1.   Introduction The Bahamas are home to an expansive underwater seagrass meadow, consisting of 40.7% of recorded seagrass area in the world (Fu et al., 2023, p. 1). The meadow exists in a unique area in the Atlantic Basin that is prone to major storms, including tropical hurricanes (James et al., 2020, p. 301). It is found in clear, nutrient-poor tropical waters close to the equator (Fu et al., 2023, p. 2). The nutrient-poor environment causes species to adapt to highly sp