The Posidonia meadows are a key marine coastal ecosystem for the Mediterranean. These flowering plants are the longest living organism of our seas, with a growth rate of 1 cm per year! In this picture we can see some of the hundreds of plant and animal species that live and breed within the meadows. This particular meadow is in Nikiti on a reef 2 miles offshore. Because the top of the reef is very shallow, no commercial fishermen fish on it, but around it, allowing the roots of the plant to be covered by very delicate species of bryozoans and red coralline algae. A bit further along a small Octopus vulgaris was finding refuge in the jungle of seaweed!
This is the beauty of unspoiled and undisturbed Posidonia oceanica meadows, protecting them is as vital as the sea is to the planet.
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