Marine mammals are dependent on seagrass which is being rapidly reduced by human impact
after widespread degradation of their habitat and historical hunting, scientists have said.
Since 1988, the dugong has been classified by the Chinese state council as a grade one national key protected animal, which affords it the highest level of protection. However, there are no records of the dugong’s presence in China since 2008. Turvey said seagrass beds were also vulnerable to a process called “eutrophication” – where algal blooms form due to human-caused increases of nutrients in the water, such as from sewage. This “decreases the ability of light to penetrate through seawater and thus prevents seagrass photosynthesis,” Turvey said.
Dr Heidi Ma, a postdoctoral researcher at ZSL’s Institute of Zoology and also an author of the study, said the researchers conducted interview surveys across four southern maritime provinces along the coastal region of the South China Sea to collect local knowledge about dugong sightings and their regional status.
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