Seagrasses Under Environmental Pressures: Advancing Performance Assessment Through Metabolomics

Seagrass meadows globally decline as they are threatened by a multitude of environmental pressures. Plant metabolism can provide a holistic ‘early warning’ image of deteriorating plant performance because it responds instantaneously to stress and informs about acclimation, adaptation, and defence strategies. I used metabolomics to identify and unravel (early) responses of seagrass leaf metabolism to environmental pressures and explored how metabolomics can be integrated into seagrass monitoring. I demonstrated that metabolomics can significantly advance our understanding of the metabolic mechanisms activated in seagrasses under stress. This is crucial knowledge for the development of better-targeted seagrass management and conservation strategies.