A new study from Yale and Bahrain researchers shows that dugongs grazing on seagrass meadows can increase carbon storage rather than reduce it. The animals eat seagrass but return nitrogen-rich waste to the water, which helps the meadow regrow and capture more carbon. In the study area near the Hawar Islands, seagrass beds with dugongs stored 2.63 times more carbon in sediment than those without. The research challenges older assumptions that large grazers always reduce carbon storage in blue carbon habitats. It also suggests that protecting marine wildlife like dugongs can directly support climate goals. The study was published in Frontiers in Marine Science and focused on one of the largest dugong populations outside Australia.
