The Race To Breathe New Life Into 'The Lungs Of The World'
The Independent|June 28, 2023
From their leaves down to their roots, seagrasses work as 'ecosystem engineers', yet they have become one of the least protected species of coastal life
Allyson Chiu
The Race To Breathe New Life Into 'The Lungs Of The World'

From the deck of a small blue-and-white boat, Bashiru Bangura leaned forward and peered into the ocean, his gaze trained on a large dark patch just beneath the jade-green waves. "It's here! It's here! It's here!" crowed a local fisherman, who led Bangura to this spot roughly 60 miles off the coast of Freetown. "It looks black!"

Bangura, who works for Sierra Leone's Environment Protection Agency (EPA), tempered his excitement. After two unsuccessful attempts to find seagrass in this group of islands, he questioned whether the shadowy blotches were meadows of the critical underwater greenery he and other researchers have spent the past several years trying to locate along the coast of west Africa.

It was only once he was standing in the waist-high water, marvelling at the tuft of scraggly hair-like strands he'd uprooted to collect as a sample, that he allowed himself to smile. The wet, reedy plants Bangura holds in his hands are unmistakably seagrass, and the green blades stretch past the plastic 12in ruler he's been using to measure specimens. His grin grew even wider. The dense grass swaying in the current appeared to be healthy, and the water teems with schools of small, silvery fish, making it the best site researchers have documented in these islands since the existence of seagrass was first confirmed in Sierra Leone in 2019.

"Discovering that site, it was a great moment for us," Bangura says. Seagrasses - which range from stubby sprout-like vegetation to elongated plants with flat, ribbon-like leaves - are one of the world's most productive underwater ecosystems. The meadows are vital habitats for a variety of aquatic wildlife. Sometimes described as "the lungs of the sea", the grasses produce large amounts of oxygen essential for fish in shallow coastal waters.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة June 28, 2023 من The Independent.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة June 28, 2023 من The Independent.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من THE INDEPENDENT مشاهدة الكل
Why Is Starmer So Against An EU Youth Travel Scheme?
The Independent

Why Is Starmer So Against An EU Youth Travel Scheme?

The prime minister has once again been urged to agree to a limited scheme to allow young people to travel freely between the UK and the EU for the purposes of work or study, and has once again signalled his refusal to consider it.

time-read
2 mins  |
November 28, 2024
Why home advantage has lost its sting in Test series.
The Independent

Why home advantage has lost its sting in Test series.

“The tour is only a matter of hours old, but the wry thought occurs to me that reputations will almost certainly be destroyed in the next few months.”

time-read
4 mins  |
November 28, 2024
North can't compete with south's individual X factor
The Independent

North can't compete with south's individual X factor

Ex-Lions captain Sam Warburton has a theory why southern hemisphere teams have dominated the autumn internationals

time-read
4 mins  |
November 28, 2024
Aimless Villa stagger to bore draw against Juventus
The Independent

Aimless Villa stagger to bore draw against Juventus

Aston Villa and Unai Emery have run out of ideas, far too early in the Spaniard’s previously exhilarating revolution.

time-read
3 mins  |
November 28, 2024
Reds humble Real and Slot does what Klopp could not
The Independent

Reds humble Real and Slot does what Klopp could not

A few weeks ago, it was possible to look at Arne Slot’s seemingly impressive start at Liverpool, adopt a sceptical tone and ask who they had really beaten.

time-read
3 mins  |
November 28, 2024
Vauxhall's closure shows No 10 must recharge EV rules
The Independent

Vauxhall's closure shows No 10 must recharge EV rules

Electric vehicles aren't selling in the volume anticipated and James Moore says government is right to order a swift review

time-read
3 mins  |
November 28, 2024
Nationwide banks £2bn in takeover of Virgin Money
The Independent

Nationwide banks £2bn in takeover of Virgin Money

Nationwide has gained £2.3bn following its acquisition of Virgin Money, according to the firm’s half-year results.

time-read
1 min  |
November 28, 2024
Red Sea boat survivors were trapped in cabins, says diver
The Independent

Red Sea boat survivors were trapped in cabins, says diver

Two Britons who were on the yacht remain unaccounted for

time-read
2 mins  |
November 28, 2024
Record snowfall leaves Seoul scrambling to cope
The Independent

Record snowfall leaves Seoul scrambling to cope

Transport chaos and power cuts hit city as two die on roads

time-read
1 min  |
November 28, 2024
Myanmar junta chief faces crimes against humanity charge for Rohingya deaths
The Independent

Myanmar junta chief faces crimes against humanity charge for Rohingya deaths

Arrest warrant requested by International Criminal Court

time-read
3 mins  |
November 28, 2024