Eelgrass is a type of flowering seagrass. It thrives in soft seafloor environments, typically shallow bays and estuaries.

Eelgrass meadows are habitats for large ecosystems in the sea, where many fish communities live. These meadows are important for neighboring fish populations to be able to mix. This mixing of genes helps increase genetic diversity and maintain resiliency to overfishing and environmental changes. 

Eelgrass also provides clearer water by stabilizing the seafloor. They capture and store organic material rich in carbon and nutrients for a long time in the floor’s sediment, providing an important carbon sink, and preventing eutrophication (when excessive nutrient levels in aquatic ecosystems lead to dead zones). 

Loss of eelgrass beds has increased the distance between the meadows, and limits the mixing of fish populations, thereby reducing their genetic diversity resiliency. Losses of eelgrass meadows, particularly in Sweden since the 1980s, have also led to the release of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses that contribute to climate change.

pathways:

04.20.2022 / Phys.org / Eelgrass beds important for resilience of fish stocks

08.24.2022 / Phys.org / Loss of eelgrass beds gives rise to large emissions of carbon

22.07.2020 / National Park Service / Eelgrass