Date of Award

5-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

College/School

College of Science and Mathematics

Department/Program

Marine Biology and Coastal Sciences

Thesis Sponsor/Dissertation Chair/Project Chair

Paul Bologna

Committee Member

James Campanella

Committee Member

Danlin Yu

Abstract

Seagrass meadows are one of the many habitats worldwide under threat from human disturbance and worsening climate conditions. This habitat provides many critical ecosystem services to coastal environments, which is why conserving and restoring seagrass meadows is critical. This study investigates the long-term success and failures from several eelgrass restoration sites in Barnegat Bay, New Jersey. Aerial imagery from multiple years were digitized in ArcGIS to assess restoration trajectories over time. Three of the sites were assessed over a period of twelve years (2012-2023), and one site was assessed twice (2021 and 2023). Results from these time series analyses showed that shoreline stabilization through island enhancement eliminated one restoration site which had survived for over a decade, while aquaculture activities substantially increased fragmentation, while reducing spatial cover at another site. Thankfully, some restoration sites showed increases in total seagrass coverage and decreased fragmentation over time. These results provide further evidence for how sensitive seagrass meadows are to any sort of disturbance from human activity. It also highlights the challenges of conflicting economic and environmental interests in shallow coastal waters.

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