SEAGRASS
How are seagrass and seagrass
beds important?
WHAT IS A SEAGRASS?
Marine plant
Angiosperm = true flowering plant
Vascular tissues (phloem & xylem)
Benthic (bottom dweller)
Found in shallow coastal water where
there is lots of sunlight
Flowers are pollinated underwater
except for one species
STRUCTURE OF SEAGRASS
Rhizomes – rootlike, buried in sand
that take up nutrients and anchor plant
to substrate
Nodes
Internodes
Shoots
Leafs – need light for photosynthesis
Flowers
PARTS OF
A
SEAGRASS
PLANT
SEAGRASS & CORAL REEFS
Provide habitat, shelter, and nursery for
wide variety of animals and plants
Improve water quality by removing
nutrients from the water
Roots stabilize and hold bottom sediment
Leaves slow down currents and allows
sediment to settle
Food for marine organisms (primary
producers)
Produce and trap ditritus (dead organism)
HUMAN USES OF SEAGRASS
House insulation made of dried
seagrass
Soundproof radio studios
Roofing thatch
Package stuffing
Stock feed
Fertilizers for land plants
HARMS TO SEAGRASSES:
Dredging
Removes seagrass
Creates muddied water that reduces amount of
sunlight
Silt can smother and suffocate seagrass beds
and other organisms in the area
Nutrients from sewage, fertilizer runoffs
from farm areas, soil eroding from land
Boating
WHAT CAN WE DO TO
PROTECT SEAGRASS?
Be careful of how we treat the land
Land use management
Practice environmentally friendly farming
techniques and method
Control deforestation
Volunteer in seagrass monitoring program
Educate or remind boaters of the
following:
Keep out of seagrass areas during low tides
If you must pass through seagrass areas when
boating, go slow
Anchor away from seagrass beds
Reduce amount of pollution entering bays
and estuaries by doing the following:
Be careful of what you dump in the drain
Establish buffer zones
Reduce amount of pesticide and fertilizers used
on lawns and farms
Reduce storm water runoffs into bays
Build environmentally friendly septic tanks near
coastal waters