It’s grass and it’s inexperienced, however you aren’t more likely to discover cattle grazing on it. Search for fish as an alternative. Seagrass ‘wracks’ which have washed up on the Kovalam seashore have piqued the curiosity of the native individuals and marine scientists alike, because the phenomenon is fairly unfamiliar to the Kerala coast.

Seagrass grows solely underwater and these marine vegetation are completely different from seaweeds. Wracks are free seagrass patches that accumulate on seashores because of wave motion.

A biodiversity staff of the Division of Aquatic Biology and Fisheries, College of Kerala, has recognized the wracks as belonging to 2 species; Oceana serrulata and Syringodium isoetifolium, the latter generally known as the ‘noodle seagrass.’

Unreported in Kerala

As each seagrass species haven’t been reported so removed from the Kerala coast, the discovering requires an in depth underwater examine, particularly alongside its southern sections of the coast, stated A. Biju Kumar, head, Division of Aquatic Biology and Fisheries.

Many deserves

Seagrass beds or meadows alongside the continental shelf play an important function in marine biodiversity and the general productiveness and well being of coastal ecosystems. These submerged flowering vegetation, present in shallow marine waters often, improve water high quality, soak up carbon dioxide and liberate oxygen. Additionally they act as ‘nurseries’ and havens for numerous fish species. “Within the Indian coast they’re the feeding grounds of the critically endangered sea cow (Dugong dugon),” Dr. Biju Kumar stated.

Each the species discovered at Kovalam, categorised as of ‘Least Concern’ within the Pink Knowledge Record, are reported from the Lakshadweep islands, Gulf of Mannar, and the Andaman and Nicobar islands.

The recommended attainable biogeographic distribution of Oceana serrulata and Syringodium isoetifolium embody the southern east and west coasts of India, and a part of jap and western Indian Ocean. Excessive currents, tides, and wave motion might have carried them to Kovalam from the east coast of India. The potential for separated patches from the seagrass afforestation areas within the Gulf of Mannar additionally can’t be dominated out, Dr. Biju Kumar stated.

Recording seagrass beds

“Synthetic reefs and geotubes deployed alongside the Kerala coast lately assist the expansion of seagrass. It might be attention-grabbing to file the attainable seagrass beds alongside the Indian coast, as there are not any data of seagrass beds within the area they usually supply nature-based options for coastal safety,” he stated.