By: Kai Wang

Scientists have located the most prominent known seagrass meadow in the world, they did it using video shots from some interesting helpers: tiger sharks.

But first of all, what is seagrass? How is it different from the grass that could be growing in your yard? Seagrass isn’t grass because it lives in salt water but isn’t seaweed. Seagrass often grows along coasts in most places in the world in thick fields called meadows. These meadows provide food, shelter, a place to have young and even help fight against climate change. High levels of carbon dioxide heat the Earth up. The ocean absorbs a lot of that carbon dioxide, but too much is bad for the ocean and animals. This is where seagrass comes in. Seagrass gives off oxygen, helping keep ocean animals healthy.

Scientists don’t have a good idea of the size and number of seagrass meadows in the world, a team of scientists has sharks to help in this research. Tiger sharks are strong and massive, and deadly. They are also fast swimmers and spend a lot of time in seagrass meadows.

The team of researchers attached cameras and trackers to the tiger sharks. The cameras were designed to fall off after a few hours and float to the water’s surface. The scientists will then find the floating cameras and collect the videos the sharks took. The researchers also used satellite images and pictures taken by divers and boats.

Adding this info together, the scientists finally learned that the sea around the Bahamas is home to the largest seagrass meadow discovered.

Since seagrass is so precious, it’s important to know where it is. As one scientist told The Guardian, “If we don’t know where it is, we can’t protect it.”

Oliver Shipley is a scientist at Beneath the Waves, which led the work. He says animals like tiger sharks “… are going to take us to new places that we didn’t know existed.”