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Big Seaweed Search inspires research report

2 minute read

As part of her degree in Marine Conservation, Nicola Vlad, one of our Sea Champions, wrote a report based on our citizen science project, the Big Seaweed Search.

Although she was originally more interested in corals and marine mammals, Nicola became more interested and familiar with other aspects of the marine environment, like seaweed. Through her volunteering and participation in the Big Seaweed Search, she became more familiar with identifying seaweeds and developed a hunger to learn more about them. This inspired to her base her university research project on seaweed.

I am a huge lover of plants, so mixed with my love of the sea, seaweeds became my new obsession!
Nicola Vlad, Sea Champion

Nicola found that she really enjoyed taking part in Big Seaweed Search surveys - the searching, the finding and uploading, and feeling the importance of the surveys for monitoring and conservation.

Having found a lack of data comparing seaweeds on upper and lower shores, Nicola wanted to develop an easy-to-understand visual representation showing which seaweeds are found on a rocky shore, whereabouts on the shore, and why they were there.

What did the research find?

The study explored whether the abundance and diversity of seaweed species varied in different shore zones.

The results revealed that the richness and diversity of seaweed species were higher in the lower shore compared to the upper shore. An average of 15 species were found on the lower shore compared to six on the higher shore.

This is because, by nature, seaweeds need water. Most species have not adapted to long time periods out of water, so greater species diversity and abundance is found closer to the sea.

Some seaweeds are better adapted to spend longer out of water, so normally grow higher on the shore, whereas species which are less adapted are found on the lower shore, where they’re closer to the water.

This data is important for long-term monitoring of seaweeds, by providing a base to see how the seaweed distribution and richness changes due to climate change in her local area. Nicola said she’d love to see additional developments to her study which would investigate any relationship between the nitrogen levels and the number of invertebrates around the seaweed.

I hope my research inspires more people to observe such an underrated world. Seaweeds are such a vital part of the marine ecosystem. They provide food and shelter for marine organisms, and absorb carbon dioxide to help fight climate change.
Nicola Vlad

Big Seaweed Search inspires research report

As part of her degree in Marine Conservation, Nicola Vlad, one of our Sea Champions, wrote a report based on our citizen science project, the Big Seaweed Search.

What did the research find?

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