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.
Seagrasses are flowering plants that thrive in marine environments and form extensive meadows along the tropical Queensland coast. New James Cook University research shows the seagrass meadows of Trinity Inlet in Cairns Harbor have recovered after severe cyclones and flooding nearly wiped them out—but with a new mix of fish
Momentum builds around the Global Seagrass Challenge Fund as growing public interest and rising urgency position investment in seagrass conservation as one of the decade’s most important solutions for our planet. Investment will facilitate a step-change in global seagrass conservation via new fund designed to put resources directly into
Each year, Project Seagrass welcomes a fresh cohort of students to work with the organisation as part of their placement year. Facilitating training opportunities has been an important part of our approach for over a decade. Since Project Seagrass’ beginnings, 27 students have worked and learnt alongside the team as
Our Ocean is changing and conservation efforts need to keep up. This week, governments, scientists and conservation organisations are gathering in Yerevan, Armenia, for COP17, the United Nations Biodiversity Conference. Four years after the world agreed to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030, we’re now taking stock on progress.
Project Seagrass is celebrating a significant milestone in the development of their Seagrass Nursery facilities in West Wales following the opening of a new multi-span polytunnel. Housing 12 new ponds, the recent expansion has tripled the sites’ previous capacity for polytunnel-based seagrass propagation, strengthening the Nursery’s pivotal role in scaling
Between 2022 and 2025, the Restoration Forth project brought together charities, local community groups, and scientists, united by the ambitious goal of restoring vital marine habitats within the Firth of Forth. Project managed by WWF UK, and delivered in partnership between Project Seagrass, the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, The Ecology
The Careers in Conservation: Below the Surface series takes a deep dive into the variety of job roles available within the conservation sector. In this article, Project Seagrass Digital Content Creator Tim Horton shares his experiences and the route he took to a career in conservation. Job Description and Skills
New study shows coastal users can provide valuable insights that strengthen restoration planning and long-term project success Fishers and anglers possess valuable local knowledge that can help identify suitable locations for seagrass restoration, new research published by Project Seagrass shows. The study, conducted along the South Wales coastline, found that
The UK-wide survey is being delivered by marine conservation organisation Project Seagrass and aims to gather the first UK-wide insights into attitudes towards Advanced Mooring Systems. The short, anonymous survey is open for responses until 18th March 2027 and the findings will be used to inform the development of sustainable
The Careers in Conservation: Below the Surface series takes a deep dive into the variety of job roles available within the conservation sector. In this article, Project Seagrass CEO Dr Leanne Cullen-Unsworth shares her experiences and the route she took to a career in conservation. What does it take to
Seagrasses evolved from freshwater plants and use sunlight and carbon dioxide (CO2) for photosynthesis and are able to thrive in depths down to 50 meters. In contrast to algae, they possess roots and rhizomes that grow in sandy to muddy sediments. The grass-like, leaf-shoots produce flowers and complete their life
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
