Scientists discover ‘world’s largest’ seagrass forest

By sequestering carbon and protecting shorelines, seagrass can help communities mitigate and adapt to climate change. Healthy seagrass meadows are a nature-based solution to many threats facing coastal waters and communities, including climate change. The ecosystem is likely to be the most significant blue carbon sink-referring to carbon stored in marine ecosystems on the planet. Tiger sharks equipped with tracking instruments were supposed to map seagrass in the Bahamas and take images of the sea floor. The highly mobile animals are able to reach significant depths, have a large range and spend a lot of time in seagrass meadows. They are also unburdened by mundane human constraints such as needing a boat, having to surface frequently and reliance on calm ocean conditions. About 7% of seagrasses are estimated to be lost globally every year. The UK has lost 90% of its seagrass meadows over the past few centuries. In a study published in the journal Nature Communications on November 1, scientists describe a seagrass ecosystem in the Bahamas that could be the biggest in the world. It is estimated to cover an area of at least 35,500 square miles of Caribbean seabed. This discovery extends the total known global seagrass coverage by more than 40%. Researchers hope that this discovery will help them protect this see treasure in the Bahamas.


https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/nov/05/scientists-discover-worlds-largest-seagrass-forest-by-strapping-cameras-to-sharks

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