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[7] [8] Ten seagrass species are at elevated risk of extinction (14% of all seagrass species) with three species qualifying as endangered. Seagrass loss and degradation of seagrass biodiversity will have serious repercussions for marine biodiversity and the human population that depends upon the resources and ecosystem services that seagrasses ...
A seagrass meadow or seagrass bed is an underwater ecosystem formed by seagrasses. Seagrasses are marine (saltwater) plants found in shallow coastal waters and in the brackish waters of estuaries . Seagrasses are flowering plants with stems and long green, grass-like leaves.
Example of seascape connectivity among different patch types in a tropical seascape and the flow of ecosystem services. Ecological linkages are depicted by arrows: terrestrial (brown); mangroves (green); seagrasses (blue); and coral reefs (red). Potential feedbacks from human impacts are also shown (yellow arrows). [116] [117
An example of an ecosystem service is pollination, here by a honey bee on avocado crop. Ecosystem services are the various benefits that humans derive from ecosystems. The interconnected living and non-living components of the natural environment offer benefits such as pollination of crops, clean air and water, decomposition of wastes, and ...
Seagrass beds create natural buffer zones against shoreline erosion when implemented in association with living shorelines. In addition, seagrass beds enhance water quality, improve sediment stabilization, supply habitat and food for aquatic organisms and dissipate high-energy waves.
Few species were originally considered to feed directly on seagrass leaves (partly because of their low nutritional content), but scientific reviews and improved working methods have shown that seagrass herbivory is a highly important link in the food chain, with hundreds of species feeding on seagrasses worldwide, including green turtles ...
Ecosystem services delivered by epibenthic bivalve reefs. Reefs provide coastal protection through erosion control and shoreline stabilization, and modify the physical landscape by ecosystem engineering , thereby providing habitat for species by facilitative interactions with other habitats such as tidal flat benthic communities, seagrasses and ...
Ecological goods and services (EG&S) are the economical benefits (goods and services) arising from the ecological functions of ecosystems. Such benefits accrue to all living organisms, including animals and plants, rather than to humans alone. However, there is a growing recognition of the importance to society that ecological goods and ...