The surprising role dugongs play in fighting climate change

The new research shows that dugongs significantly enhance these benefits. The study focused on seagrass ecosystems in Bahrain, home to one of the world's largest remaining dugong populations. Researchers found that seagrass meadows grazed by dugongs stored more than twice as much carbon as comparable meadows where dugongs were absent.

How dugongs boost carbon storage

Through their natural grazing behaviour, dugongs influence seagrass growth, nutrient cycling, and sediment processes in ways that increase long-term carbon storage.

Their grazing stimulates new seagrass growth, while nutrient recycling and interactions with seabed sediments help create conditions that support greater carbon capture and storage over time.

The findings highlight that protecting dugongs is about more than conserving an iconic marine mammal. It is also about safeguarding the health and climate benefits of the ecosystems they help maintain.

Why wildlife belongs in climate solutions

The dugong findings add to a growing body of evidence that wildlife is a key actor in regulating Earth's carbon cycle. Scientists estimate that natural climate solutions could provide around one-third of the emissions reductions needed to avoid the most severe impacts of climate change. Yet ecosystems do not function independently of the animals that inhabit them.

From grazing and seed dispersal to predation, migration, and nutrient cycling, wild animals influence the processes that keep ecosystems healthy, resilient, and capable of storing carbon. Despite this, the role of wildlife is often overlooked in climate policy and climate modelling.

This week, as climate discussions continue in Bonn, Germany, more than 260 leading scientists launched the Scientific Consensus on Wildlife and Climate, a major synthesis of research examining the links between wildlife, ecosystem function, and climate change mitigation.

The Consensus brings together evidence from hundreds of studies showing that wild animals influence carbon storage and climate resilience through their natural behaviours. The authors argue that climate policies and nature-based solutions are incomplete if they fail to account for the role wildlife plays in maintaining healthy, functioning ecosystems.

The scientists are calling on governments to explicitly recognise wildlife within climate policies and frameworks, helping strengthen both climate action and biodiversity conservation.

We cannot afford to overlook our animal allies