Seagrasses require sunlight, water, nutrients, and a soft muddy substrate.
Vast expanses of seagrass meadows provide a unique habitat for many estuarine dependent plants and animals. Seagrass habitat plays a major role in the reproductive cycles of many recreationally and commercially important species in the Coastal Bend. Fish and shellfish utilize seagrass habitats in the early stages of their life cycles, feeding on organic matter produced by decomposing seagrasses and hiding from larger predators among the seagrass blades. Although seagrass beds have been recognized as highly important and productive habitats, they do not go undisturbed. Such factors as brown tide, degradation of water quality, channel dredging activities, boat propeller scarring, and shoreline development are identified as contributors to the fragmentation of seagrass beds.