STUART, Fla. — The Florida Oceanographic Society is conducting waterway conservation research regarding seagrass restoration, water quality monitoring, and oyster development.
The society is securing three different types of seagrass onto burlap and then staking it to the waterway floor with bamboon stakes. The grass then will develop roots and start to propagate the Indian River Lagoon.
"In the Indian River Lagoon, we have seven species of seagrass making it one of the most biodiverse estuaries and all of North America," said Dr. Loraé Simpson, who is the director of research and conservation at Florida Oceanographic Society.
Simpson said seagrass is easy to propagate in the Chesapeake by merely throwing over buckets of seed. In Florida, the researchers have to be a little more creative by growing the grass and attaching it to biodegradable burlap.
"We have a wonderful slew of volunteers that will come and actually help us put the grass on this mat," Simpson said, "and so this is a biodegradable burlap mat like you would get at a craft store."
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In recent years, seagrass that manatees rely on for food has been in short supply.
Simpson said people took it for granted and the researchers are only now learning about how to propagate seagrass.
