Seagrass is in danger of extinction

A group of 21 researchers from 11 countries including Virginia Marine Institute professor Robert 'JJ' Orth has completed the first studies of the extinction risk of seagrass individuals. Around the world.

After four years of research at the request of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), 10 out of 72 known seagrass species (14%) are at high risk of extinction, 3 of them that is classified as endangered.

Seagrass survey (Photo: imer.ac.vn )

The authors of the study warned that the loss of seagrass species and the biodiversity of seagrass will seriously affect marine ecosystems and resource-dependent people. and ecological services brought by seagrass. The identification of extinction risk of 72 seagrass species is based on the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species List. This is the most widely accepted method to assess the probability of an extinct species and conservation status on a global scale. The rating levels are: 'less concerned', 'near threatened', 'endangered', 'endangered', 'extremely endangered', 'extinct in the wild' and 'extinct ' .

Seagrass is like a forest under the ocean. Seagrass has a great effect on ecosystems such as providing habitat for many aquatic species, cleaning water, absorbing nutrients, reducing the impact of waves, reducing coastal erosion . However Today seagrass is gradually being destroyed by human activities such as land reclamation, dredging, fishing, aquaculture and climate change that also contribute to the rapid decline of seagrass.