Quantifying Macrophyte Ecosystem Services and Improving Environmental Nonprofit Messaging

Author

• Peyton R. Hughey, Clemson UniversityFollow

Date of Award

5-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Forestry and Environmental Conservation

Committee Chair/Advisor

Althea Hagan

Committee Member

Kyle Barrett

Committee Member

Brandon Boatwright

Abstract

Environmental nonprofits are essential to the management and restoration of our natural spaces. They are also tasked with engaging the public via outreach, education, and advocacy. As natural spaces are degraded, the ability of environmental nonprofits to deliver on their missions will become increasingly important. This study aimed to improve two approaches to environmental nonprofits’ missions: ecological restoration and social media communication.

Environmental nonprofits operate with limited resources, and ecological restoration can be an exhaustive task; therefore, we explore functional restoration as a tool. In this study, we focus on the use of functional, trait-based restoration to restore ecological function and improve biodiversity. To execute functional restoration, practitioners must have some knowledge about the ecosystem services provided by the chosen species. The shoal lily (Hymenocallis coronaria) was the subject of this study. By sampling three prominent populations of the shoal lily, we successfully quantified the supporting ecosystem services and expanded the shoal lilies’ habitat niche. The shoal lily effectively lowered flow, filtered sediments, and lowered depth within clumps, creating a complex microhabitat. Additionally, each population showed a variety of macroinvertebrate interactions, supporting diverse communities. There were three distinct habitat niches in each sampled population. Our findings conclude that these habitat niches transcend geographic boundaries and that the shoal lily can withstand much higher flows and depths than existing literature suggests. Now that the supporting services and habitat niches have been quantified, restoration practitioners can use this information when drafting their restoration plans.

Another challenge that environmental nonprofits face is engaging their communities in their mission. We hypothesized that environmental nonprofits were not effectively utilizing their social media to reach diverse audiences. To test this, we first analyzed the most common terms and topics derived from social media content of 111 environmental nonprofit organizations. Then, we used a Semantic Network Analysis to determine which terms were commonly found and associated with the same organizations’ mission statements. Our findings revealed that environmental nonprofits' mission statements were disconnected from their social media content. We created a model that connects the mission statement to social media content, applying audience targeting, audience tailoring, and behavior change theory. This model provided environmental nonprofits with a social media strategy that can be continually updated and leads to actionable change among users.

This study provides a two-pronged approach to improve environmental nonprofits' ability to achieve their mission goals. The approaches provide environmental nonprofits with quantified restoration tools and a conceptual framework to continually improve their communication strategies. Environmental nonprofits that utilize the findings of this study have opportunities to improve ecological function and community relations.

Recommended Citation

Hughey, Peyton R., "Quantifying Macrophyte Ecosystem Services and Improving Environmental Nonprofit Messaging" (2026). All Theses. 4699.
https://open.clemson.edu/all_theses/4699