A new study has warned that seagrass meadows are being jeopardised around the world by climate change, sewage and agricultural runoff.

The multi-centre research, published in the journal Science, warns that this has implications for corals, as those close to seagrass meadows have been found to have 50% less disease than those further away.

The study also found that waters in seagrass meadow areas had a much lower incidence of enterococcus bacteria, suggesting the seagrass plays a role in reducing bacteria levels.

However, seagrass meadows are declining at a rate of around 7% per year, and the research concluded that protecting them would entail reducing the human-created threats that are causing the die-off, including global warming, pollution, sewage and development.