Study: Clams and Planting Methods Boost Lagoon Seagrass Recovery

Seagrass restoration teams working to revive the Indian River Lagoon may soon have sharper scientific guidance after a new peer-reviewed study examined how transplantation techniques and the presence of hard clams influence whether seagrass takes hold in subtropical waters.

A study published in Restoration Ecology in 2026 found that both the method used to transplant seagrass and the co-presence of hard clams appear to affect restoration outcomes in subtropical environments, according to MacDonnell C. et al. The results carry direct relevance for Indian River and St. Lucie counties, where seagrass meadows have suffered catastrophic losses from algae blooms, nutrient pollution, and reduced water clarity over the past decade. The full study is available at https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.70207.

The Indian River Lagoon stretches more than 150 miles along Florida's east coast and borders all three Treasure Coast counties. Between 2009 and 2011, the lagoon lost an estimated 58 percent of its seagrass during a so-called "superbloom" of algae that blocked sunlight to the seafloor. Recovery efforts have continued in fits and starts since, but resource managers have struggled to identify which restoration approaches yield the most durable results.

The interaction between hard clams — a commercially and ecologically significant shellfish native to the lagoon — and seagrass restoration is particularly notable for local managers. Hard clams filter water and can improve the clarity that seagrass depends on for photosynthesis, but their physical presence and burrowing may also disturb newly planted shoots, according to the study.

Residents and recreational users who rely on the lagoon for fishing, boating, and swimming in Martin, St. Lucie, and Indian River counties stand to benefit from any advance in restoration science. Seagrass meadows serve as nursery habitat for snook, redfish, and other economically important species that underpin the region's fishing economy and tourism industry.

Lead author MacDonnell C. may be contacted for further comment through Restoration Ecology. Local resource managers at the St. Lucie County Environmental Resources Department and the Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program were not immediately available for comment.

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