Seagrass ecosystems are lost due to habitat disturbance, coastal development, and human activities. The impact of boat anchors from traditional fishing and recreational activities was assessed on the seagrass Halophila ovalis from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (ANI) of India. The plant density, biomass, morphometrics, canopy height and percentage cover were estimated from two sites of Govind Nagar beach of ANI. The shoot density of H. ovalis was reduced by physical damage caused by boat anchors. The morphometrics of H. ovalis, such as the number of leaves per ramet, leaf length, width, and horizontal rhizome length was significantly reduced when impacted by boat anchors. Seagrass canopy height and percentage cover were reduced by 71 and 54 %, respectively. Though the impact of boat anchors reported here is on a small-scale, it may impact the feeding grounds of locally endangered dugongs. Therefore, proper management and preventive measures should be implemented to prevent the loss of dugong grass habitats from tourism, recreational, and fishing activities.

中文翻译：

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岛屿生态系统中栖息地的扰动导致儒艮草[椭圆形嗜盐菌（H.ophilis olivis（R. Brown）]]种群结构的丧失

由于栖息地干扰，沿海开发和人类活动，海草生态系统丧失。评估了来自传统捕鱼和娱乐活动的船锚对印度安达曼和尼科巴群岛（ANI）的海草椭圆形嗜盐菌的影响。从ANI的Govind Nagar海滩的两个地点估算了植物的密度，生物量，形态，冠层高度和覆盖率。由于船锚造成的物理破坏，卵形H.的芽密度降低了。卵形H.的形态计量学，例如，每具分株的叶片数，叶片长度，宽度和水平根茎长度在受到船锚的影响时都显着减少。海草冠层高度和覆盖率分别降低了71％和54％。尽管这里报道的船锚的影响是小规模的，但它可能会影响本地濒危儒艮的觅食地。因此，应采取适当的管理和预防措施，以防止儒艮草栖息地因旅游，娱乐和捕鱼活动而流失。