This finding has been interpreted as an adaptation to lower irradiance . The leaf length and width of T. hemprichii exhibited minimum values in high intertidal zones (except for the leaf width in 2H) because these plants emerge during low tide and suffer from desiccation. Low tide during daytime occurs between 9 and 15 days per month during the dry season, and similar effects of desiccation have been found in other tropical seagrass meadows . This smaller leaf may be a response that evolved to minimize exposure and desiccation at low tide. Overall, there was a clear differentiation in T. hemprichii morphology along the intertidal gradient, which is indicative of the species acclimation plasticity to cope with this environmental gradient.