Tigers sharks have been helping scientists studying seagrass, and it has proved very successful.
With the help of shark scientists have discovered the world’s largest known seagrass meadow.
The data they collected from sharks revealed a huge new seagrass ecosystem, stretching around 40,000 sq/km of Caribbean seabed in the Bahamas. this is around 40% more than what they expected.
To find the seas grass, they attached cameras to the fins of tiger sharks who are known to be strong, fast swimmers and spend a lot of time deep underwater.
This gave researchers access to hours of footage of the ocean floor.
What is seagrass and why is it important?
- Seagrass grows across the seabed in underwater meadows.
- The meadows also provide shelter and homes for wildlife.
- Seagrass also absorbs and stores huge amounts of carbon dioxide by drawing it from the water and storing it in the plant structure and seabed – making it a key tool in fighting climate change.
- Carbon dioxide is a huge contributor to global warming -it forms a layer around the world which traps heat from the Sun and warms up the Earth. This is called the greenhouse effect.
- Healthy meadows could help tackle the climate and nature crisis, and are essential for providing biodiversity.
