Eelgrass

Patrick Phengsy is a fourth-year undergraduate student who just completed his Associate's Degree in Natural Sciences at the SRJC. He will be transferring to UC Santa Barbara for the upcoming Fall 2023 quarter, where he aims to complete his Bachelor’s Degree in Biology and pursue a career in medicine. 

In celebration of World Seagrass Day, we're highlighting seagrass-focused research conducted by UC Davis graduate students. Meet some of our dedicated scholars and delve into their research, exploring the significance of seagrasses and the implications for marine environments.

Ph.D. Student, Stachowicz Lab and Brown Lab, UC Davis Department of Evolution and Ecology

Beds of eelgrass (Zostera marina) form an important habitat in coastal regions throughout the northern hemisphere, crucial to many fish and other species and storing vast amounts of carbon. A new study published July 20 in Nature Plants shows that eelgrass spread around the world much more recently than previously thought, just under a quarter-million years ago. The results have implications for how eelgrass could be affected by a changing climate.

Join us in a celebration of all things seagrass! March 1st is World Seagrass Day, and we're taking an in-depth look at what seagrasses are, how they interact with marine coastal ecosystems, and how they're being impacted by climate change.

Now, meet two UC Davis researchers whose research on seagrass is revolutionizing our understanding of these versatile marine plants:

Dr. Stachowicz is a Professor of Evolution and Ecology at the University of California, Davis

Spanning six years and seven seagrass meadows along the California coast, a paper published today from the University of California, Davis, is the most extensive study yet of how seagrasses can buffer ocean acidification.