Keeping you up to date with Project Seagrass news and views with a mixture of field notes and commentary on seagrass and marine conservation topics.
For approximately 3,000 years, generations of green sea turtles have returned to the same seagrass meadows to eat. This was discovered by Willemien de Kock, a historical ecologist at the University of Groningen, by combining modern data with archaeological findings. Sea turtles migrate between specific breeding places and eating places
Discussions of valuable but threatened ocean ecosystems often focus on coral reefs or coastal mangrove forests. Seagrass meadows get a lot less attention, even though they provide wide-ranging services to society and store lots of climate-warming carbon. But the findings of a new University of Michigan-led study show that seagrass
Mangroves are growing in areas historically dominated by salt marshes and oyster reefs. Invasive pacific oysters are replacing native blue mussels in the Wadden Sea. Macroalgae are exhibiting dominance over hard corals in the Caribbean and Indo-Pacific. Climate change-driven shifts in dominant, habitat-forming species such as these can have significant
Seagrass, a group of aquatic angiosperms, grows in shallow waters in the coastal sea and contributes most of the primary production while participating in many important ecological processes. Heat stress threatens the survival of seagrass, but its damage mechanisms are unclear. Recently, a research team led by Prof. Liu Jianguo
A study of eelgrass meadows planted by researchers from the University of Gothenburg shows that fauna return rapidly once the eelgrass has started to grow. Already after the second summer, the biodiversity in the planted meadow was almost the same as in old established eelgrass meadows. Eelgrass meadows have declined
In Florida alone, thousands of acres of marine seagrass beds have died. Major seagrass die-offs also are occurring around the world. Stressors such as high temperature, hypersalinity and hypoxia or lack of oxygen affect seagrasses’ ability to resist and recover from these stressor-related mortality events or when disturbances lead to
By Emily Yates To donate to our Aviva Community Funds and find out more, click the links below: Making marine conservation more accessible Saving the worlds seagrass Developing the Project Seagrass nursery
Storm Garry March 1st marked an important date in seagrass history as globally we celebrated the very first World Seagrass Day, formally recognised by the United Nations! This day will continue to annually raise awareness of the importance of healthy seagrass meadows. Seagrass is the only marine flowering plant in
Seagrass meadows play a critical role in keeping our oceans healthy and stocked with food, providing valuable nursery habitat to over 1/5th of the world’s largest 25 fisheries. Seagrass meadows are also important to small-scale fisheries, particularly as a place to find and collect a reliable source of food with some
Earlier this month Project Seagrass’ Senior Conservation Officer Katy Waring attended the yearly gathering for coastal communities from the Coastal Communities Network facilitated by Fauna and Flora International. The event was held on the island of Millport at their field studies centre. The 3-day event was inspiring; groups from around
Researchers from the University of Liège (BE) studied the fate of the material produced by Posidonia seagrass meadows. This study, carried out in the Mediterranean Sea at STARESO, shows that the dead leaves of what is commonly known as Neptune grass accumulate in shallow areas, where they break down like
Climate Impact Partners and Deloitte, in collaboration with Project Seagrass and the UK’s National Oceanography Centre, announce a groundbreaking program to fund UK seagrass recovery and unlock long-term finance to save and reinstate vital seagrass meadows. The program will fund critical research across UK seagrass meadows, mapping the ecosystems and developing methods to restore them
With data from the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission, researchers have revealed seasonal variations in intertidal seagrass across Western Europe and North Africa. As a key indicator of biodiversity, these new findings offer valuable insights for the conservation and restoration of these vital ecosystems. The intertidal zone is the area where the
The Seagrass Ocean Rescue North Wales programme relies on the commitment and enthusiasm of local volunteers. We spoke to regular volunteer Neil about his experiences of volunteering as part of the programme. Volunteer Interview Tell us a little bit about yourself: I grew up in North Wales, then moved around
