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.
To give you a bit of an introduction, I am a Cardiff University Genetics (BSc) student going into my final year of my degree and have joined Project Seagrass for a Cardiff University Research Opportunities Programme (CUROP) summer research placement, at their offices in the Sustainable Places Research Institute. I
A guest blogger? But why should I bother reading what he has to say? Well here’s a bit about me…. Originally hailing from Melton Mowbray, a small town in the middle of England known solely for producing pork pies and stilton cheese, my initial foray into marine science began with
Seafood consumption is both a love and a necessity for hundreds of millions of people all across the world. And the supply of seafood is a key part of maintaining food security for the whole planet. But as demand for seafood is increasing, stocks of wild fish and invertebrates (such
Hello Team Seagrass! My name is Laura and I am an ambassador for Project Seagrass. I completed my professional training year with the conservation charity from 2015-2016. Last week I was privileged to attend the Cambridge Conservation Initiative’s Panel Discussion on Setting a new post-2020 biodiversity agenda. The 2-hour lecture/interactive
Today on international women’s day 2018 we collectively acknowledge and celebrate women’s achievements throughout history and across nations. It is also known as the United Nations (UN) Day for Women’s Rights and International Peace. Absolutely a day for shared and international celebration. Throughout history and across the world women have
At least 7.3m tons of fish (usually dead or dying) are thought to be discarded each year from marine fisheries around the world. But these estimates come mostly from observations of large-scale industrial fisheries. Limited attention has been paid to small-scale fisheries, which are assumed to have low discard rates –
Britain’s seagrass is a refuge for numerous species of fish, stabilises sandy beaches, and helps to lock away the carbon which humans produce. The meadows that surround the country’s coast have been called the “canaries of the sea”, due to their sensitivity to a changing environment. And like a canary
Hello Team Seagrass! I am Rufus, a volunteer with Project Seagrass and a marine biology graduate from the University of St Andrews. Since graduating in June 2017, I have begun working for the Scottish Chamber Orchestra’s Connect team and the University of St Andrews’ Music Centre. In this split position, I get to enjoy
Happy New Year Team Seagrass! I can’t believe it’s 2018 already, and I’m sure that is a sentiment we all share! 2017 was an unbelievable year for all kinds of reasons, yet despite the crazy world we now seem to live in, for a few of us it has been
The savannahs of the seas – our humble seagrass meadows are in peril In its Green Seas episode, Blue Planet II introduced us to seagrass meadows. Scarcely touched upon in past media when compared to coral reefs, mangroves and even kelp forests, we learnt about the vast potential of these
New research provides one of the first documented cases of a marine heatwave undermining restoration efforts at a site in Northern Europe. Forecasting extreme weather events will be essential to the success of future marine restoration efforts and Ocean recovery. A marine heatwave has undermined the success of
The first large-scale analysis of its kind estimates that at least 18 million people living in poverty across the Indo-Pacific fish in seagrass meadows. Around 6.5 million may depend entirely on these overlooked habitats for fishing and subsistence. Researchers warn that seagrass decline could deepen hunger, economic insecurity, and inequality
Not all of Indonesia’s seagrass meadows are faring alike. A study has revealed substantial spatial differences in the condition of 21 seagrass meadows across central and eastern Indonesia, providing a clearer picture of where ecosystems are thriving (hotspots), under stress (coldspots) or undergoing ecological change (outliers). But why does this
Project Seagrass has been granted Independent Research Organisation status. This is an important milestone for Project Seagrass, but more importantly, it is a milestone for seagrass science. Since 2013, Project Seagrass has worked tirelessly to build a different kind of conservation organisation. One that is rooted in science, grounded in
A new collaborative research project between Murdoch University and Walailak University (WU) aims to restore seagrass meadows in Thailand using 3D-printed pods made from bioplastics. The seagrass meadows around Koh Lidi, a pair of islands inside Mu Ko Phetra National Park in Satun Province, are a nursery for shrimp, crabs,
Seagrasses are among the most important foundation species in coastal ecosystems, providing habitat for marine life, stabilising sediments, and helping improve water quality. Yet nearly 20% of the world’s historic seagrass cover has been lost, and efforts to restore these vital underwater meadows often face significant challenges. In Florida’s Indian
