Eelgrass meadows have many superpowers. They take in carbon and filter out pollutants, and provide habitats for juvenile salmon and a host of vital marine life. The impact of eelgrass ripples up from salmon, to orcas, and even to humans.
In this segment, Cornell University and Friday Harbor Labs researchers Dr. Drew Harvell and Olivia Graham talk all things eelgrass: The importance of of healthy eelgrass in the San Juan Islands, how global warming has accelerated the spread of seagrass wasting disease, and why marine ecologists have deployed a surprising tool for monitoring the health of eelgrass meadows: drones.
Follow Dr. Drew Harvell’s research on Twitter: https://twitter.com/drewharvell?lang=en
Follow Olivia Graham’s research on Twitter: https://twitter.com/o_jgraham?lang=en
Learn more about the coast-wide study funded by the Smithsonian Institution and National Science Foundation: https://www.si.edu/newsdesk/releases/eelgrass-wasting-disease-has-new-enemies-drones-and-artificial-intelligence
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