Shark Trivia

Did You Know that Shark are Protecting Seagrasses….

.….and are one of the seagrasses' best allies in the fight to survive factors such as heat waves that destroy seagrasses?

Sharks become critical for ecosystem health as they swim over seagrass beds. Dugongs (sea cows) and other shark prey species steer clear of the area when sharks are near. That keeps seagrasses from being decimated by these grazing animals that can devour the underwater grass beds. Just the fear of sharks seems to keep the grazers away.

Seagrass meadows occupy less than 0.2 percent of the world's oceans, but they are responsible for more than 10 percent of all carbon buried annually in the sea. These grasses remove critical stores of "blue carbon," which helps mitigate climate change. Per unit area, these grasses can store up to twice as much carbon as the world's temperate and tropical forests.