Collaborative Science to Assess Restoration Success (CSTARS)

In May, Northwest Florida Aquatic Preserve finished spring field work for the Collaborative Science to Assess Restoration Success (CSTARS) grant project subaward received from the Pensacola and Perdido Bays Estuary Program (PPBEP) in 2024 to monitor the extent, species, and transitions of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) within the Pensacola Bay watershed. With help from environmental specialist Ciara Abernathie, Oyster Corps volunteers, and PPBEP’s senior scientist Whitney Scheffel, data from a total of 106 meter-square quadrats was collected and the full extent of seagrass was mapped with RTK GPS equipment across three living shoreline sites: the Beck living shoreline, LeBeau living shoreline, and Project GreenShores Sites 1 & 2. The species of seagrass observed were: Ruppia maritima, Halodule wrightii, and although not inside any of our quads, Vallisneria americana sprouts were observed and mapped as well. Ciara has already entered all the data and begun making maps to visualize the relationship between oyster reefs and SAV. They'll finish out this project with one last round of SAV surveys at the end of the growing season - stay tuned!