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Marine
Grasses Overview
Photo by Jim Reid
U.S. Fish and Wildlife - Sirenia Project
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The sheltering canopy of seagrass leaves rising into the water and the
net of roots penetrating into the sediments below, create a calm, stable
and protected habitat for a wide assortment of marine life. Grass beds
are especially important as nursery areas for young life stages of marine
fish and invertebrates, such as shrimp and crabs.
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A green leafy feast of rapidly growing seagrasses provides numerous grazers,
such as manatees, sea urchins, and green sea turtles with their main source
of food. Most of the seagrass, however, becomes part of the food chain
as detritus, or decaying matter. Microbes, shrimp, many fish and invertebrates
feast upon the decaying seagrass. Predators visit grass flats in their
search for food.
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Seagrasses help other organisms by recycling nutrients, improving water
clarity and cleaning marine waters of pollutants, aiding the growth of
other marine life. Seagrasses also help stabilize sediments by dissipating
water column turbulence and by anchoring them with their woven root and
rhizome network.
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The root of the problem: Although seagrasses are totally adapted to living
underwater they are related to land plants. They have leaves, stems and
flowers, as well as roots. In healthy seagrass beds, when leaves are lost
to storms, grazing, or other natural disturbances, they grow back quickly,
just like grasses in lawns. But when seagrass roots are damaged, often
by motorboat propellers, they may not grow back for years, if ever...
Habitat
Protection
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