Seagrass meadows are critical marine habitat because they are the foundation of a highly productive marine food web. Their degradation results in increased coastal erosion, wave action, and ocean acidification as well as declines in commercially important fish and shellfish species, water quality, and carbon storage contributing to further effects of global warming. Seagrass meadows are being lost at a rate of around 7% annually, equivalent to two football fields every hour.

What is Blue Carbon? Blue carbon is directly related to marine ecosystems and their ability to sequester carbon dioxide. These ecosystems are pivotal in the fight against climate change. Ecosystems like mangroves, tidal marshes, and seagrass beds also have an important role in protecting coastlines from storm surge, erosion, flooding, as well as providing vital habitat for marine life. Conversely, when blue carbon ecosystems are negatively influenced, directly or indirectly, by human activities, it undermines their ability to sequester and store carbon resulting in the release of harmful greenhouse gases.

Hot chicks and cool dudes. It’s not the latest slogan for Florida but it is apropos. This catchy phrase has been used to describe the effect of climate change on the sex of loggerhead sea turtles hatchlings. Studies show that temperature influences the gender of sea turtle hatchlings with more females born in hot temperatures and males at lower temperatures. A discussion of the research findings.