Seagrass meadows among the most threatened ecosystems on Earth
By Michael Perry
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Mounting loss of seagrass in the world’s oceans, vital for the survival of endangered marine life, commercial fisheries and the fight against climate change, reveals a major crisis in coastal ecosystems, a report says. A global study of seagrass, which can absorb large amounts of planet-warming carbon dioxide, found that 29 percent of the world’s known seagrass had disappeared since 1879 and the losses were accelerating. Seagrasses are flowering plants found in shallow waters. They were vanishing at the rate of about 110 sq km (42 sq miles) a year since 1980, said the study to be published in the U.S. journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The study by Australian and American scientists found seagrass meadows were “among the most threatened ecosystems on earth” due to population growth, development, climate change and ecological degradation. It said there were only about 177,000 sq km left globally. “Seagrass meadows are negatively affected by impacts accruing from the billion or more people who live within 50 km (30 miles) of them,” said the report received by Reuters on Tuesday. The study said the loss of seagrass was comparable to losses in coral reefs, tropical rainforests and mangroves. “Seagrasses are sentinels of change” and the loss of seagrass was an indicator of a deteriorating global marine ecosystem. “Mounting seagrass loss reveals a major global environmental crisis in coastal ecosystems,” it said. It is estimated that 70 percent of all marine life in the ocean is directly dependent upon seagrass, according to U.S.-based Seagrass Recovery (www.seagrassrecovery.com). …
