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A seagrass meadow or seagrass bed is an underwater ecosystem formed by seagrasses. Seagrasses are marine (saltwater) plants found in shallow coastal waters and in the brackish waters of estuaries . Seagrasses are flowering plants with stems and long green, grass-like leaves.
An additional threat to seagrass beds is the introduction of non-native species. For seagrass beds worldwide, at least 28 non-native species have become established. Of these invasive species, the majority (64%) have been documented to infer negative effects on the ecosystem. [123]
As of 2010 there were 10 seagrass species at high risk of extinction. While three were considered endangered. With seagrass species loss comes biodiversity loss. This paper studies not only human impact on seagrass beds but also global climate change and how changing environments are impacting seagrasses worldwide (Short, Frederick T. et al ...
The western coast contain notable and diverse seagrass beds; Cockburn Sound and the Swan River estuary, and the Houtman Abrolhos, Rottnest and other islands. The Wooramel Seagrass Bank 12 species - estimated 4,500 km 2 of seabed - at Shark Bay is the largest reported seagrass meadows in the world (Walker, 1989).
Posidonia oceanica, commonly known as Neptune grass or Mediterranean tapeweed, is a seagrass species that is endemic to the Mediterranean Sea. [2] It forms large underwater meadows that are an important part of the ecosystem. The fruit is free floating and known in Italy as "the olive of the sea" (l'oliva di mare [3]).
Seagrass beds make highly diverse and productive ecosystems. They are home to phyla such as juvenile and adult fish, epiphytic and free-living macroalgae and microalgae , mollusks , bristle worms , and nematodes .
Zostera marina is a flowering vascular plant species as one of many kinds of seagrass, with this species known primarily by the English name of eelgrass with seawrack much less used, and refers to the plant after breaking loose from the submerged wetland soil, and drifting free with ocean current and waves to a coast seashore.
It is found in a variety of habitats, including seagrass beds, [7] coastal lagoons, flat hard-bottom and limestone ledges. [8] It prefers hard, sandy bottoms. Juveniles utilize vegetation for habitat or are found adjacent to vegetation in estuaries. [9] Juveniles inhabit high salinity seagrass beds and older adults occur offshore in deeper depths.