IMIS

Samples were collected in Oranjestad Bay (St. Eustatius, eastern Caribbean, Min. lat.: 17°29′N, Min. lon.: 62°59′W) between Feb 10th-24th 2020 by SCUBA-diving. Three different Halophila stipulacea meadows were compared in two different sites: one site where Halophila stipulacea was growing in a dense meadow at 10 m ("shallow"), and a second deeper site (18m), where two Halophila stipulacea meadows were sampled, the first neighbouring the local coral reef ("deep near reef") and the second 50 m away from the reef ("deep far"). The use of three sites allows to compare the effects of depth (two similar-looking meadows growing at different depths - one at 10 m and one at 18 m), and the potential effect of growing near the reef (two meadows that are both at 18 m, but one is bordering a coral reef, the second is relatively far away from the reef).