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seagrass lagoon index
  Online Guide to Chek Jawa
seagrass lagoon
 
Spoon seagrass
Halophila sp.
Family Hydrocharitaceae
click for enlarged image
 
On Chek Jawa, there are three species of spoon seagrass with rounded, paddle-like leaves of various sizes.

Halophila ovalis is the largest of these, with leaves 1-4cm long. It grows from thin rhizomes (underground stems) and the leaves emerge in pairs. It has tiny flowers and fruits. It tolerates a wide range of salinity, water depth and ground conditions. On Chek Jawa, preliminary results of a transact survey suggest Halophila ovalis is probably among the most widely distributed seagrass in the Chek Jawa seagrass lagoon. It is among the favourite food of dugongs. Studies suggest that Halophila ovalis can recover rapidly from grazing by dugong.

Much smaller is Halophila minor which has leaves 2-3mm wide and 2-8mm long. Its rhizomes are tiny, barely 1mm in diameter. 		 
click for enlarged image
quick facts
Each spoon-shaped leaf 1-4cm long, common in the seagrass lagoon
 
See also ...
Seagrasses in general
Fern-like seagrass (Halophila spinulosa)
Beccari's seagrass (Halophila beccarii)

Links
Halophila ovalis on the University of Hawai'i website: a fact sheet on the seagrass with some photos and diagrams.
Halophila Picture Index on the University of Hawai'i website: a selection of photos of various Halophila species found in Hawai'i
Halophila ovalis on the Hervey Bay Dugong and Seagrass Monitoring Program (Australia) website: brief fact sheet with diagrams of the seagrass.
Growth of seagrass Halophila ovalis at dugong trails compared to existing within-patch variation in a Thailand intertidal flat by Masahiro Nakaoka and Keiko Aioi on the Inter-Research website: an abstract of a study on the impact of dugong feeding on this seagrass.
Identifying seagrasses along the North Queensland Coast on the CRC Reef Research Centre website: snippets on Halophila ovalis with a diagram

Other references
  • Calumpong, H. P. & Menez, E. G., 1997. Field Guide to the Common Mangroves, Seagrasses and Algae of the Philippines. Bookmark, Inc., the Philippines. 197 pp.
  • Hartog, C. Den. The Sea-grasses of the World, 1970. North-Holland Pub. Co., Amsterdam. 276 pp., 20 pp. of photos.
  • Ong, Jin Eong & Gong, Wooi Khoon (eds.), 2001. The Encyclopedia of Malaysia (Vol. 6): The Seas. Didier Millet, Malaysia. 144 pp.
  • Tan, Leo W. H. & Ng, Peter K. L., 1988. A Guide to Seashore Life. The Singapore Science Centre, Singapore. 160 pp. online version
  • Lim, S., P. Ng, L. Tan, & W. Y. Chin, 1994. Rhythm of the Sea: The Life and Times of Labrador Beach. Division of Biology, School of Science, Nanyang Technological University & Department of Zoology, the National University of Singapore. 160 pp.
 

a companion website to the chek jawa guidebook
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