- Surfrider Foundation. Used with permission.
Although grass-like, eelgrass is technically a flowering plant that grows submerged in salt water. The salt tolerant plants form eelgrass meadows or beds that are both a biologically diverse ecosystem and a primary producer. They provide the base for a complex nearshore food web that starts with diatoms coating the plant blades to form an attachment for bacteria, fungi, and detritus. They act as a critical nursery and shelter for many species of fishes, shore and seabirds, and invertebrates. These beds also guard against erosion by dampening wave energy from storms and stabilize substrate. Sensitive to pollution, eelgrass is an indicator species for water quality.
Facts and Features
- Geographic Distribution
Widely distributed on the US Pacific & Atlantic coasts, coast of British Columbia, Canada north to Alaska’s Seward Peninsula, and in Europe.
- Amazing Facts
Deep water eelgrass is much different than shallow water eelgrass. Leaves of deep water eelgrass are longer and wider. There is a higher rhizome biomass but there is no seasonal biomass, that is, the plants do not die back. There are either no flowers or only a few.
- At the Aquarium
Our plants, located in the Shorebird Sanctuary, were donated by the Stewards of the Los Cerritos Wetlands located in Long Beach, California. Collection of eelgrass, a protected species, is prohibited in California except under a special permit which the Aquarium has.