Eelgrass

Zostère marine

Zostera marina

• Description

  Eelgrass has long blades-like stems that can be seen 
floating in the water or washed ashore in large heaps. Eelgrass is a major source of food for a whole community of animals and plants. Small fish such as the Mummichog, sticklebacks, and the fry of the Striped Bass and Gaspereau shelter and feed in Eelgrass beds. This plant helps to stabilize the bottom with its roots, allowing organisms such as crabs and lobsters to move around on it. Accumulations of dead Eelgrass are often found along beaches, enriching other ecosystems.

• Habitat

  Bays and Estuaries, Coastal Zone, Mudflats, Salt Marshes, Sandflats

• Interesting Fact

  Eelgrass is one of the few plants that flower in the water. When conditions are suitable for growth, Eelgrass beds can be one of the most productive systems in the world. They grow as fast as cultivated wheat or corn and the biomass of plants living on Eelgrass can sometimes be as great as the biomass of Eelgrass itself.