Seaweed Ecology & Assessment Collaborative (SEAC-RI): Macroalgae Monitoring Plan

The Seaweed Ecology and Assessment Collaborative (SEAC-RI) was established to understand the biodiversity of macroalgae, the role it plays in the ecosystem, and how it impacts seagrasses, oyster beds, and other habitats throughout the Narragansett Bay region. SEAC-RI’s mission is to provide cross-state collaboration and coordination, advise state and federal management, and research macroalgae in Narragansett Bay, the Coastal Salt Ponds, and Little Narragansett Bay.In 2021, the Narragansett Bay Estuary Program (NBEP) supported a pilot project to capture and understand commercial fishermen’s observations of ecological change in Narragansett Bay. This study identified concerns over the change in abundance and diversity of macroalgae, particularly the increase in drift macroalgae in recent years. In response to this concern, NBEP funded a study with Boston University to assess changes in drift macroalgae in the summer of 2023. This study united current data with long-term records to put together the picture of a changing Bay.As a collaborative, SEAC-RI began with a meeting in April 2024 of select attendees of the Northeast Algal Society and local researchers and managers to discuss seaweed monitoring, management and research. The key takeaway from that meeting was the need for a coordinated effort to expand monitoring practices throughout the region focused on efficiency and data sharing. Attendees shared a desire to understand where monitoring occurring, why it’s occurring there, and what data are being collected.This document is the first version of a macroalgae monitoring protocol developed in collaboration between NBEP, SEAC-RI, and other partners.Changes to V1:updated seaweed email to DEM.seaweed {at} dem.ri.gov.