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.
In a new blog series, our Conservation Trainee Abi David explores some of the amazing creatures that call seagrass meadows their home. The Brent Goose Branta bernicla is of a similar size to a Mallard duck, making it one of the smallest goose species in the world. They are a
Our oceans and coasts are home to ecosystems that provide immense benefits to people, from food and livelihoods to carbon storage and coastal protection. In particular, seagrass meadows are archetypal social-ecological systems (SES), linking human well-being to ecosystem health. But to manage these systems effectively, we need access to both ecological
Beneath the surface of the Chesapeake Bay, a subtle but dramatic shift is taking place as eelgrass gives way to its warmer-water relative, widgeon grass. A new study from researchers at William & Mary’s Batten School & VIMS shows that this seagrass swap could have ecological impacts across the Bay’s
Seagrasses, foundational species in coastal ecosystems worldwide, are surprisingly few in documented diversity—with only about 70 species identified globally, despite their widespread distribution and ecological importance. Complicating matters, their high phenotypic plasticity within species makes precise classification challenging. Against this backdrop, a research team led by Prof. Zhou Yi from
The Project Seagrass team have had another busy summer of seagrass seed collections! This year collections took place in Yarmouth, Ryde, and Bembridge on the Isle of Wight in the Solent, and in Porthdinllaen in North Wales. Find out more about how this summer’s collections went: Solent Seed Collection |
Dr Richard Unsworth, Chief Scientific Officer at Project Seagrass, along with 35 other leading scientists from across the UK, responds to proposals from the UK government to make licensing for marine restoration more complex and costly. Dear Rt Hon Steve Reed OBE MP and team, This letter sets out our
Last month marked the opening of a newly constructed laboratory facility at Project Seagrass’ headquarters in Bridgend, South Wales. Project Seagrass CEO Leanne Cullen-Unsworth said: “We’re delighted to be able to launch this fantastic new facility within our existing working space in Bridgend. Thanks to generous support from funders who
July 2025 Emily Yates, Seagrass Nursery Lead Introduction It’s that time of year when the sun is shining and seagrass meadows around the UK are filled with flowering shoots, laden with maturing seeds. Much of July has been dominated by seagrass seed collection fieldwork and preparing for the seeds to
Earlier this year, Project Seagrass welcomed Rhys Bowen to the team to support our work in North Wales as part of the Seagrass Ocean Rescue North Wales programme. This follows on from Rhys’ involvement in the programme during 2024 where we worked as one of the Marine Futures Interns at
In a new blog series, our Conservation Trainee Abi David explores some of the amazing creatures that call seagrass meadows their home. Sea hares are odd looking creatures. They are mostly soft bodied but have a small internal shell, which separates them from their close relatives – sea slugs. The
“The downward trajectory of the world’s seagrass meadows must be reversed if we are to fight the planetary crisis” say leading seagrass scientists. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals have recently been described as “the most important to-do list in the history of humankind”. Scientists from Project Seagrass and Swansea
Deep evolution casts a longer shadow than previously thought, scientists report in a new paper published the week of Aug. 1 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Smithsonian scientists and colleagues looked at eelgrass communities—the foundation of many coastal marine food webs along the north Atlantic and
[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_link_target=”_self” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column_text] The Seagrass Ecosystem Services Project is funded by the International Climate Initiative (IKI) and runs in partnership with the climate action Paris agreement 2015. The Federal Ministry
A new study shows that seagrass fisheries provide a reliable safety-net for poor fishermen, since they perceive those habitats to maintain large fish catches over time. Surprisingly, even more so than coral reef fisheries, which people normally associate with small-scale fishery. Seagrass meadows are routinely used as a fishing habitat
