation on Seagrass Morphology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Responses of Corals to Siltation/Sedimentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 Effects of Sedimentation on Coral Abundance, Diversity, and Distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 Effects of Sedimentation on Coral Growth and Productivity. . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 Modeling Reef Status and Sedimentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Responses of Mangroves to Siltation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102 Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Effects of Siltation on Seagrass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 Effects of Sedimentation on Coral Reefs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 Effects of Siltation on Mangroves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Coral reefs, seagrass beds, and mangroves are the major ecosystems in coastal Southeast Asia. They are experiencing widespread deterioration, largely as a result of siltation (Fortes, 1988). During the past 25 years rates of siltation in the region have increased substantially and are among the highest in the world (Milliman & Meade, 1983; Milliman & Syvitski, 1992). These have been caused largely by human disturbances such as land reclamation or changes in land use (Fortes, 1988 and 1995; Short & Wyllie-Echeverria, 1996). The rapid progression of coastal development, near and offshore mining, agricultural land use, and deforestation have led to increasing silt load and eutrophication. These brought about dramatic changes in the development
of coastal plant and animal communities in both tropical and temperate waters (Orth & Moore, 1983; Cambridge & McComb, 1984; Onuf, 1994; Terrados et al., 1998).
