"The seaweed meadows are hitherto unknown gardens, despite the fact that they are very much larger than coral gardens. At first look, the seaweed seems to be less attractive than the corals, but on closer observation, they fascinate very many people", says Almeida Guissamulo, a marine biologist from the University of Maputo, Mozambique's capital. He has been campaigning for years for the preservation of the seaweed on the coast of the Southeast-African country. Seaweed meadows belong to the most productive ecosystems in the world. Yet, in many regions, the unique biotopes are endangered both by natural and human factors. Typhoons and strong currents can uproot seaweed and cause it to drift. Almeida Guissamulo has turned his attention not only to the seaweed meadows, but also a rare and incredibly shy species, which nourishes itself solely from seaweed. Dugongs - or sea-cows - are on the red list of endangered species. Scientists consider that there are just 60 - 100 of them in this area. They are the only exclusively vegetarian marine mammals in existence. Because of the decrease of seaweed meadows, their survival is uncertain.