WaterNotes

Cold stun sea turtles continue to dominate the conservation news here in Florida. Many zoos, aquariums, and wildlife centers – even Disney’s Animal Kingdom – are assisting with warming up stunned turtles prior to their eventual release.  Many of the smaller centers and nonprofit institutions are keeping up admirably with the enormous demand of their [...]

By drawing some deep parallels and contrasts between humans and animals Professor Robert Sapolsky makes some fascinating connections in this talk filmed at Stanford University and highlighted by TED’s Best of the Web feature earlier this week.  I particularly loved the mention of stickleback behavior (of course) but the final thoughts on culture – as [...]

The aftereffects of our unseasonable cold snap over the last two weeks are still rolling in here in Florida.  I have not seen a lot of dead fish in the Lagoon system on my outings but significant fish kills have been reported from saltwater estuaries as well as freshwater lakes and canals due to the [...]

Marineland is celebrating their 10th season of the North Atlantic Right Whale Project with a brand new blog and fresh sightings of right whales off of Florida’s northeastern coastline. Seems that the recent blast of Arctic air may have helped encourage the whales further along their migration route; there have already been sightings along Indialantic [...]

Usually I greatly enjoy my job working outside as an environmental educator.  But when Florida’s mild winters turn to record-breaking cold, I have to admit I dont love braving the cold.  At least I can bundle up, unlike most of the wildlife in the state.  Particularly some of my favorite Florida year-round residents: five species [...]

I was probably a manatee in a past life. How do I know?  I won’t SCUBA dive into anything other than warm sauna-like conditions and I eat a lot of salads.  Ok, perhaps this isn’t the most convincing of arguments, but these marine mammals are my favorite in the world, as regular WaterNotes readers well [...]

The case for marine protected areas and reserves seems to grow stronger everyday.  If you have a few spare moments, spend them with this paper published by PLOS One by the University of Exeter’s Mumby and Harborne: Marine Reserves Enhance the Recovery of Corals on Caribbean Reefs.