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A team of marine biologists from University of Western Australia collecting samples of seagrass in Shark Bay as part of a study to determine the most suitable species to transplant into areas that have been damaged by warming sea water. Increasingly frequent marine heat waves from the Indian Ocean have been hitting the Shark Bay area recently, killing off 22% of the seagrass (over 1,000 sq. km. of seagrass died off in 2011 alone). Seagrass forms the primary habitat and food for dugongs, turtle, and many fishes. The seagrass is well-adapted to these shallow hyper-saline waters, which can be up to 2x saltier than sea water, but they can't tolerate sea water temperatures over 30°C. The seagrass here grows on the ridges of an undulating sandbar that is only 1-2M deep, and acts as a barrier for the world’s largest colony of giant stromatolites (+4B years old), which thrive in even warmer and saltier water found further inland in Hamlin Pool. A loss of seagrass could lead to tidal erosion of the sill, and threaten the rare stromatolite colony in Hamlin Pool.

Current climate models predict that these marine heat waves will only increase in frequency, and this study aims to find successful ways to help this part of the marine food chain recover.

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©2018 George Steinmetz
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Climate Change
A team of marine biologists from University of Western Australia collecting samples of seagrass in Shark Bay as part of a study to determine the most suitable species to transplant into areas that have been damaged by warming sea water. Increasingly frequent marine heat waves from the Indian Ocean have been hitting the Shark Bay area recently, killing off 22% of the seagrass (over 1,000 sq. km. of seagrass died off in 2011 alone). Seagrass forms the primary habitat and food for dugongs, turtle, and many fishes. The seagrass is well-adapted to these shallow hyper-saline waters, which can be up to 2x saltier than sea water, but they can't tolerate sea water temperatures over 30°C. The seagrass here grows on the ridges of an undulating sandbar that is only 1-2M deep, and acts as a barrier for the world’s largest colony of giant stromatolites (+4B years old), which thrive in even warmer and saltier water found further inland in Hamlin Pool. A loss of seagrass could lead to tidal erosion of the sill, and threaten the rare stromatolite colony in Hamlin Pool.<br /> <br /> Current climate models predict that these marine heat waves will only increase in frequency, and this study aims to find successful ways to help this part of the marine food chain recover.

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