Underwater Grasslands: How Hot Oceans Impact Them

Seagrass meadows play a big role in keeping our oceans healthy. They provide homes for many sea creatures and help keep our water clean. But climate change is making things tough for these underwater plants, especially with those sudden heatwaves in the ocean, called marine heatwaves. Scientists are trying to figure out how these heatwaves affect seagrass meadows. They've come up with a new way to study this using something called Dynamic Bayesian Networks and climate projections. This method helps them understand how seagrass responds to extreme heat events. To measure the impact, they looked at the number of shoots and the overall weight of the seagrass, and how long it takes for the meadows to recover after a heatwave. They conducted this study in Gladstone Harbour, Australia, focusing on a type of seagrass called Zostera muelleri. The research considered different future scenarios based on how much we reduce our carbon emissions. The results showed that seagrass meadows can recover from heat stress, but it takes time. In one scenario where we do a good job at reducing emissions, the seagrass could recover in as little as three years. But in a worst-case scenario where we don't do much to reduce emissions, the seagrass might not recover at all. This new way of studying helps scientists better predict what will happen to seagrass meadows in the future. It can also help them come up with better ways to protect these important underwater habitats.