Zostera marina (eelgrass) is a seagrass found in the Northern Atlantic and Pacific oceans and is integral to the coastal environment. It provides food and shelter for organisms, as well as taking in and storing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, which is important in protecting against climate change. Our research examines Z. marina within the Great Bay Estuary, where eelgrass meadows have been declining over the past twenty to thirty years. One potential solution for this decline is to restore eelgrass using seeds harvested from other areas. The main challenge of this process is finding the “right” seeds to use (where and when to harvest them) to have the best restoration success. Our work aims to help answer these questions by examining how different meadows differ in the timing of flowering and seed production, seed mass, and seed content, and testing to see if these influence plant germination and survival.
