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.
Heat stress from marine heat waves can create a toxic relationship between seagrasses and a hidden ecosystem of bacteria, transforming a previously beneficial co-existence between marine plants and microbes into a harmful one, a University of Sydney and UNSW study has found. Seagrasses are marine flowering plants that act as
As our Fragment Walks from the 2025/26 season come to an end Project Seagrass Intern Anya Lamparelli reflects on this year’s efforts. A seagrass fragment is a precious and vulnerable thing. Torn free by winter storms and strong swells these delicate shoots with intricate root systems still attached wash ashore
A new study of the British Isles’ coastal ecosystems has revealed that nitrogen enrichment is significantly reducing the abundance and variety of marine life. The research, published by scientists at Swansea University and the charity Project Seagrass, warns that increasing nutrient flows are overriding local habitat conditions to restructure and
Residents and visitors to the Isle of Wight can now access information about the Island’s important seagrass habitats thanks to new signage installed through support from Seacology. The signage has been installed by Project Seagrass as part of ongoing efforts to protect and restore seagrass ecosystems within the Solent. The signs
Hannah Harrero and Stephanie Insalaco-Wyner, geographers from Florida, comment on differing methods of monitoring the resilience of seagrass meadows in Florida’s ‘Mosquito Lagoon’, following a number of extreme weather events. Florida’s Indian River Lagoon has been an ecosystem in decline going back to 2011, when harmful algal blooms led to a severe decline in
Heidi McIlvenny, PhD researcher from Queen’s University Belfast, comments on seagrass meadows in Northern Ireland and how seagrass meadows can recover but only if we tackle the pollution at its source. I spent last summer wading through seagrass meadows across Northern Ireland, from the sheltered waters of Strangford Lough to
Between the 17th and 23rd March 2026, members of the Project Seagrass team were on the Isle of Wight carrying out active restoration as part of the The Solent Seascape Project, the first project of its kind in the UK to initiate seascape-scale restoration. As part of The Solent Seascape
New research led by scientists at University of California’s San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography is shining a spotlight on one of the ocean’s most overlooked habitats: seagrass. Led by Scripps Oceanography Ph.D. candidate Rilee Sanders, the study documented the first successful restoration of open-coast seagrass (common eelgrass). The findings offer
Nursery intern Iestyn Comey details how fishing in seagrass meadows can be great to improve mental health and are vital nursery grounds for key fisheries species. Fishing is a hard thing to explain to someone who has never done it. There is no better feeling than the moment the line
Now seeking investment, the Global Seagrass Challenge Fund will unite funders, businesses, and individuals committed to securing a future for seagrass. With an ambitious target of £50 million, the Fund will support people-centred seagrass conservation for a healthier ocean and a fairer future. Project Seagrass has launched the Global Seagrass
It wasn’t a natural calling. It wasn’t a passion from birth. I was always going to be a baker until I was going to be a nurse, a psychologist, a social worker, a midwife, a nutritionist, a mathematician, etc, etc. So where did marine biology come in? Donning three wetsuits
Sat in lockdown it’s hard not to reflect and think about life, and 2020 actually marks ten years since I left the small farm in the Welsh countryside to pursue my career. So, sit back and enjoy the career rollercoaster that has been the last ten years! It all started
Guest blog by Mike Furness about his experience as a volunteer during seagrass planting week. It was smelly; it was noisy; it was heavy; it was cold. It was buzzing, vibrant and invigorating. Overwhelmingly it was about camaraderie, enthusiasm and shared purpose, and all set on the beautiful Pembrokeshire coast.
Ah, the long awaited bank holiday weekend is almost here, but this time the circumstances are more than a little unusual. Instead of heading to the beach we will be staying at home, not just to look after ourselves but to support our NHS and it’s amazing staff. Easter is
You are not alone! We are all having to take a pause from our chaotic lives in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. We must support our health care services and the incredible frontline workers by staying at home. Our ocean optimism and motivation to protect our planet does not stop for
Mosquito nets designed to prevent malaria transmission are used for fishing which may devastate tropical coastal ecosystems, according to a new scientific study. The researchers found that most of the fish caught using mosquito nets were smaller than a finger and potentially collect hundreds of individuals. Malaria is a serious
