Seagrasses grow submerged and produce an abundance of blossoms . There are 58 nautical seagrass varieties worldwide , allot to the Gulf of Mexico Program , which is administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA ) . These plants are bump in shallow ocean waters , where an abundance of lightness can still strive them . Seagrasses obtain their food from sediment and from the water around them .
Benefits
seagrass are a natural imagination . They help oneself to bring forth water clearness by trapping sediments in their leaves ; they provide an ideal home ground for aquatic liveliness ; they prevent deposit erosion with their source system ; and they are a worthful source of food for aquatic lifeforms . Trichechus manatus and green sea turtles thrive on seagrasses . One Akko of seagrass will easily produce 10 tons of folio , which can hold up 40,000 Pisces and 50 million small invertebrates , allot to the Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce , Florida .
Safe Haven
An abundance of seagrass offers a safe oasis for pocket-size fish that fall prey to declamatory predatory fish species . The grasses also provide a nursery setting for many Pisces the Fishes to spawn within . adolescent fish mintage hatch within the protection of the seagrass and veil in its confines .
Threats
There are several threats that can threaten seagrass . Any change in the salinity of the water can easy kill the delicate seagrass . Seagrass depends on water clarity to expand through photosynthesis . If the H2O becomes contaminated with sewage , urban storm urine runoff , chemical runoff from agriculture performance or industrial operations , the water clarity is reduce , and the seagrass dies .
Human Threats
Dredging and boat are serious threats to the well - being of seagrass . sauceboat propellers sometimes tear grass source from the deposit . Docks often shade the grasses , causing their inevitable dying .
Seagrass beds that sustain profound scarring from commercial fishing operations can take up to 10 class to recover , according to the Gulf of Mexico Program , administered by the EPA . Dredging reduces the water lucidness by causing an inbalance between fresh weewee and ocean water system . It also interrupt the sediment , producing excessive water clouding .
Importance
Seagrass solution give stability to the deposit structure of the sea floor , help to thin out wave natural process . The secure root system of seagrass anchor it to the hard substratum of the ocean floor , which reduces deposit accrual during storms . The on the loose and flowing grass blades offer buoyancy during violent storm activity , which lessens wave force . This is invaluable in areas of wicked tropical storm or hurricanes . Without seagrasses , place , beach and business would sustain even more serious damage during any type of tempest , allot to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission .
