Researchers from the Richardson Bay Audubon Center & Sanctuary braved the cold and windy San Francisco mornings last week to set up a field experiment that will improve eelgrass restoration techniques in the bay.  By advancing the methods used to restore eelgrass, the results from this research will hopefully help us to increase the amount of area covered by eelgrass, which is an important foundation species providing habitat for fish and invertebrates that in turn support the large number of birds that use this Important Bird Area.

Taking advantage of the extremely low tides, the science team kayaked out to the middle of the bay and waded in the water to set up plots into which they transplanted adult plants and suspended mesh bags with eelgrass flowers that will drop seeds onto the sediment over the next couple of weeks. The researchers will be tracking the plots over the next year to determine if plots placed in the vicinity of existing eelgrass patches grow and expand more than those placed further away. 

For braving the uncomfortable conditions, researchers were rewarded with several sightings of an osprey fishing, as well as harbor seals, leopard sharks, and bat rays foraging in the shallow waters.