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One Of the Most Critical Natural Resources for Marine Life Is Disappearing
And it also happens to be important to us all
When most people think of natural resources, they think of clean water, plentiful forests, open land for agriculture, biofuels, harnessing solar energy, sustainable food practices, soil health, and more. But who thinks of grass that lives in salt water? Decidedly few.
Seagrass meadows are rapidly disappearing. This has grave implications for the many species that depend on the plant as a food source or habitat and other marine creatures that live on this plant and sustain the web of life under the sea.
But as a huge carbon sink, the disappearance of seagrass also has implications for us humans, too.
In January, when I snorkeled off the coast of St. John in the Caribbean Sea, I witnessed green sea turtles feasting in underwater seagrass meadows. These herbivores eat so much of this plant that their “meat or .
What surprised me was the thinness of the undersea meadow where we snorkeled. White sand was easily seen growing between the plants. Was this…
