Sensational Seagrass: Could Prioritizing Seagrass Be the Answer?
Allen, TX
2020, Senior, Creative Writing
Our oceans are vital to human life; we rely on them for seafood, water for desalination plants, transportation, tourism, and more. What happens when we use these resources without giving back to the ocean? Human intervention in marine ecosystems is already causing well-known problems that are ruining our oceans: overfishing, plastic pollution, reef bleaching, and dead zones, just to name a few. Yet, when people think of climate change affecting the ocean, most people immediately visualize the rapid bleaching of coral reefs. However, coral reefs dying isn’t the “end-all be-all” for climate change. Many people overlook seagrass meadows and their effects on stabilizing marine ecosystems. Even though all aspects of ocean life are important, we need to divert more attention to protecting seagrass meadows.
Seagrass beds are located in over 159 countries and cover over 300,000 km2 of the ocean floor (UN Environment Programme). Although I often find seagrass to be quite annoying when I snorkel, seagrass is vital to marine life as well as our own health and longevity as a human species. Seagrass provides a habitat for many species of fish and invertebrates and endangered species such as sea turtles and seahorses. In fact, approximately “60% of all sea turtle species use seagrasses as foraging or feeding habitats” (UN Environment Programme). This data demonstrates how vital the meadows are for the continuation of many species of sea life. Furthermore, seagrass meadows provide food and a habitat for “over one-fifth of the world’s largest 25 fisheries” (Unsworth et al., 2018).
Along with benefiting marine life, seagrass meadows provide food security to many people because seagrass beds are usually found close to shore and are easy to fish from (Unsworth et al., 2018). According to a study done in Wakatobi National Park in Indonesia with over 254 household surveys from 26 villages, including local islanders called Pulo, “seagrass meadows at the centre of the Coral Triangle (where Wakatobi is located) support at least 50% of the fish-based food supply that accounts for between 54% and 99% of daily protein intake in the area” (Unsworth et al., 2014). Moreover, it is also vital to the economy, with many seagrass-associated species being sold at local fish markets (Unsworth et al., 2014).
Not only do seagrass meadows provide food and shelter to marine life and support for fisheries, it can even help fish populations bounce back from overfishing. For example, “Atlantic cod have improved growth rate and survival when living in seagrass and intentionally choose this habitat” (UN Environment Programme). Seagrass is a critical component to the health of marine life and local fishing communities.
In addition to providing a habitat and breeding ground to many fish and marine species, seagrass is able to remove and store carbon dioxide in a process that’s known as blue carbon (Bedulli et al). Seagrass can capture carbon dioxide and store it in the ground. “Seagrass ecosystems have been estimated to bury 27-44 Tg organic carbon per year globally, accounting for 10–18% of the total carbon burial” even though seagrass beds only account for 0.1% of the ocean surface (Bedulli et al.) In fact, carbon capture is comparable to that of “temperate and tropical forests, mangroves, and tidal marshes” (Bedulli et al.). Considering seagrass’s efficient capability to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, it could be the Hail Mary of climate change mitigation.
The effects of seagrass don’t end there! Seagrass can also act as a buffer from ocean acidification. Seagrass “regulates the chemical composition of seawater by releasing oxygen and removing carbon dioxide during daylight” (UN Environment Programme). Seagrass may be the hidden key to restore balance to our waters and prevent further damage
Another benefit of seagrass beds is its effectiveness in erosion control on coasts. According to the UN Environment Programme, “Their leaves reduce flow velocity and decrease wave energy favoring sedimentation and, along with roots and rhizomes, prevent erosion and stabilize the sediment.” Seagrass beds are better suited to adapt to rising sea levels and without seagrass, storm surges and rising water can threaten coastal development. Furthermore, seagrass is more sustainable and less costly than engineering seawalls because of its “capacity of self-repair” (UN Environmental Programme). Therefore, local communities should invest in seagrass as erosion control in all coastal areas where seagrass can thrive. For instance, after being successfully transplanted in Tampa Bay, Florida, seagrass now covers “over 40,000 acres of Tampa Bay’s seafloor, nearly twice the area of Manhattan” (Waters). This is 2,000 more acres of seagrass than in the 1950s, when healthy seagrass covered 38,000 acres. Tampa Bay’s water is now much clearer than it was in the 1980s and has not only stabilized Tampa’s seafloor, but also brought back species of water birds (Waters).
The benefits of seagrass are practically limitless, but what about its ability to thrive in rising sea temperatures? Extreme weather events such as hurricanes, cyclones, and mass heat waves kill off seagrass in large quantities. As a matter of fact, after an extreme wave of heat in Australia’s Shark Bay in 2011, there was an “extensive [decline] of seagrass meadows, and mapping inside the park in 2014 revealed a net reduction of approximately 22% in seagrass habitat from the 2002 baseline” (UN Environmental Program). Make no mistake, powerful weather events could wipe out seagrass faster than we can protect it. If we keep losing seagrass, we will start to see marine life decline, too, with endangered green turtles and dugongs relying on seagrass for survival (Unsworth et al., 2019). With nearly 7% of seagrass vegetation being lost every year, it is time to change (UN Environmental Program). While we can’t exactly prevent extreme weather from wiping out seagrass, we can make changes to prevent seagrass loss through human action. If we limit dredging, create laws preventing nutrient runoff from farms and cities, and remove invasive species, seagrass populations will prosper (UN Environmental Programme). Our protection of these vital seagrass meadows will be sure to deliver great benefits to sea life and in turn help those who rely on the ocean.
Protecting and creating seagrass meadows have immense benefits for preserving marine life, environments, and human health. They are often overlooked in the scientific community despite its use as a habitat for biodiverse marine life, effectiveness in erosion control and capturing carbon, plus much more. Climate change can feel like a hopeless battle, especially with legal roadblocks making it almost impossible for climate legislation to be passed and getting proper funding for conservation efforts. Regardless, we must step up and advocate to protect seagrass from rising ocean temperatures and foster the growth of seagrass in all coastal communities. Seagrass is beneficial for all; it is critical to commission more studies on its impacts and resilience to extreme weather. In return, seagrass will provide for us and our well-being for centuries to come.
Works Cited
Bedulli, Camila, et al. “Contribution of Seagrass Blue Carbon Toward Carbon Neutral Policies in a Touristic and Environmentally-Friendly Island.” Frontiers, Frontiers, 6 Jan. 2020, www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2020.00001/full.
United Nations Environment Programme (2020). Out of the blue: The value of seagrasses to the environment and to people. UNEP, Nairobi. https://www.unenvironment.org/resources/report/out-blue-value-seagrasses-environment-and-people
Unsworth, Richard K.F., et al. “Seagrass Is a Marine Powerhouse, so Why Isn’t It on the World’s Conservation Agenda?” The Conversation, 28 Aug. 2019, theconversation.com/seagrass-is-a-marine-powerhouse-so-why-isnt-it-on-the-worlds-conservation-agenda-66503.
Unsworth, Richard K.f., et al. “Seagrass Meadows Support Global Fisheries Production.” Conservation Letters, vol. 12, no. 1, 2018, doi:10.1111/conl.12566.
Unsworth, Richard K F, et al. “Food Supply Depends on Seagrass Meadows in the Coral Triangle.” Environmental Research Letters, vol. 9, no. 9, 23 Sept. 2014, p. 094005., doi:10.1088/1748-9326/9/9/094005.
Waters, Hannah. “Bringing Back Tampa Bay’s Seagrass.” Smithsonian Ocean, Smithsonian, Jan. 2017, ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/plants-algae/bringing-back-tampa-bays-seagrass.
Reflection
Reflection
I kind of stumbled upon the topic of seagrass. When I was conducting research on the topics I was thinking of, I found the 2020 United Nations Environmental Programme on seagrass, and I became fascinated with it. My first and only real-life encounter with seagrass was on a trip to Aruba with my family. I had snorkeled a seagrass meadow looking at starfish, and I remember the water being remarkably clear. I felt like this was a sign I should look into the topic in more depth, and the research I found surprised me. After doing research on seagrass, I think that it is overlooked in the conservation community despite its wide range of benefits. It is a viable way to capture carbon from the air, with similar capacities to rainforests. Some strains of seagrass are also more resistant to rising water temperatures, which gives me hope in this ongoing fight against climate change. I hope one day I can aid conservationists in creating a seagrass nursery in areas where seagrass has been depleted and destroyed, preferably from my home state as a summer project. For anyone that reads my work, I want them to know seagrass is a viable option for fighting climate change and is often undervalued.