Seagrass Meadow

A seagrass meadow is a marine biome formed by seagrasses, flowering plants that grow fully submerged in shallow coastal and estuarine waters and anchor themselves in seafloor sediment with roots and rhizomes rather than living free-floating the way algae do. These meadows are among the most productive ecosystems in the ocean, sheltering and feeding a wide range of marine life, from crabs and shrimp to commercial fish such as cod and flatfish, and serving as a refuge for vulnerable species including seahorses, sea turtles and dugongs as well as a nursery ground for young shrimp and scallops. Beyond the species they support directly, seagrass meadows dissipate wave energy to help protect coastlines, trap sediment and absorb excess nutrients to improve water quality, and lock large amounts of carbon into ocean floor sediment, making them an important natural carbon sink. The biome is in steep decline worldwide, lost to pollution, destructive fishing practices and overfishing that unbalances the food webs meadows depend on.