Carissa Reason is a Research Officer with James Cook University TropWATER (Tropical Water and Aquatic Ecosystem Research) based in Cairns. As a project manager of multiple statewide seagrass monitoring programs, my work revolves around understanding seagrass ecosystems, their ecological significance and their interactions with other organisms and the environment. These long term monitoring projects involve regularly monitoring seagrass meadows to assess condition, growth patterns, reproductive strategies and adaptations to different environmental conditions. Additional research interests include fisheries habitat and marine ecosystem connectivity and seagrass seed bank resilience and recovery.