This pen and ink illustration was inspired by the discovery of underwater pollination by invertebrates and published in "Backyard Pollinators". Until recently, scientists thought that all underwater plants are pollinated by hydrophily, or pollen transport by currents and tides. New research has uncovered previously unknown connections between some very tiny sea animals and seagrass pollination.

Sea grasses grow on ocean bottoms in coastal regions around the world, forming underwater meadows that provide vital habitat across the food web, from the smallest marine organisms to charismatic megafauna, like green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) and manatees. One type of seagrass, turtle grass (Thalassia testudinum), found in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, is dioecious, with separate male and female flowers. Male turtle grass flowers release mucilage at night when small invertebrates like bristle worms and tiny amphipod crustaceans are active and hungry. This nutritious and carbohydrate-rich food also contains pollen.

Through controlled studies, we now know that these invertebrates or “sea bees” visit the flowers, feed on the pollen and transfer it to the stigmas of female flowers, similar to the way that bees and other animals pollinate plants on land. A team of researchers from the National Autonomous University of Mexico, led by marine biologist Brigitta van Tussenbroek, coined the term "zoobenthophilous pollination" to describe this process.