Invisible Victim of Aussie Wildfires – The Marine Environment

Photo: Ninian Reid (CC BY 2.0)

Australia’s wildfires are leaving behind a huge number of charred plants and a massive amount of ash.

Though Australia is in the midst of a massive drought when the rain inevitably returns this organic matter will rush into rivers and flow into coastal lakes, estuaries, and seagrass and seaweed beds.

The free-flowing silt will get into fish’s gills and block sunlight that seagrass and seaweed beds need for photosynthesis, effectively strangling them.

LINK (via: Hakai Magazine)

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