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
Sitting down to write this I really don’t know quite where to begin! What a year it has been, in fact, what a 3 years! Although for me it seems that soooooo much has happened in just the last 12 months! Before I start, on a personal note, I remember
As masters students from both Swansea and Glasgow Universities, we’re both currently carrying out seagrass related research projects. Beth is performing her masters project, and Lauren is performing her final year honours project. Beth is studying the impacts of chain moorings on seagrass, particularly looking at how chain width effects
As a third year Biology Student from Cardiff University, I’ve been lucky to get involved with Project Seagrass, which has its offices within the University. I first started working with the team last summer when I took part in an 8 week CUROP placement (Cardiff University Research Opportunities Programme) at
The International Coral Reef Symposium (ICRS) is the primary international meeting for researchers who are focused on coral reef science and management. In fact, as a conference it has a similar ecosystem focus to the International Seagrass Biology Workshop (ISBW) that we will be hosting in Wales this coming October. The Symposium,
Launched in 2007, Glasgow Science Festival (http://www.glasgowsciencefestival.org.uk) has grown to be one of the largest science festivals in the UK. The festival takes memorable events to non-traditional venues across the City of Glasgow where researchers, charities and non-governmental organistations are able to engage with people, from all ages and backgrounds.
During April I returned to the Llyn Peninsula, along with Project Seagrass directors RJ Lilley, Ben Jones and Richard Unsworth to conduct the Spring SeagrassWatch survey, 1/4 of the yearly seagrass monitoring survey that we’ve been conducting at Porthdinllaen for the past two years. In addition, we also checking seeds from Project ReStore and
