Habitats

Interconnected Ecosystems

What’s at stake

Seagrass supports a number of habitats around the world.

We have already lost 35% of the world’s seagrass, this could lead to the degradation of a number of other important and productive habitats that rely on seagrass.

Sediment Stabilisation

The dense root systems found on most seagrass beds secure the seabed, preventing soft sediments from being washed onto coral reefs

Seagrasses Form a Partnership with Nearby Habitats

Seagrasses, coral reefs and mangroves work together. Seagrasses trap and stabilize sediment which in turn provides an area for mangroves to grow on. Coral reefs protect seagrasses from wave action and, in turn, seagrasses protect coral reefs from bacterial run-off from the shore.

Seagrass Meadows Potect Coral Reefs from Disease

Seagrass meadows often grow beside coral reefs and it has been found that reef-building corals found next to seagrass beds have half the levels of diseases associated with bleaching than those corals without a nearby meadow. It appears that seagrasses could act in the same way as wastewater treatment facilities, releasing the high amounts of oxygen they make via photosynthesis, which is then toxic to the pathogens.