seagrass ecosystem power point presentation

about the seagrass ecosystem and types of sea grass

1. SEAGRASS ECOSYSTEM

2. O B J E C T I V E WHAT IS SEAGRASS ASSOCIATED FLORA AND FAUNA SEAGRASS ECOSYSTEM FUNCTION D I S T U R B A N C E & T H R E A T S

3. Objectives -T o discuss what is Seagrass and it's Ecosystem. -To Determine the relevance of Seagrass ecosystem to other organism. -To discuss why Seagrass ecosystem is important to our entire ecosystems. -To understand what damage the Seagrass ecosystem in terms of natural and some other factors affecting on it's existence.

4. A Plant, Not a Seaweed Algae or "seaweeds" (left) differ from seagrasses (right) in several ways. Algae on the seafloor have a holdfast and transport nutrients through the body by diffusion, while seagrasses are flowering vascular plants with roots and an internal transport system.

5. What is Seagrass? Seagrasses are underwater plants that evolved from land plants. They are like terrestrial plants in that they have leaves, flowers, seeds, roots, and connective tissues, and they make their food through photosynthesis . Seagrasses have been called “the lungs of the sea” because they release oxygen into the water through the process of photosynthesis.   Seagrass ecosystem is defined as a unit of biological organization comprised of interacting biotic and abiotic components. The structural components are shelter and food and feeding pathways and biodiversity.

6. Where Seagrass starts? Around 140 million years ago, seagrasses evolved from early monocots which succeeded in conquering the marine environment .  Monocots are grass and grass-like  flowering plants (angiosperms),the seeds of which typically contain only one embryonic leaf or cotyledon

7. Associated Flora and Fauna

8. Associated Flora and Fauna Enhalus acoroides (Tape Seagrass) Very long ribbon-likeleaves 30-150 cm long Leaves with inrolledleaf margins Thick rhizome withlong black bristles andcord-like roots Found on shallow/intertidalsand/ mud banks (oftenadjacent to mangroveforests) Thalassia hemprichii (Sickle seagrass) Short black bars of tannin cells in leaf blade Thick rhizome with scars between shoots Hooked/curved shaped leaves Leaves 10-40cm long Common on shallow reef flats Halophila ovalis (Paddle weed) Oval shaped leaves in pairs 8 or more cross veins No hairs on leaf surface Preferred dugong food Common early colonising species Found from intertidal to subtidal depths Syringodium isoetifolium (Noddle seagrass) Cylindrical in cross section (spaghetti like) Leaf tip tapers to a point Leaves 7-30cm long Found on shallow subtidal reef flats and sand banks

9. Sea turtle The adult sea turtle diet consist primarily algae, sea grasses, and sea weeds Sea Urchins are marine invertibrates that looks like spiny pin cushion, they also eat large amount of underwater plant such as sea grasses

10. Seagrass Ecosystem Function Seagrass support commercial fishers and biodiversity, clean the surrounding water and half take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. One of the most productive ecosystem types on the Earth. They also have an incredible ability that helps fight climate changes. Seagrass provides food and shelter for many organism, and are a nursery ground for commercially important prawn and fish species

11. BENEFITS TO CORAL REEFS The incorporation of carbon within seagrass tissue can affect local pH and increase calcification of coral reefs, thereby mitigation the effects of ocean acidification SEAGRASS PROTECTION Sharks are seagrass first line of defense from overgrazing by dugongs, sea turtles, and other herbivores

12. Ecosystem connectivity Tropical seagrass are important in their interaction with mangroves and coral reefs. All these system exert a stabilizing effect on the environment resulting in important physical and biological support for the other communities Carbon sequester Seagrass are as important as forest in storing carbon and can store carbon 35 times faster than rainforest

13. Pasture of the ocean Seagrass provides food and shelter for many organisms, and are a nursery ground for commercially important prawn and fish species Sediment stabilization Seagrass, especially structurally large species, act as a buffer for reducing wave and tidal energy, trapping and stablishing sediment with their roots and rhizomes that from dense “mats”

14. a D I S T U R B A N C e & T H R E A T s

15. Seagrass Ecosystem face numerous threats that can disturb and degrade these important habitats Disturbance and Threats Human Disturbance Costal development Physical disturbance Destructive fishing practice Pollution Eutrophication

16. Natural Disturbance Storms and floods Tropicalization Climate change Threats Rising sea levels Increasing in sea temperatures Increasing storm and flooding events Ocean acidification

17. These threats can interact synergistically, with already stressed seagrass systems facing additional stressors that push them beyond their limits, resulting in widespread losses. Maintaining seagrass resilience requires reducing human impacts, protecting refugia , allowing regeneration, and raising awareness about the importance of healthy seagrass habitats . Human disturbance and climate change pose major risks to seagrass ecosystems and the many benefits they provide, including nursery habitat, shoreline, stabilization, water filtrations, and carbon sequestration. Pro-active management is critical to safeguarding these valuable costal habitat