The objective of this paper is to examine the effects of a tsunami
on seagrass macrofaunal communities by comparing data collected
before and after the tsunami. Patterns of temporal changes in
abundance, diversity, and similarity of macrofaunal community
structure were compared between two seagrass beds that received
different degrees of disturbance and between vegetated and nonvegetated
areas within seagrass bed to examine whether the
changes are related to the magnitude of the tsunami disturbance
and to the presence or absence of seagrass vegetation.