Showing posts with label Florida Bay. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Florida Bay. Show all posts

Thursday, October 10, 2013

August Shark Sampling

October 10, 2013 0


This guest post was written by Phil Matich, a graduate researcher in Dr. Mike Heithaus' lab at Florida International University.
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 We just got back from an amazing trip in August!  As always, we left early in the morning and were fortunate enough to catch the tail end of the Perseid meteor shower as we drove to the boat ramp.  On our way to the field site we saw the sun rise over the water and the mangroves, and then got right to work catching sharks.  On the first live, we caught two sharks, 79 and 85 cm total length, and surgically implanted the smaller individual with an acoustic transmitter so that we could track its movements.  Surprisingly, the larger shark was an individual we had caught and tagged in July, and is one of the first sharks we’ve recaptured in the last three years! 
After only a month, the shark has grown 2 cm and gained 1 kg in body mass; the scar from the surgery has completely healed, and one of the sutures had already dissolved, and the other marks from tissue collections were healing (see the picture of the fin clip).  On the second set, we caught three more sharks (74, 81, and 104 cm TL), and acoustically tagged the 81 cm TL shark to track its movements.  After only a few hours on the water he had caught five sharks and deployed two transmitters!  On the third set we caught another shark (104 cm TL), and had a surprise on the line - a 2 meter alligator, which is the first gator we’ve caught after >3000 longline hooks deployed in the estuary.  It was pretty skinny and very docile, so it was probably sick and in poor condition and just looking for an easy meal.  We cut the line and the hook that was stuck in its mouth will rust out in the next month or so - I wasn’t going to reach my hand in to try and get it out.  Overall, it was an awesome day!  And, we got to hang out with a dolphin for a little while on the ride back.  I’m looking forward to more days like this in the future.

 












Tags # Alligator # animal movement # Everglades Continue Reading
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Friday, December 14, 2012

Wings of Florida Bay

December 14, 2012 0

Guest Post from Alex Perez, undergraduate researcher in the Seagrass Ecosystems and Marine Macroalgae labs at FIU.

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When one thinks of Florida Bay the connotation is that of a shallow water system that is surrounded mangrove tree islands and mud banks. The thoughts of aquatic vegetation and blue water coloration more diverse than your standard 8-pack Crayola box, is what I used to think of. That is of course before I began to notice what was soaring above the surface. My first taste of the birds of Florida Bay was an experience I have yet to repeat, one chilly winter day as we were making our run from the western portion of the Bay to the center of the Bay we came across thousands (not a hyperbole) of migratory birds. The sound of our outboard shattering the tranquil water exciting the birds to take flight, was the first time I really notice the birds. Seeing the white pelicans flying along side our boat was a sight that has changed the way I see nature and is what I consider to be breathtaking.

Although birds are fun to look at and admire aesthetically, we as scientist like to have an understanding of how a particular organism contribute or affect a given ecosystem. A very interesting parallel between and the system I work in (seagrass meadows) and birds exist.  Seagrass meadows in Florida Bay adjacent to bird colonies have an greater seagrass standing crop then seagrass meadows that are in the absence of bird colonies
.  The system is nutrient limited and receives needed nutrients via bird guano.

Some of the birds that we commonly see are cormorants, herons, ospreys, egrets, and kingfishers.

Double crested cormorant

As the seasons begin to change so does the bird diversity, during the wintertime we begin to see a higher abundance of pelicans, roseate spoonbills, and the occasional bald eagle.

Pelicans flying around a channel
The greatest thing about science is that you get to mix things that are beautiful and gain an understanding of all the interactions they may have in a given environment. So next time you visit Florida Bay make sure to get a birds eye view of all the scenery!!





Cheers,
Alex 
Tags # Birds # Florida Bay # Guests Continue Reading
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Friday, September 21, 2012

Epiphanies in Ecology

September 21, 2012 0

For Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) research in the Seagrass Ecosystems Lab, we venture out into Florida Bay every two months to do a survey of the submerged aquatic vegetation (seagrasses and macroalgae).  As I mentioned in my last post (Florida Bay:  Beneath the Surface) Florida Bay is a honeycomb of basins, which creates different habitat types.  These different habitats, specifically the type and density of vegetation on the floor and sediment type (and many other factors that are beyond the scope of this post), attribute to the color of the water.  In a single LTER trip, we see water ranging from deep blue to teal, green, and even brown!   After 2 years of running the LTER project for our lab, I am still amazed by the dynamic nature of Florida Bay on the surface and below.

Darker blue waters as we travel to Sprigger Bank.
At Sprigger Bank:  notice the greenish patch to the left.  There is sparse shoal grass (Halodule wrightii) in that patch.  The darker areas have turtle grass (Thalassia testudinum) and manatee grass (Syringodium filiforme).
Milky teal waters of Duck Key.
Duck Key on a different day.  
Little Madiera a week after TS Isaac passed through.  Little Madiera is located near mainland Florida and receives a lot of freshwater input, especially after a major storm like Isaac.   
 During my first year as a PhD student, these LTER trips were pivotal in maintaining my sanity and reminding me of the reasons I became an ecologist.  As I have developed as a scientist, these trips have become more of a gateway for the development of research questions to test different theoretical concepts that we have studied in depth in our classes.  I’m a very visual person and being outside helps me to connect the dots between theory and the development of research questions.  I guess you could say, nature is my muse (sorry for the cliché but I really couldn't resist!).  For the most part, major discoveries in science have been made rather serendipitously.  I have come up with many research questions while being on the LTER and, needless to say, I am not the only scientist who does this.  See a great example of what may have started as an ecological epiphany in Science Magazine.  I can only hope that when I grow up my epiphanies will be published in such high-impact journals as Science or Nature!  Until then...
Tags # Florida Bay # Grad Student Life # Jenn Sweatman Continue Reading
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