Vanishing Seagrass
By Matt J. Weiss, July 6, 2009 @ 03:17 AM (EST)
Source: Redorbit.com
A new study has shed light on the extent and causes behind the oceans’
quickly vanishing seagrass meadows, a vital resource for thousands of
species of marine life.
In the study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers reported that 58 percent of the world’s seagrass meadows have been shrinking at a rate of about 7 percent a year since 1990. Scientists based their conclusions on data from over 200 surveys and some 1,800 observations dating as far back as 1879, which show seagrass meadows disappearing at a pace similar to that of rainforests and coral reefs.
“Seagrasses are disappearing because they live in the same kind of environments that attract people,” explained co-author of the report James Fourqurean of Florida International University.
“They live in shallow areas protected from large storm waves, and they are especially prevalent in bays and around river mouths.”
Marine biologists say that seagrass plays a vital role in marine ecosystems. Breaking-down and processing waste, stabilizing sediment on the seabed, and providing food and shelter to countless species of marine life are just a few of the functions of seagrass, which fills a niche in the aquatic world comparable to that occupied by plants and fungus in terrestrial biomes.
Scientists are blaming global climate change as one of the critical factors contributing to the decline of seagrass, which they say is sensitive to the rising ocean levels and warming water temperature caused by greenhouse gases.
But researchers are also pointing to another man-made problem that may be having a more immediate effect on seagrass’ ability to thrive. Ocean water made cloudy by pollution from coastal industry is able to transmit less sunlight to the photosynthetic plants, ultimately restricting the depth at which they are able to grow
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In the study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers reported that 58 percent of the world’s seagrass meadows have been shrinking at a rate of about 7 percent a year since 1990. Scientists based their conclusions on data from over 200 surveys and some 1,800 observations dating as far back as 1879, which show seagrass meadows disappearing at a pace similar to that of rainforests and coral reefs.
“Seagrasses are disappearing because they live in the same kind of environments that attract people,” explained co-author of the report James Fourqurean of Florida International University.
“They live in shallow areas protected from large storm waves, and they are especially prevalent in bays and around river mouths.”
Marine biologists say that seagrass plays a vital role in marine ecosystems. Breaking-down and processing waste, stabilizing sediment on the seabed, and providing food and shelter to countless species of marine life are just a few of the functions of seagrass, which fills a niche in the aquatic world comparable to that occupied by plants and fungus in terrestrial biomes.
Scientists are blaming global climate change as one of the critical factors contributing to the decline of seagrass, which they say is sensitive to the rising ocean levels and warming water temperature caused by greenhouse gases.
But researchers are also pointing to another man-made problem that may be having a more immediate effect on seagrass’ ability to thrive. Ocean water made cloudy by pollution from coastal industry is able to transmit less sunlight to the photosynthetic plants, ultimately restricting the depth at which they are able to grow
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