Submerged aquatic vegetation is an important part of the Northwest Florida ecosystem, defined as any combination of seagrasses and algae that covers 10 to 100 percent of the riverbottom. Many of these plant species grow in underwater environments that are poor and declining in this region. Its health is influenced by light availability, water temperature, salinity, sediment composition, nutrient levels, wave energy, and tidal range. Seagrass communities are highly productive ecosystems that host thousands of species of flora and fauna. Pollution is one of the main threats to this ecosystem, while boat wakes, boat groundings, propeller scarring, coastal construction, and dredging and filling also disrupt these natural habitats. In 2007, the Center for Environmental Diagnostics and Bioremediation at the University of West Florida conducted a survey of submerged vegetation with the goal to reclaim, protect, preserve, and restore portions of the Blackwater River ecosystem.