Shoal Grass
Halodule wrightii

Shoal grass is a perennial submerged aquatic herb that resembles land grass. Although it can be found around the world, it grows predominantly throughout the southern United States and South America.

This section shows one large critter image at a time. Use the thumbnails that follow to select a specific image to display here.

Long green leaves of shoal grass underwater, with an almost fluffy-looking layer of offwhite material on the leaves.
Shoal grass can be found worldwide. It resembles land grass, with stiff, green, strap-shaped blades. (Photo courtesy of Hans Hillewaert/Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped and toned)

This gallery contains a grid of small thumbnails. Selecting a thumbnail will change the main image in the preceding section.

Appearance

Shoal grass resembles land grass, with stiff, green, strap-shaped blades. Blades of grass grow up to 13 inches long. It produces egg-shaped fruits that are about two millimeters in size.

Predators

Habitat destruction and motor damage pose the biggest threats to shoal grass. Increased sunlight following die-offs of turtle grass has caused a decrease in the light-sensitive shoal grass population.

Reproduction and life cycle

Reproduction occurs through shoot and seed production and fragmentation (asexual reproduction where an organism splits into pieces).

Did you know?

  • Shoal grass is known as a pioneer species, colonizing areas that are too shallow for other species to thrive in or on banks that have been damaged.
  • Habitat destruction and motor damage pose the biggest threats to shoal grass. Increased sunlight following die-offs of turtle grass has caused a decrease in the light-sensitive shoal grass population.
  • Shoal grass forms dense meadows, creating important habitat for invertebrates and fish.
  • Because shoal grass sequesters carbon, it plays a major role in counteracting ocean acidification.

Sources and additional information

Tags: