Weekly News Digest from Mote

Congressman Garcia Visits Mote’s Coral Lab in the Keys

U.S. Rep. Joe Garcia (left) joins Dr. David Vaughan, director of Mote’s Tropical Research Laboratory, and Jason Wolf, development officer, for a visit to Mote Marine Laborator's research facility in the Florida Keys on Tuesday to learn about innovative efforts in coral reef research, restoration and conservation. (Photo credit: Mote Marine Laboratory)

U.S. Rep. Joe Garcia visited Mote Marine Laboratory’s research facility in the Florida Keys on Tuesday to learn about Mote’s innovative efforts to study, conserve and restore coral reefs.

Garcia, a lifelong resident of South Florida whose 26^th District includes Monroe County and part of southwest Miami-Dade County, visited Mote’s Tropical Research Laboratory on Summerland Key, where Mote scientists are growing coral colonies for reef restoration and studying how corals will fare amid environmental change.

"Mote Marine Laboratory is a national resource that offers hope and protection to our endangered oceans and sea life,” said Garcia, who said he couldn’t wait to visit again. “My visit only served to solidify my belief in the invaluable work that they do."

In one key project, Mote scientists are growing about 3,000 coral colonies for a new reef restoration technique known as “reskinning.” The researchers are raising coral micro-fragments, which start out the size of a pin head to a pencil eraser, on one-inch square bases and then placing the thin colonies of living coral atop the skeletons of dead corals in the nursery and in the wild.

“Corals that took decades or centuries to grow are declining around the world due to warming waters, diseases and other threats,” said Dr. David Vaughan, director of Mote’s Tropical Research Laboratory. “By reskinning reefs, we hope to revive major coral heads in a fraction of the time it took them to form.”

Mote scientists are also studying how corals will handle ocean acidification — an ocean chemistry change due to manmade carbon dioxide emissions that poses a major threat to reefs.

To do this, Mote scientists in the Keys and at the Lab’s main facility in Sarasota, Fla. are studying how corals and other reef animals fare in water with different acidity levels predicted for the future. Results will help reveal which coral strains are good candidates for future restoration efforts.

Support for many of Mote’s coral research and restoration projects comes from the Protect Our Reefs specialty license plate. Florida drivers who purchase this plate help fund coral research, education and conservation efforts by Mote and others focusing on Florida’s coral reef tract — the only barrier reef system in the continental U.S.

Learn more and purchase your plate today at www.reefplate.com.

Donations are also vital for Mote research. To contribute, visit www.mote.org/donate.

Mote Founder Presents Scholarship for Student to Join Her Research

Dr. Eugenie Clark, Founding Director of Mote Marine Laboratory, shakes hands with college student Samantha Levell after presenting her with a scholarship to participate in Clark's latest research trip in the Bahamas. Behind them is a picture by Steven Kovacs showing the yellow garden eel (Heteroconger luteolus), a species related to the more common brown garden eel (Heteroconger longissimus) that Clark and Levell will study on their trip. (Photo credit: Kassie O'Brien/Mote Marine Laboratory).

Dr. Eugenie Clark, who founded Mote Marine Laboratory and continues her underwater research at age 91, honored a college student yesterday, July 2 with a scholarship to participate in her latest research trip.

Samantha Levell, a rising sophomore at Florida State University, met with Clark at Mote’s home base in Sarasota to receive the Mote Marine Laboratory Student Research Scholarship, which is supported by an anonymous donation. Then Levell and Clark discussed the project, which will involve diving in the Bahamas to study elusive brown garden eels (Heteroconger longissimus).

A committee of Mote staff selected Levell through a competitive application process open to former Mote interns.

“I was impressed by Samantha’s excellent work in her science and math courses, and it was also good to see that she had experience doing hands-on research and has a strong interest in fishes,” Clark said. “It will be great to have her along.”

Levell has loved the oceans since childhood, and her interest has opened an exciting career path.

“Thinking back, my favorite, most vivid childhood memories involve chasing after minnows and snorkeling along the grassy shoreline in the shallow waters of warm Florida beaches,” Levell said. “While in high school I tried to involve myself as much as I could in local projects, and the most significant experience that I have had as a result was through Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium.”

Levell spent over 800 hours at Mote helping aquarists raise seahorses for conservation and assisting scientists studying spotted eagle rays in the wild. At FSU she participates in undergraduate research on sponges. Her favorite subjects in marine biology are fishes — another reason she can’t wait to join Clark’s project.

From July 21-31, Clark, Levell and several volunteer divers will study sand fishes, especially brown garden eels, near coral reefs around Andros Island in the Bahamas.

The eels make burrows in the sand, and sometimes many of them emerge like waving blades of seagrass, resembling an underwater garden. However, many divers aren’t even aware of the eels because they retreat into their burrows when divers swim nearby.

“Many of these eels’ behaviors have never been studied in detail — for instance, little is known about their mating habits,” Clark said. “We are trying to learn how they mate, how they select and defend territories, and other basic behaviors that make up their mysterious way of life.” 

The research team will mark the eels’ habitat with string grids and observe the eels by diving for nearly an hour at a time.

“Being able to study this population under Dr. Eugenie Clark’s guidance will be an incredible experience,” Levell said. “I believe it will bolster what I already know about the marine world and help me grow as a student and biologist.”

Be Vigilant for Marine Life this Summer Boating Season
As you enjoy Southwest Florida’s coastal waters on Independence Day, Mote recommends that boaters follow Coast Guard-approved safe boating guidelines and use vigilance to avoid striking sea turtles, manatees and dolphins.

Mote scientists are also asking boaters to keep an eye out for whale sharks moving through our region (details below).

Florida’s Gulf Coast waters aren’t just beautiful for boating — they also provide important habitat for many protected species. Sea turtles are swimming just offshore to mate before the females come ashore to nest, juvenile turtles are feeding along the Gulf Coast, and by early summer the first hatchlings will venture into Gulf waters. So far this year, Mote has recovered several sea turtles suspected to have been struck by boats. Turtles are also nesting on local beaches, so watching out for them is especially important.

Dolphins are giving birth during late spring and summer, and they frequently use shallow waters where they can not dive below an approaching boat. During spring and summer 2012, four resident dolphins were struck by boats in Sarasota waters, and one new calf died as a result.

Manatees are on the move as well, returning to our bay waters for foraging and mating. Please abide by posted speed zone signs and remain in deepwater channels when possible, as manatees are often found in seagrass beds and other shallow habitats.

Here are specific ways to help keep our waters safe for marine life:

• Within Sarasota or Manatee county waters, if you see an entangled, stranded or dead dolphin, whale or sea turtle, please call Mote's Stranding Investigations Program, a 24-hour response service, at 941-988-0212.
  If you see an entangled, stranded or dead manatee anywhere in state waters or an entangled, stranded or dead dolphin, whale or sea turtle outside of Sarasota or Manatee counties please call the FWC Wildlife Alert hotline at 888-404-FWCC (3922), #FWC, *FWC on your cellular phone or use VHF Channel 16 on your marine radio.
• Boaters should follow 10 dolphin-friendly viewing tips.  Click here for a PDF: www.mote.org/dolphinfriendly. These tips were made with dolphins in mind, but they're also great guidelines for the best ways to view all large marine animals.
• Wearing polarized sunglasses can help boaters see marine life in their path.
• Boaters and beachgoers should never feed marine wildlife. Click here to watch a PSA about why it’s harmful and illegal to feed wild dolphins: www.dontfeedwilddolphins.org.
• Beachgoers should stay away from sea turtle nests marked with yellow stakes and tape, and seabird nesting zones that are bounded by ropes. Dogs are not allowed on Sarasota County beaches other than Brohard Paw Park in Venice, where they must be leashed or under voice control, according to county ordinances.
• For numbers of sea turtle nests each week, along with more tips on how to protect sea turtles, visit www.mote.org/2013nesting
• Be sure to stow trash and line when under way. Marine debris that accidentally blows overboard or out of a truck can become ingested by or entangled around marine life. 
• If you observe a manatee mating herd - several manatees gathered as males vie to mate with a female - watch the manatees from at least 100 feet away. Coming any closer might disrupt the animals' natural mating behavior or put people into harm's way. Adult manatees typically weigh upwards of 1,000 pounds and people could be seriously injured. For more information about manatee mating herds and what to do if you see one, visit www.mote.org/manateemating
  

Special Note about Whale Sharks: Mote scientists are asking members of the public to immediately report any new sightings of whale sharks along Florida’s Gulf coast. Whale sharks — the largest fish species on Earth — have been seen during the past two months in Southwest Florida waters. These gentle filter-feeding fish are seen in various places in the Gulf of Mexico and sporadically visit Southwest Florida’s coastal waters, most likely to feed on localized blooms of plankton or possibly on fish eggs. Mote scientists are collecting reports of whale shark sightings to look for possible patterns to their movements in our waters.

• Please report new whale shark sightings immediately by calling Mote’s Center for Shark Research at 941-388-1827.  Please note the number of whale sharks you saw along with the time, date and location (GPS coordinates if possible). Please provide your phone number and/or e-mail and note whether you can provide photos.
  (Please do not report sightings prior to May 2013 unless you precisely documented the sighting, including date, specific location and number of whale sharks)