![]() ![]() Today, seagrasses are found around the coasts of more than 80% of the world’s countries, including shallow waters and the intertidal zone. ![]() To survive, seagrasses have developed a distinct way of life that allows them to thrive in nutrient-poor environments by extracting nutrients from the sediment and water. ![]() These families all descend from terrestrial plants that, like whales, gradually returned to the water over millions of years. In total, there are around 60 seagrass species, made up of five different families that are not closely related but have a similar appearance and lifestyle. Seagrasses are a group of flowering plants that grow exclusively in marine environments. The findings of the study were published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B. The new energy has to go somewhere, so we are quantifying how it affects invertebrates and fish with our evidence suggesting that it is fuelling increases in both.’ ![]() ‘We are now investigating how this cascades up the food web. A new study in the Caribbean has shown that artificial reefs can help to bolster their growth in the tropics, even as threats such as fishing and nutrient pollution continue.ĭr Jacob Allgeier, a co-author of the paper, says, ‘By attracting fish, whose faeces provide concentrated nutrients for the seagrass, the artificial reefs increase the primary production of the entire ecosystem.’ However, with an area of seagrass the size of a football pitch being lost every 30 minutes, it’s more important than ever to find out how to turn things around. They are incredibly valuable habitats, providing a nursery for young fish as well as sucking vast quantities of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Seagrass meadows are found across the world, reaching from the tropics up into the lower reaches of the Arctic circle. Breeze blocks placed in one of the ocean’s most endangered habitats provide an unexpected lift for fish. ![]()
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