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Marine Lab Hosts Visiting Seagrass Researchers from UW
New research to propagate seagrass for statewide restoration projects brought a team of researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW) to SCCF’s Marine Lab on Aug. 11-12.
Widespread losses of seagrass have been observed throughout Florida over the past decade. Some of the decline is attributed to algae blooms and large disturbances such as hurricanes and flooding events.
Other, more direct losses are from propeller scarring in shallow water.
The UW team included Assistant Professor Dr. Robert Johnson from the Department of Integrated Biology, along with his Ph.D. student, M.S. student, and undergraduate student. They were assisted by Sanibel Sea School summer intern, and Fort Myers native, Frankie Just. (see photo at top)
The Marine Lab collaborated to collect seagrass to propagate at the Mote Marine Lab facility in the Florida Keys. The team will be trying new techniques to successfully propagate seagrass for future restoration projects.
