We love Dr Seagrass

“Growing up I wanted to be a professional boxer or a church minister: I was disappointed to learn that the two weren’t very compatible,” says UTS Chancellor's Postdoctoral Research Fellow Dr Peter Macreadie. “But then I figured that if I could make a living out of my passion for the ocean, I would die a happy man.”

Marine biology fit the bill, and now Macreadie’s research on seagrass ecosystems has seen the UTS scientist nominated as a finalist for the 2011 Australian Museum Eureka Prizes People’s Choice Award. His research, among other things, seeks to gauge the effectiveness of seagrasses as carbon sinks. To do this, Macreadie is working with a team of leading seagrass researchers and getting to know the complete workings of the seagrass carbon cycle.

“This is necessary to ensure these systems keep cranking away and that the carbon they store remains locked away without leaking back out into the atmosphere.”

Macreadie says while reducing carbon emissions is vital in reducing global warming, the science now tells us it’s not going to be enough.

“If we’re going to regain control of our planet’s thermostat, we need to capitalise on natural ecosystems that capture and store carbon – known as ‘biosequestration.’ Along our coastline, at the interface between land and sea, lie the world’s most powerful – but largely unrecognised – carbon sinks.

“Seagrasses, together with saltmarshes and mangroves, are estimated to capture and store up to 70 per cent of the carbon in the marine realm”, says Macreadie. “That’s five times more than tropical rainforests! And while forests typically bind carbon for only a decade or so, the seagrasses have the ability store carbon for thousands of years.”

As well as stabilising the world’s shorelines and preventing coastal erosion, seagrasses play a crucial role in cycling nutrients (the storage, processing and acquisition of nutrients - a natural capital worth $2 trillion annually), support 50 per cent of the world’s fisheries and provide habitat for animals such as turtles, fish and birds. “Look after the seagrasses, and they’ll look after you,” says Macreadie.

He has mixed emotions about being nominated for the People’s Choice Award. “I’m really excited about the opportunity to raise public awareness about the importance of seagrass, but I get a bit uncomfortable with the attention on me as an individual. No scientist works in a bubble. Around me I have mentors, collaborators, supervisors, students, family, friends – all of these people contribute to my successes in science, and so I see this nomination as a feather in the cap for all of us. 

“Past recipients of the Eureka Awards have told me that it’s like sticking a rocket under your career,” he says. “Personally, I can expect to have more of my friends calling me ‘Dr Seagrass’.

“The Eureka Prizes help the wider community realise the importance of science by exposing them to what science is doing for Australia,” says Macreadie. “In the words of our Chief Scientist, Professor Ian Chubb, ‘The value of good science to our nation and the world is colossal. Science got us to where we are today and it holds the key to our future.’”

To vote for Peter Macreadie in the Eureka Awards, visit eureka.australianmuseum.net.au/vote

See profiles of Peter and other nominees on the ABC TV Catalyst website