WEBVTT

00:03.737 --> 00:10.276 align:left position:70%,start line:83% size:20%
They are an ancient species of flowering plants
that grow submerged in all of the world s

00:10.377 --> 00:17.317 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15%
oceans from the latitudes of northern Alaska
to the tip of South America.

00:17.417 --> 00:23.156 align:left position:65%,start line:83% size:25%
Seagrasses evolved during the age of the dinosaurs,
nearly a hundred million years ago, and are

00:23.256 --> 00:28.061 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15%
found today in bays and estuaries around the
globe.

00:28.161 --> 00:34.300 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5%
In shallow tropical and subtropical waters
these prairies of the sea link the offshore

00:34.401 --> 00:37.737 align:left position:77.5%,start line:89% size:12.5%
coral reefs with coastal mangrove forests.

00:37.837 --> 00:47.514 align:left position:72.5%,start line:83% size:17.5%
They provide food and shelter for many marine
species that will one day inhabit the reefs.

00:47.614 --> 00:52.552 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5%
Seagrasses and mangroves stabilize coastal
sediments and create buffers against storm

00:52.652 --> 00:54.454 align:left position:25%,start line:89% size:65%
surge and flooding.

00:54.554 --> 01:02.195 align:left position:70%,start line:83% size:20%
They remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere,
filter contaminants from coastal waters, and

01:02.295 --> 01:07.400 align:left position:12.5%,start line:89% size:77.5%
add value to local economies.

01:07.500 --> 01:15.208 align:left position:80%,start line:83% size:10%
But seagrasses are in decline globally
and mangroves are being lost to coastal development.

01:15.308 --> 01:19.646 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5%
These areas are degrading right now, it s
not 50 years from now, or a hundred years

01:19.746 --> 01:21.948 align:left position:17.5%,start line:89% size:72.5%
from now, it s right now.

01:22.048 --> 01:26.653 align:left position:80%,start line:83% size:10%
The rate at which we re losing seagrass
habitat globally could result in an ecosystem

01:26.753 --> 01:29.456 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5%
collapse from the bottom of the food chain
all the way up.

01:29.556 --> 01:36.296 align:left position:70%,start line:83% size:20%
Will restoring seagrass and mangrove communities
help sustain the ecological and economic values

01:36.396 --> 01:39.532 align:left position:87.5%,start line:89% size:2.5%
of the ocean s bays and estuaries?

01:39.632 --> 01:43.632 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15%
And how will rising sea levels impact their
survival in the future?