An international team of researchers discovered that coastal urban seagrass ecosystems can significantly reduce human bacterial pathogens, including those with widespread antibiotic resistance, in marine bivalves—a vital food source for people around the world. The study, published Aug 2 in the journal Nature Sustainability, sheds light on the significant role seagrass meadows play
As our 2024 seagrass seed collection in North Wales draws to a close we spoke to Seagrass Ocean Rescue volunteer Bob Pethers about his experience of volunteering as part of the project. Tell us a little bit about yourself: I’m Bob Pethers, originally from London but have lived and worked
Restoration Forth aims to restore seagrass meadows and native oysters into the Firth of Forth, to create a healthier coastline for people and nature. Find out more about the project here. Seagrass – the outcome of monitoring Back in March, 128 volunteers helped Restoration Forth plant more seagrass seeds along
196 of the world’s nations are committed under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework to tackling nature loss. Habitat restoration is a major pathway to tackling this loss. For marine habitats such as seagrass, such restoration is often portrayed as an easy answer to fighting many of our planetary ills causing
Seagrass Network Cymru have submitted a National Seagrass Action Plan to the Senedd. Seagrass meadows are critically important allies to tackle the global climate and biodiversity crises and the National Seagrass Action Plan is a direct response to the current condition of seagrass habitat in Wales and the need for a
On the 9th and 10th of July Project Seagrass welcomed local organisations and members of the community to our Seagrass Nursery in West Wales as part of a series of Open Days. On the 9th July representatives from Pembrokeshire Council, Carmarthenshire Council, Pembrokeshire Coastal Forum, Rebel Energy, SeaLife, Bodorgan Estate,
Seagrass meadows provide a range of environmental, economic, and social benefits to people and planet. They provide habitat, food, and shelter to thousands of species of fish, invertebrates, mammals, reptiles, and birds. Through their diverse use as fishing grounds, they support the creation of jobs and provide access to food sources
Researchers predict that climate change will drive a substantial redistribution of brown seaweeds and seagrasses at the global scale. The projected changes are alarming due to the fundamental role of seaweeds and seagrasses in coastal ecosystems, and provide evidence of the pervasive impacts of climate change on marine life. In
Restoration Forth aims to restore seagrass meadows and native oysters into the Firth of Forth, to create a healthier coastline for people and nature. Find out more about the project here. Orkney seagrass trip Next month the seagrass team will be departing for their annual seed collection trip in Orkney. Following
Using a novel genetic clock, a team of researchers from Kiel, London, Oldenburg, and Davis, California, has determined the age of a large marine plant clone for the first time. This seagrass clone from the Baltic Sea dates back to the migration period 1,400 years ago. The newly developed clock
An international team of researchers discovered that coastal urban seagrass ecosystems can significantly reduce human bacterial pathogens, including those with widespread antibiotic resistance, in marine bivalves—a vital food source for people around the world. The study, published Aug 2 in the journal Nature Sustainability, sheds light on the significant role seagrass meadows play in their ecosystems. Not only do they serve as crucial habitats for marine life and contribute to biodiversity and clearer waters, but they also act as natural filtration systems, reducing bacterial pathogens in the surrounding waters. This is important because the current economic burden of human infectious diseases in marine environments is estimated at $12 billion annually. Furthermore, the looming threat of antimicrobial resistance, projected to cause over 300 million deaths and cost the global economy $100 trillion, underscores the urgency of such natural interventions. “Our paper presents the first evidence that coastal urban seagrass ecosystems can reduce human bacterial pathogens, several with known widespread antibiotic resistance, in a food source that has the potential to support over half of global seafood production and consumption,” said Joleah Lamb, assistant professor at the University of California, Irvine, Charlie Dunlop School of Biological Sciences, who led the research with Drew Harvell, professor emerita of ecology and evolutionary biology at Cornell. The team analyzed mussels deployed by Washington’s Department of Fish and Wildlife Mussel Watch across 20 Puget Sound beaches with varying seagrass presence. Mussel gills from locations with seagrass showed a 65% reduction in bacterial pathogens compared with those from places without seagrass. Phoebe Dawkins performs seagrass health surveys in Puget Sound. Credit: Cornell University This study adds to Lamb and Harvell’s previous work showing 50% reductions in pathogenic bacteria in Indonesia seagrass meadows, and suggests that intact seagrass ecosystems in both tropical and temperate waters could play a vital role in ensuring safer seafood and enhancing public health. “Seagrasses have untapped potential to contribute to the chain of survival for humans and our coastal biodiversity,” Harvell said. “Seagrass meadows are prime feeding grounds for wild birds and shelter crabs, oysters, mussels and sea stars, and so the role of lower bacteria has yet unmeasured benefit for wildlife as well as humans.” Harvell’s Cornell research team of postdocs, graduate students and undergraduates has been studying the health of seagrass and drivers of decline in the San Juan Islands and Friday Harbor Labs for over a decade. The Cornell-based research team for this project included not only Lamb, but also Phoebe Dawkins, then a graduate student in Harvell’s lab, and undergraduate Evan Fiorenza ’17. The potential applications of this research are vast, Lamb said. As global food demand accelerates, securing safe and sustainable seafood from a healthy ocean is critical. Seagrass meadows, which are already recognized for their high-value services such as nutrient cycling, carbon sequestration and shoreline protection, now present an added layer of public health benefits. The study’s model estimates that 1.1 billion people currently live within 50 kilometers of seagrass ecosystems, highlighting the immediate opportunity to integrate these natural infrastructures into urban planning and conservation strategies. This research aligns with numerous global sustainability initiatives, including the U.N. Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development and the U.N. Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. It provides timely evidence to inform policies and commitments aimed at reversing the decline of seagrass ecosystems, which are disappearing at an alarming rate of 7% per year. The study’s implications extend beyond immediate public health benefits, Lamb said, offering a blueprint for sustainable urban development that leverages nature’s powers to address global challenges. Lamb has called for a concerted effort from policymakers, urban planners and conservationists to recognize and harness the benefits of seagrass ecosystems. “As ecosystems continue to decline globally, there is an urgent need to invest in environmental conservation and assess the value of ecosystem services,” she said. “By doing so, we can make significant strides in addressing the biodiversity and climate crises while simultaneously improving human health and food security.” This research was supported by the Sea Doc Society, a program of the Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health Center at the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of California, Davis; the University of California, Irvine; and The Nature Conservancy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mt3za0G6ack&t=56s Credit: Video produced by Bob Friel and the SeaDoc Society. Narrated by SeaDoc Society Science Director Joe Gaydos. More information: Phoebe D. Dawkins et al, Seagrass ecosystems as green urban infrastructure to mediate human pathogens in seafood, Nature Sustainability (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41893-024-01408-5 Journal information: Nature Sustainability This article is republished from PHYS.ORG and provided by the Cornell University.
As our 2024 seagrass seed collection in North Wales draws to a close we spoke to Seagrass Ocean Rescue volunteer Bob Pethers about his experience of volunteering as part of the project. Tell us a little bit about yourself: I’m Bob Pethers, originally from London but have lived and worked in North Wales for 40 years. I have taken early retirement from the NHS and currently volunteer with North Wales Wildlife Trust and Project Seagrass. How did you first get involved with the seagrass restoration community project? At the end of a Shoresearch rocky shore survey for the North Wales Wildlife Trust we were given a short presentation on seagrass restoration and I realised immediately that this combined my concern for the health of our seas with my enthusiasm for gardening! I ended up on a seagrass monitoring course run by Project Seagrass, and the rest is history. What are your hopes for this restoration work? That it makes a difference to the health of our seas, and it will! What inspired you to get involved, what drives your commitment to this cause? I jokingly say that I’m involved in seagrass restoration purely out of self interest as one of my hobbies is sea fishing, and healthy seagrass meadows lead to healthy fish populations! In reality I’ve always been concerned about the environment and nature and considered myself an environmentalist from when it really wasn’t fashionable. Looking back I realise we could have done more (hindsight is a wonderful thing), but still proud of our efforts to find peat free compost 30 years ago! Now I have the opportunity to make a difference around my local shores, and the thought of thriving seagrass meadows in the future drives me forward on those cold and rainy spring tides. What does it mean to you to spend time in nature, what do you feel nature provides you with? Being in nature enhances my physical and mental health, nothing can beat being in the moment. What seagrass restoration activities have you taken part in? After agreeing a planting area with Project Seagrass, I started off collecting fragments at Porthdinllaen and planting these (after cleaning off other lifeforms and soaking in fresh water for 24 hours) at Traeth Crugan. This has continued with various tweaks to the methodology through research and discussion and evaluating the success rates. Now I concentrate on the big spring tides and planting on mass to maximise success, and on the last survey this year’s plantings had an encouraging 56% success rate. Inevitably I was talking to the Project Seagrass team a lot, and ended up helping with the seed planting (sacks, seed balls and injection), monitoring, and have just completed the circle by snorkelling at Porthdinllaen for seagrass seeds! What part of this restoration work are you most proud of? I’m most proud of all the other volunteers I meet over the course of the year. Their enthusiasm is both inspiring and heartwarming. The Seagrass Ocean Rescue Project is managed by WWF, in partnership with Project Seagrass, the North Wales Wildlife Trust, Pen Llŷn a’r Sarnau Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and Swansea University. The project is made possible with support from funders that include the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Garfield Weston Foundation, and the Moondance Foundation. Principal Funders Partners
Restoration Forth aims to restore seagrass meadows and native oysters into the Firth of Forth, to create a healthier coastline for people and nature. Find out more about the project here. Seagrass – the outcome of monitoring Back in March, 128 volunteers helped Restoration Forth plant more seagrass seeds along the Firth of Forth. The team and volunteers have been keeping a close eye on their growth. A HUGE thank you to all the passionate and dedicated volunteers for your time! Although we don’t have the full picture yet, fewer shoots have emerged than we hoped, so we are working to understand why. We know the nature of restoration projects can be challenging, but what we’ve learned through this process has been incredibly helpful. We’ve also been trialling the transplantation of dwarf eelgrass cores – by transplanting cores (seagrass with the sediment) from established meadows to adjacent bare sediment. With this method we are hoping to extend the current seagrass area in the Firth of Forth. This year we have transplanted 400 cores, and last year we have transplanted 480 cores. This method seems to be working well, and we’ll be monitoring them more closely in coming months. Keep your fingers and toes crossed! Oysters We recently launched our new citizen science resource and are running some training events in our oyster citizen science activities in the coming weeks, including some family friendly sessions aimed at getting young people involved in citizen science. You can find the activities and all the information on how to take part on the webpage here under ‘Help Restore the Firth of Forth’. As we start to near the end of summer it is time to think about our next oyster deployments. We aim to release a further 10,000 oysters into the Firth of Forth in Autumn, so keep an ear out for opportunities to be involved in our biosecurity days soon.
196 of the world’s nations are committed under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework to tackling nature loss. Habitat restoration is a major pathway to tackling this loss. For marine habitats such as seagrass, such restoration is often portrayed as an easy answer to fighting many of our planetary ills causing this nature loss. But as evidence grows of the issues and challenges of such activities, scientists from Project Seagrass and Swansea University have outlined ten golden rules to help improve this restoration. Their work is published today in an Open Access article in the journal Plants People Planet. The article responds to the increasing pressures faced by seagrass ecosystems globally and the need to rapidly rebuild marine life. The authors highlight throughout that in order to restore our ocean biodiversity, we first need to focus on reducing the stressors to these habitats, namely water quality, boating and coastal development. The authors who have been studying seagrass conservation and restoration argue for a shift beyond a singularised view of restoration as being about planting new meadows to a combined view where damaged and fragmented meadows are rejuvenated; threatened and diminishing meadows are protected; and more meadows become resilient. The rules confirm the need for collaborative approaches to restoration which create biodiverse ecosystems that support coastal communities and improve communities. Dr Richard Unsworth, lead author on the paper who is the Chief Scientific Officer at Project Seagrass and Associate Professor at Swansea University said, “To rebuild marine life at the scale and speed required to fight the biodiversity crisis and the climate emergency we need to think bigger, whereby we bring degraded habitats back to life at the same time as creating vast new habitat in support of coastal livelihoods, and community resilience” The paper has been published following the International Seagrass Biology Workshop (ISBW15) hosted in Naples, Italy earlier this year, the theme of this which was “Seagrasses in the Anthropocene”. As human activities place ever-increasing pressure on seagrass ecosystems at both a local and global scale the resulting changes in environmental conditions have altered seagrass ecosystems to an extent that has not previously been observed. The challenge currently facing the global community is the need to establish a new baseline and protect, restore, and rehabilitate the seagrass ecosystems that currently remain. Dr Benjamin Jones, Chief Conservation Officer at Project Seagrass and author of the paper says: “Coastal environments suffer from excess nutrients and contaminants from poor land management, deforestation and ineffective pollution management. If we are to place seagrass on a pathway to global net gain, for restoration to have any meaningful contribution, we also need to think about restoring watersheds and thinking upstream – restoring the land to restore the sea”. The ten golden rules originally developed by Unsworth and Jones for seagrass restoration, and outlined below, aim to ensure that existing seagrass is protected, that multiple and diverse stakeholders are involved in planning to support the selection of appropriate sites and ongoing stewardship, that appropriate restoration methods are utilized, and that realism is adopted in the face of the challenges surrounding global restoration efforts particularly in light of ongoing climatic pressure. Dr Leanne Cullen-Unsworth, CEO at Project Seagrass and an author of the paper says: “Fantastic progress is being made in the field of conservation and restoration of seagrass meadows, but in order for this to happen at the scale and speed required, we wanted to set out a series of holistic guidelines, based on available research and experience, that practitioners can follow for improved chances of success.” 10 Golden Rules for restoration to secure resilient and just seagrass social-ecological systems (set out in detail below) Protect existing seagrass first Work together Create biodiverse ecosystems with multiple functions for people and planet Select appropriate sites for restoration Determine appropriate restoration methods Use resilient plant materials and future proof your project Maximize the potential opportunity of the restoration Plan ahead for infrastructure, capacity, and restoration material Develop realistic informed goals and reporting Make it pay 10 Golden Rules (Detailed summary of the paper) 1. Protect existing seagrass first Amidst the context of growing interest in seagrass restoration, the authors emphasize that it is much slower, more difficult, and more expensive to re-plant seagrass meadows than it is to protect those that currently remain. Protection from localized stressors can relieve pressure on our existing seagrass be this through the implementation of improved water quality from better catchment management, reduced boating damage, establishment of Marine Protected Areas or through the encouragement of alternative low-impact livelihoods, tourism, and fishing practices. The authors also outline the need to prioritise which seagrass meadows to protect taking into consideration predicted future climatic conditions such as changing temperatures, sea level rise, land use change, and the gradual topicalization of temperate systems. 2. Work together Restoration is a collaborative process and the authors discuss the importance of the involvement of multiple and diverse stakeholders, expertise, and experience throughout all stages of the restoration process. Seagrass social-ecological systems support diverse uses and livelihoods, from fishing and recreation, to harvesting of raw plant material. Rights and equality are central, and stakeholders should be encouraged to continue activities, not just undisturbed, but enhanced by increased seagrass resilience. Engaging local communities and stakeholders during the site selection period is essential as these groups will often become the long-term custodians of the restoration site. Without working together, long-term seagrass restoration at scale is simply not possible and finding ways to bring people together to co-design restoration projects will enhance the social capital of resulting habitats. 3. Create biodiverse ecosystems with multiple functions for people and planet The overarching aim of seagrass restoration should be to maximise the biomass and biodiversity of meadows such that they support diverse and resilient ecosystem functioning and services for people and planet. The authors discuss how natural systems simultaneously produce multiple ecosystem services that interrelate in complex and dynamic ways. An overly narrow focus on a limited set of ecosystem services can lead to
Seagrass Network Cymru have submitted a National Seagrass Action Plan to the Senedd. Seagrass meadows are critically important allies to tackle the global climate and biodiversity crises and the National Seagrass Action Plan is a direct response to the current condition of seagrass habitat in Wales and the need for a coordinated approach to deliver against current policy commitments. Wales has the opportunity to lead the way in seagrass recovery and the plan presents a blueprint of action over the next five years to achieve a vision where Welsh seagrass meadows are supporting marine biodiversity, vibrant communities, a sustainable economy and making a valuable contribution to the climate emergency response. The 4 priority areas of action needed to achieve this vision are: Mapping Wales’ seagrass Building partnerships across land and sea Halting seagrass loss Reversing seagrass loss Read the full plan here. Seagrass Network Cymru is a collaborative group of NGO’s, academics, commercial businesses, government, and management agencies from across Wales working towards the protection and restoration of seagrass meadows along our Welsh coast.
On the 9th and 10th of July Project Seagrass welcomed local organisations and members of the community to our Seagrass Nursery in West Wales as part of a series of Open Days. On the 9th July representatives from Pembrokeshire Council, Carmarthenshire Council, Pembrokeshire Coastal Forum, Rebel Energy, SeaLife, Bodorgan Estate, South & West Wales Wildlife Trust, Swansea University, Carmarthenshire Local Nature Partnership, Sea Trust, and Welsh Government visited the Nursery as part of a networking day. Working collaboratively is essential to long-term success of seagrass restoration and the networking day provided an opportunity for local stakeholders to discuss existing work and opportunities to collaborate. On the 10th July the Seagrass Nursery opened its doors to members of the local community with visitors from Laugharne, Pendine, and St Clears alongside the wider Carmarthenshire area. “Excellent and exciting project – would be interested in its development” Community Feedback “Beneficial to learn more about the advantages to the environment” Community Feedback During the Open Days, visitors had the opportunity to join a guided tour of the Seagrass Nursery where members of the nursery team provided an insight into how we are growing seagrass, our approach to storing seeds, and the research we are undertaking into the best methods for seagrass cultivation. “It was lovely being able to welcome members of the local community and organisations down to our nursery site. The days were a great opportunity to showcase not only our work at the nursery but wider projects from across South and West Wales. Collaboration is key in so much of our work, being able to network with groups while welcoming the local community and harness local knowledge was invaluable.” Emily Yates, Nursery Lead Our South & West Wales project lead Emma Fox provided a talk about our existing work in West Wales including our ongoing monitoring and conservation work in Dale. Emma also shared our upcoming plans to trial further seagrass restoration within the area. Dr Betti Walter, Marine Science Lead and Sam Rees our Research Assistant discussed our work to scale up the seagrass restoration process, providing visitors with an insight into the range of mechanisation projects that we have been exploring from seed planting sleds to underwater robots. Our Seagrass Nursery partner Salix joined us for the open days to discuss the work taking place on the wider site in Laugharne and their work to provide sustainable solutions to the challenges found in soil erosion control and river restoration projects. The work at our Seagrass Nursery is generously supported by Salix, Waterloo Foundation, Aviva Community Fund, and Ozone. Our Volunteer and Outreach Officer Jo was on hand to discuss opportunities to support our restoration work. It was fantastic to see so many people keen to support future seagrass planting and monitoring projects. If you would like to get involved, sign up to join our Volunteer Database.
Seagrass meadows provide a range of environmental, economic, and social benefits to people and planet. They provide habitat, food, and shelter to thousands of species of fish, invertebrates, mammals, reptiles, and birds. Through their diverse use as fishing grounds, they support the creation of jobs and provide access to food sources like fish and invertebrates. Their leaves help to purify water, reducing pollutants like heavy metals and harmful bacteria. Seagrass meadows trap carbon within the seabed and, if left undisturbed, can store this for millennia. Their large and deep network of roots extend throughout the seabed helping to stabilise our coastlines. Seagrass Information Posters As part of a recent project, Project Seagrass has been working with Languages United and Green Standard Schools on the creation of multi-lingual seagrass information posters providing an insight into seagrass. The seagrass information posters are free to download from the Project Seagrass website and are available in the following languages: English, French, Spanish, German, Croatian, Greek, Italian, and Polish. The poster design was created by illustrator and science communicator Jack Cowley. The following Green Standard Schools supporting members were involved in the translation of the posters: French In Normandy, CLIC International House Sevilla, Humboldt-Institut, Scuola Leonardo da Vinci Milano, Κέντρο Ξένων Γλωσσών Βαρελά and Škola Jantar. Partners WHY SEAGRASS Discover why it is vital we save the world’s seagrass Explore More
Researchers predict that climate change will drive a substantial redistribution of brown seaweeds and seagrasses at the global scale. The projected changes are alarming due to the fundamental role of seaweeds and seagrasses in coastal ecosystems, and provide evidence of the pervasive impacts of climate change on marine life. In a collaborative study between the University of Helsinki and the EU Joint Research Centre, researchers for the first time have modeled the future distribution of brown seaweeds and seagrasses at the global scale. They predict that by 2100, climate change will drive a substantial redistribution of both groups globally: Their local diversity will decline by 3–4% on average and their current distribution will shrink by 5–6%. More notably, the preferred habitat for both brown seaweeds and seagrasses will undergo a substantial global reduction (78–96%) and will shift among marine regions, with potential expansions into Arctic and Antarctic regions. The research is published in the journal Nature Communications. “We find it alarming that coastal areas worldwide will become dramatically less hospitable for habitat-forming macrophytes, as this might have severe and widespread impacts on coastal ecosystem functioning at the global scale. Interestingly, while global percentual declines in diversity show similar trends for seagrasses and brown macroalgae, the regional patterns are strikingly different between the two groups,” says Federica Manca, the lead author of the study from the University of Helsinki. Present distribution and projected end-of-century changes in global macrophyte species diversity. Credit: Nature Communications (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-48273-6 Why should we care about seaweeds and seagrasses? Brown seaweeds and seagrasses provide important ecological and socio-economic services in coastal areas worldwide. They support coastal biodiversity and fisheries, ensure coastal protection, participate in ocean nutrient recycling, contribute to carbon sequestration and climate change mitigation. As climate change is severely threatening macrophyte habitats and the services they provide, we urgently need to understand how both brown seaweeds and seagrasses will respond to changing climatic conditions in the coming decades. Previous studies have modeled the future distribution of these habitat-forming macrophytes, focusing on regional or local scales only and on a limited number of species. In contrast, this study is the first to provide a comprehensive view of the effects of climate change on more than 200 species of brown seaweeds and seagrasses at the global scale. The results show that the redistribution of these habitat-forming marine macrophytes will be geographically heterogeneous, and highlight the regions where the loss of macrophyte diversity and habitat will be most severe, such as the Pacific coast of South America for brown seaweeds, and the coast of Australia for seagrasses. Additionally, researchers have identified macrophyte species that will be more severely affected by climate change, like the Atlantic seaweed Laminaria digitata. The findings can help identify target areas and species for conservation, potentially buffering the impact of climate change. Surprisingly, and contrary to expectations, the models did not predict severe losses of brown seaweed or seagrass diversity in the tropics but rather at intermediate and high latitudes, such as along the Atlantic coasts of Europe and in the Baltic Sea. This indicates that end-of-century climatic conditions in these regions might exceed the tolerance limits of resident macrophyte species. The Baltic Sea is at the forefront in the rate at which climate change is influencing the ecosystem. “Combined with a legacy of multiple other disturbances (such as eutrophication) and low species diversity with only a few brown seaweeds and seagrasses, the Baltic Sea is exceptionally vulnerable to these predicted changes,” says Alf Norkko, professor at the Tvärminne Zoological Station, University of Helsinki. “Another surprising—and alarming—result is the dramatic loss of highly suitable habitat for both macroalgae and seagrasses globally: Coastal areas worldwide will become substantially less hospitable for habitat-forming macrophytes,” adds Dr. Mar Cabeza from the Global Change and Conservation Group at the University of Helsinki. The disappearance of these habitat-forming macrophytes can trigger cascading effects on other species, compromising the integrity of entire ecosystems and undermining ecological and socio-economic services important to human society. Thus, forecasting changes in the distribution of habitat-forming species is crucial to raise awareness of climate change impacts and foster conservation efforts accordingly. “Our findings confirm, once again, that climate change might have profound impacts on ecosystems, promoting rapid and most often detrimental changes to the diversity and resilience of natural communities. In fact, habitat-forming macrophytes support biodiversity through an exceptional diversity of ecological interactions.” “Hence, their projected loss and redistribution might lead to unpredictable cascading effects, most likely resulting in the local extinction of many associated species,” says Giovanni Strona from the EU Joint Research Centre. More information: Federica Manca et al, Projected loss of brown macroalgae and seagrasses with global environmental change, Nature Communications (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-48273-6 This article is republished from PHYS.ORG and provided by the University of Helsinki.
Restoration Forth aims to restore seagrass meadows and native oysters into the Firth of Forth, to create a healthier coastline for people and nature. Find out more about the project here. Orkney seagrass trip Next month the seagrass team will be departing for their annual seed collection trip in Orkney. Following a productive planting season in March 2024, the team will be returning to Kirkwall to collect Zostera marina seeds that will be planted in March 2025. Restoration Forth employs a non-destructive method for collecting seagrass seeds, shoots are hand-picked by snorkellers and divers through a selective process to ensure donor meadows are not over picked. This year, Project Seagrass are working with Heriot-Watt University and local scallop divers to collect seeds from subtidal seagrass meadows. Prior to seed harvesting, the team conduct extensive surveys of the donor meadows to ensure that the harvesting of seeds will not cause a significant effect to the health or size of the meadows. The deployment of a dive team will increase the yield of seeds collected this year, by accessing subtidal parts of the meadow which are not usually accessible through snorkelling. Join us for snorkelling sessions at Finstown! Restoration Forth are organising seagrass snorkel sessions this July and August to showcase the rich diversity of marine life that live in these amazing habitats and to demonstrate how we collect seagrass seeds. Further details can be found here. Photo credit: Raymond Besant Photo credit: Raymond Besant Oyster Citizen Science We are very excited to announce that the new oyster citizen science activity booklet is now live! Our new booklet contains activities for everyone around the Firth of Forth to get involved in contributing to oyster restoration. You can find the activities and all the information on how to take part on the webpage here under ‘Help Restore the Firth of Forth’. The Restoration Forth team, with the help of volunteers, will be beach hopping around East Lothian, Edinburgh and Fife with the activity booklet next week. Please do pop by and say hello! We will be at Port Seton Links and Fisherrow Sands, Musselburgh, on Friday 28th June and Cramond Beach and Silver Sands, Aberdour, on Saturday 29th. Timings and more information about the events can be found here. Oyster Observer Guide Update Thank you so much to those of you who have completed and submitted an Oyster Observer Guide survey. This information will help inform which sites will be most suitable for oyster restoration work. We so far have surveys from the following locations: Fife: Kingsbarns, Ravenscraig Edinburgh: Cramond East Lothian: Seton Beach, Yellowcraig, Morrisons Haven, Belhaven Bay, Longniddry (Bents 1, 2 and 3) Fisherrow Sands and Musselburgh beach. If you have completed a survey but are still to submit your results, you can do so here. Likewise, if you would like to get involved, the Oyster Observer Guide and instructions on how to take part can be found here. Photo credit: Caitlin Godfrey Climate Resilience survey WWF want to learn more about the climate resilience impacts of their projects. They are running this very short survey to find out more about the impact Restoration Forth has had on you, and your thoughts about local community and climate resilience. It should only take about 5 minutes to complete, and you will be entered into a prize draw to win a £50 Scotland Loves Local gift card. Click here to start the survey (closes on the 8th July 2024). Goodbye 100 species The inspiring 100 Species exhibition project is now finished, after having been displayed at Heart of Newhaven to the Scottish Seabird Centre and, finally, the Scottish Fisheries Museum in Anstruther. Edinburgh Shoreline held a little thank-you party in the Anstruther Museum for all the Fife contributors on 7th June. During this the winning paintings from a local schools art competition, organised by the Museum and inspired by the 100 species exhibition, were displayed. A total of 480 children participated and, through their engagement, learned all about Restoration Forth, oysters and seagrass. The Newhaven Community Choir performed, included one song specially written as a homage to Restoration Forth. Look out for videos on the Edinburgh Shoreline YouTube channel – uploading soon. In Anstruther there were 2,070 visitors to the exhibition at the Museum. We are really pleased about the interest this project has raised – through the researching and making of responses to individual species and the huge interest generated through exhibiting them around the Forth. Several of our contributors have already engaged with or signed up for future oyster cleaning events, started regular beach events and expressed interest in future citizen science opportunities. Photo credit Karen Chambers.
Using a novel genetic clock, a team of researchers from Kiel, London, Oldenburg, and Davis, California, has determined the age of a large marine plant clone for the first time. This seagrass clone from the Baltic Sea dates back to the migration period 1,400 years ago. The newly developed clock can be applied to many other species, from corals and algae to plants such as reeds or raspberries. The scientists have published their work in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution. “Vegetative reproduction as an alternative mode of reproduction is widespread in the animal, fungal, and plant kingdoms,” explains research leader Dr. Thorsten Reusch, Professor of Marine Ecology at the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel. These so-called “clonal species” produce genetically similar offspring by branching or budding and often reach the size of a football field or more. However, these offspring are not genetically identical. (a), Multicellular clonal species exist across the tree of life. (b), Allele frequency change of SoGV due to the formation of new modules by branching or splitting. A new module is initiated either directly by the stem cells (that is, splitting) or by the daughter cells of the stem cells (that is, branching). Splitting reduces the size of the original stem cell population, while branching leaves the original cell population untouched. During the formation of new modules, the cell population undergoes a genetic bottleneck. c,d, The accumulation rate of fixed SoGV is independent of module formation rate. The tree topology depicts a module undergoing (multiple) module formation events, where the dashed line and the solid line represent the original module and the new module respectively. New mutations (M) occur at a constant rate, and only mutations in the new modules are depicted (with a different colour). For each timepoint, the vertical length of the colours represents the frequency of the SoGV within the module. Clonal dynamics in a single module (solid line in tree structure) are depicted as a Muller plot that shows the nested allele frequency of SoGV over time. The frequency of SoGV changes during module formation events, due to the bottleneck. Eventually, SoGVs are either fixed or lost. Under low module formation rate (c), fixation events are rare. Thus, many SoGVs have accumulated in the intervening time and are fixed simultaneously. Under high module formation rate (d), fixation events occur more frequently, but with fewer SoGVs fixed at each branching event. CREDIT: Nature Ecology & Evolution (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41559-024-02439-z Previous work by a team led by GEOMAR researchers had already shown that somatic mutations accumulate in vegetative offspring, a process similar to cancer. Now, a team led by Prof. Dr. Reusch, Dr. Benjamin Werner (Queen Mary University London, QMUL), and Prof. Dr. Iliana Baums (Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity at the University of Oldenburg, HIFMB) has used this mutation accumulation process to develop a novel molecular clock that can determine the age of any clone with high precision. Researchers at the University of Kiel, led by Professor Reusch, applied this novel clock to a worldwide dataset of the widespread seagrass Zostera marina (eelgrass), ranging from the Pacific to the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. In Northern Europe in particular, the team found clones with ages of several hundred years, comparable to the age of large oak trees. The oldest clone identified was 1402 years old and came from the Baltic Sea. This clone reached this advanced age despite a harsh and variable environment. This makes the eelgrass clone older than the Greenland shark or the Ocean Quahog, which live only a few hundred years. These new age and longevity estimates for clonal species fill an important knowledge gap. Particularly in marine habitats, many fundamental habitat-forming species such as corals and seagrasses can reproduce vegetatively, and their clones can become very large. The continuous production of small, genetically identical but physically separated shoots or fragments from the parent clone means that age and size are decoupled in these species. The new study now provides a tool to date these clones with high accuracy. “Such data are, in turn, a prerequisite for solving one of the long-standing puzzles in conservation genetics, namely why such large clones can persist despite variable and dynamic environments,” says Reusch. Once a high-quality eelgrass genome was available, work could begin. Another key factor in the study was that colleagues at the University of California, Davis (UC Davis) had kept a seagrass clone in their culture tanks for 17 years, which served as a calibration point. “This paper shows how interdisciplinary interactions between cancer evolutionary biologists and marine ecologists can lead to new insights,” says Dr. Werner, Lecturer in Mathematics and Cancer Evolution at QMUL, who focuses on the somatic evolution of tumors which also develop clonally. Prof. Dr. Baums, molecular ecologist at the HIFMB, adds, “We can now apply these tools to endangered corals to develop more effective conservation measures, which we urgently need as unprecedented heat waves threaten coral reefs.” “We expect that other seagrass species and their clones of the genus Posidonia, which extend over more than ten kilometers, will show even higher ages and thus be by far the oldest organisms on Earth,” says Reusch. These will be the next objects of study. More information: Lei Yu et al, A somatic genetic clock for clonal species, Nature Ecology & Evolution (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41559-024-02439-z This article is republished from PHYS.ORG and provided by Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres
