Seagrass | Coastal and Marine Sciences Institute

High variability of Blue Carbon storage in seagrass meadows at the estuary scale

By Aurora M. Ricart, Ph.D.

Seagrass meadows are considered important natural carbon sinks due to their capacity to store organic carbon (Corg) in sediments. However, the spatial heterogeneity of carbon storage in seagrass sediments needs to be better understood to improve the accuracy of Blue Carbon assessments, particularly when strong gradients are present. We performed an intensive coring study within a sub-tropical estuary to assess the spatial variability in sedimentary Corg associated with seagrasses, and to identify the key factors promoting this variability.

Marine Ecology

The Seagrass Microbiome Project: Bacteria, the Unseen Heroes?

By Jane Park, Undergraduate Intern

Though bacteria often get a bad reputation, many organisms depend on them. Humans, for example, have gut bacteria that aid with digestion. Similarly, marine plants, like seagrass, host a collection of microorganisms potentially vital to their health. At UC Davis, researchers have created the Seagrass Microbiome Project to learn about these microbial inhabitants. Through the project, they are looking to see whether certain bacteria are fundamental to the plant’s survival.

Marine Ecology

“CSI” for the Marine Ecologist

By Nicole Kollars

Marine Ecology

Blending In: Ecology Graduate Student Grace Ha Investigates Camouflage in Seagrass Meadows

“We’re in a region with a Mediterranean climate and upwelling— what’s cool is that both of these are associated with high levels of biodiversity,” says Grace Ha, an ecology Ph.D. student. In upwelling zones, nutrient-rich waters from the deep ocean are transported to coastal regions, which makes them hotspots for biodiversity.

Marine Ecology

Remembering Susan Williams

At the Bodega Marine Laboratory and CMSI, we couldn’t be more honored and humbled to have Dr. Susan Williams a part of our community for so long. On the 26th of October, over 180 people from around the world gathered to celebrate the life of Dr. Williams.

“I wanted to be an oceanographer since second grade, without understanding what that meant other than being fascinated by "things" that washed up on the beach during seaside family vacations.” - Dr. Susan Williams in her CMSI Spotlight.

Marine Ecology

Summer Research on the Coast: Fellowship Supports Undergrad Emily Meyers at Bodega Marine Laboratory

In the early summer months, undergraduate Emily Meyers would rise before the sun, sometimes around 3 or 4 a.m. Keeping time by the ocean tides, she’d cart her research materials to eelgrass beds near the Bodega Marine Laboratory.

Marine Ecology

Can seagrass help fight ocean acidification?

Seagrass meadows could play a limited, localized role in alleviating ocean acidification in coastal ecosystems, according to new work led by Carnegie’s David Koweek and including Carnegie’s Ken Caldeira and published in Ecological Applications.

Conservation

Researchers optimistic that eelgrass can reduce carbon and acidity in seawater

As the data roll in, University of California scientists are more optimistic that eelgrass, like the kind that grows around Newport Beach, can lessen ocean acidity and make the water more hospitable to ecologically valuable organisms.

Remembering Dr. Susan L. Williams

Dr. Susan Williams obituary was published in the Press Democrat, read it here.

A Memorial Fund has been established in her honor. Any donations given in her name will be used to build an endowment to support graduate students working on coastal research that focuses on marine ecology. Information on this Memorial Fund is available here.

Marine Ecology

Ocean Acidifcation study offers warnings for marine life

The work by biodiversity researchers from the University of British Columbia (UBC) and colleagues in the U.S., Europe, Australia, Japan and China, combines dozens of existing studies to paint a more nuanced picture of the impact of ocean acidification.

While most research in the field focuses on the impact of ocean acidification on individual species, the new work predicts how acidification will affect the living habitats, such as corals, seagrasses, and kelp forests, that form the homes of other ocean species.