Undisturbed seagrass habitat in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Photo provided by South Florida Water Management District.

Seagrasses are submerged flowering plants growing in bays, lagoons, and shallow coastal waters. Similar to terrestrial vegetation, seagrasses have leaves, stems, flowers, seeds and roots, using the process of photosynthesis to produce food and oxygen. Because seagrasses require light for photosynthesis, good water quality is very important for seagrass survival.

Seagrasses anchor themselves to the seafloor with their root systems. A strong root structure allows seagrasses to withstand strong currents and waves, especially during storm events. Seagrasses differ from their land-based counterparts in that they must reproduce underwater. They accomplish this by producing filamentous pollen grains that can be transported by water currents. Another means of propagation is by the use of underground storage organs called rhizomes. By spreading underground, the seagrass system expands and facilitates vegetative reproduction.

From "Seagrass Habitat in the Gulf of Mexico: Degradation, Conservation and Restoration of a Valuable Resource"

RELATED LINKS

World Atlas of Seagrasses
http://www.unep-wcmc.org/marine/seagrassatlas/index.htm

Seagrass Distribution in the Northern Gulf of Mexico
http://biology.usgs.gov/s+t/noframe/m4144.htm

USGS Gulf of Mexico 2004 Seagrass Publications
http://gulfsci.usgs.gov/gom_ims/sgpubs.html

USGS Seagrasses in Northern Gulf of Mexico: An Ecosystem in Trouble
http://www.nwrc.usgs.gov/factshts/017-00/017-00.htm

South Florida Seagrass Ecosystems
http://www.fiu.edu/~seagrass/

Florida Department of Environmental Protection Seagrasses
http://www.dep.state.fl.us/coastal/habitats/seagrass/

Fish and Wildlife Research Institute Seagrass Research
http://research.myfwc.com/features/category_main.asp?id=1323

Florida Museum of Natural History, South Florida Seagrasses
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/SouthFlorida/seagrass/Introduction.html

Key to Florida's Seagrasses, Florida International University
http://www.fiu.edu/~seagrass/key/seagrasskey.html

Protection and Restoration of Seagrass along the Texas Coast, Texas Parks and Wildlife
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/landwater/water/habitats/seagrass/

Seagrass Data for Louisiana
http://www.mms.gov/itd/pubs/1999/99-0050/lasav.htm

Seagrasses, LSU Department of Biological Sciences
http://www.biology.lsu.edu/webfac/lurbatsch/Seagrasses.html

USGS Seagrass Data for Mississippi
http://www.mms.gov/itd/pubs/1999/99-0050/mssav.htm

Chandeleur Islands Seagrasses - Post Katrina Assessments, The University of Southern Mississippi
http://ocean.otr.usm.edu/~w546990/index

USGS Alabama Seagrass Data
http://sdms.cr.usgs.gov/pub/alsav.html

NBII Gulf Coast Seagrass
http://cswgcin.nbii.org/ecoregion/gulfofmexico/nearshore/seagrass/

The Gulf of Mexico Foundation
http://gulfmex.org/

Reef Relief, Seagrasses
http://www.reefrelief.org/documents/seagrass.shtml