Study Warns Of Continuing Loss Of Coastal Seagrass
Posted on: Wednesday, 1 July 2009, 05:54 CDT
Researchers have said in a new report that coastal development and declining water quality are threatening seagrasses worldwide, The Associated Press reported.
Some 58 percent of seagrass meadows are in decline, according to a study of coastal grasses around the world.
Seagrass provides habitat for coastal life and helps reduce the impact of sediment and nutrient pollution.
Coastal ecosystems have been pushed out of balance due to a combination of growing urban centers, artificially hardened shorelines and declining natural resources, said the report in Tuesday's edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Co-author William Dennison of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science said the world is losing a seagrass meadow the size of a soccer field every thirty minutes.
Dennison said the loss of each meadow also results in the loss of ecosystem services that affect the fish and shellfish that rely on the areas for nursery habitat.
Robert Orth of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science of the College of William and Mary added that the consequences of continuing losses also extend far beyond the areas where seagrasses grow, as they export energy in the form of biomass and animals to other ecosystems including marshes and coral reefs.
There has been about a 7 percent loss of seagrass per year since 1990, with the major impacts coming from coastal development and dredging as well as reductions in water quality.
The National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) in Santa Barbara, California, supported the research through the National Science Foundation.
---
Image Caption: Meadow of Turtle Grass. courtesy Paige Gill, Florida National Marine Sanctuary
---
On the Net:
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science
- Virginia Institute of Marine Science of the College of William and Mary
Source: redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports
Related Articles
- Environmental Tectonics Corporation's Entertainment Subsidiary EnTCo's The Ride Works Announces the Commissioning of Wild Earth: Deep Ocean Safari at McWane Science Center
- NASA, Air Force Designate National Hypersonic Science Centers
- NASA and Air Force Designate National Hypersonic Science Centers
- National Surgical Hospitals Acquires Interest In Coastal Bend Surgery Center in Corpus Christi, Texas, With Plans to Add Adjacent Surgical Hospital
- Remarks By the First Lady at a Coastal Ecosystem Learning Center Designation and Marine Debris Initiative Announcement
- LifePoint Hospitals, Inc. Completes Sale of Coastal Carolina Medical Center to Tenet
- NASA & Owens Science Center Celebrate National Astronomy Day
- Tulane University Health Sciences Center in N.O. Receives Grant to Study Lung Disease
- National Science Center's CEO Will Be Leaving Position
- Math & Science Center
 |
 |
User Comments (0)
RSS Feeds