We are nearing the end of the second year of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, a global initiative to restore natural ecosystems. There are many great initiatives underway and here’s a little about what have we been up to. The seagrass (wirriya jalyanu) research and restoration team recently completed a 1 ha restoration site at Useless Loop, Shark Bay (Gathaagudu, on Malgana Land and Sea Country).

by Elizabeth Sinclair and Will Jones

For People & Plants Winter 2023

The International Union for Conservation of Nature World Heritage Site of Shark Bay, known as Gathaagudu (two waters) to Malgana Traditional Owners, is a place of extensive seagrass meadows. The World Heritage Site is unique in that it has been declared on the basis of all four natural values: exceptional natural beauty, outstanding record of early life forms, significant ongoing ecological and biological processes, and significant natural habitats for in-situ conservation of biological diversity.

Seagrasses are marine flowering plants, meaning they produce flowers, fruit and seedlings. They also reproduce clonally through vegetative growth by horizontal rhizome extension.....

by Jane Edgeloe, Elizabeth Sinclair, Siegy Krauss

Bushland News Spring 2022

Known to the Malgana people as ‘Wirriya jalyanu nhurra’ or ‘seagrass mob’, Posidonia australis appears as expansive meadows across the salty waters of Gathaagudu (Shark Bay).

by Elizabeth Sinclair, Jane Edgeloe, Siegy Krauss

For People & Plants Spring 2022

Next time you go diving or snorkelling, have a close look at those wondrously long, bright green ribbons, waving with the ebb and flow of water. They are seagrasses – marine flowering plants - but how many are there in a meadow?

by Elizabeth Sinclair, Gary Kendrick, Jane Edgeloe, Martin Breed

The Conversation June 2022

'Seagrasses are critical, and we are about to lose them.' Learn more about seagrasses, their global decline, and some promising solutions emerging in Australia.

by Amber Taylor

We are fortunate in Australia to have beautiful beaches with stunningly biodiverse near-shore marine life. The swaying seagrass meadows make up an important part of this living ecosystem. It is lovely to snorkel just metres from the shore over the gently moving leaf canopy to watch the crabs, schools of juvenile fish, and starfish quietly going about their business. The health of seagrasses is generally most threatened where human populations are high.

by Elizabeth Sinclair

For People & Plants Spring 2021

Special issue on the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration

Gathaagudu (two waters), also known as Shark Bay, is the traditional country of Malgana peoples. It is also home to expansive seagrass (wirriya jalyanu) meadows. This article takes you on a high-resolution journey to the surface of seagrass leaves and the individual cells giving life and colour within them. Exploring the anatomical structures of seagrasses provides inspiration for environmental science student and emerging Malgana artist, Tiahna Oxenham.

by Elizabeth Sinclair, Tiahna Oxenham and Wolfgang Lewandrowski

For People & Plants Winter 2021

University of Western Australia seagrass researchers and Malgana Rangers conducted a joint workshop in August as part of a Marine Biodiversity Hub project to assist the natural recovery of seagrasses at Shark Bay.

Shark Bay or Gathaagudu (two-waters) to the Malgana Traditional Owners, is a pristine ecosystem of global significance. The largest temperate seagrass meadows on the planet were severely impacted by an extreme heatwave. Our research examines flowering and fruiting density, genetic diversity and mating system in Posidonia australis.

by Jane Edgeloe and Elizabeth Sinclair

For People & Plants Winter 2020

Western Australia’s Shark Bay, or Gathaagudu (two-waters), is recognised on the World Heritage List as a place of exceptional natural features. See how researchers are working with Malgana Rangers to restore damaged seagrass meadows.

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by Elizabeth Sinclair, Gary Kendrick, Amrit Kendrick

Wetlands Australia 32, February 2020

What did we use before single-use plastics became ingrained in our everyday lives? Our precious wetlands and vast oceans are often the final stop for much of the world’s plastic products. Find out what Kings Park Science are doing to help?

by Elizabeth Sinclair, Todd Erickson, Tony Scalzo

For People & Plants Summer 2019

Posidonia australis meadows have experienced large reductions in distribution across six NSW estuaries since the mid-1900s. It is at risk of becoming locally extinct in some estuaries due to on-going impacts. 

by Giulia Ferretto, Tim Glasby, Graham Housefield, Alistair Poore, John Statton, Elizabeth Sinclair, Gary Kendrick, Adriana Vergés

What did we use before "single use" became ingrained in our everyday lives? The organising committee for the national AMSA 2019 conference held in Fremantle this week wanted to eliminate plastic. Here's how that went...

by Elizabeth Sinclair, Charlotte Birkmanis, Robert Pemberton

The June 2019 edition of the Australian Association for Environmental Education OZEEnews features an article by Angela Rossen on her biodiversity outreach work.

Seagrasses are clonal plants and therefore may persist for a long time. They are among some of the oldest plants on earth, with some clones thought to be thousands of years old. However, renewal, or the recruitment of new genetic individuals, also occurs in clonal species. This tends to be sporadic and patchy, but can be very difficult to quantify.

by Elizabeth Sinclair and Gary Kendrick

For People & Plants Winter 2017

Healthy seagrass meadows play a big part in making some of the inshore and sheltered water fishing in WA so good. In fact, research has suggested 400 square meters of seagrass can support up to 2000 tonnes of fish a year! The total number and diversity of fish is limited by the amount of habitat available to them. 

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by Elizabeth Sinclair

Recfishwest Broad Cast June 2017

Renown for its extreme tides, the waters of the Kimberley host seagrasses and macroalgae that thrive against the odds. A three-year study combined science and traditional knowledge to uncover some of the secrets of these fascinating species, and the herbivores that feed on them.

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by Mat Vanderklift and Gary Kendrick

Landscope magazine Autumn 2017

If we are to protect and conserve nature let us begin by discovering it for its own sake and marveling at its beauty and complexity.

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by Angela Rossen

Coastlines Autumn 2017

Western Australia’s vast meadows of Posidonia australis seagrass are amazingly productive with massive flowering events annually in the cool winter waters. Constantly moving water presents challenges for effective underwater pollination, but seagrasses have evolved special traits to adapt to these difficulties.

by Elizabeth Sinclair

For People & Plants Spring 2014