Weekly News Digest from Mote

Media contact information during Labor Day weekend:

Mote Marine Laboratory's research and administration offices will be closed Monday, Sept. 2 for Labor Day. If you need immediate assistance with a media query during the Labor Day weekend, please contact:

• Hayley Rutger, 941-374-0081, hrutger@mote.org
  

• Nadine Slimak, 941-302-4997, nadines@mote.org
  

The Aquarium at Mote Marine Laboratory is open from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. 365 days per year, including all holidays. Have a great weekend!

-Mote's Communications Team

Sea Turtle Released by Mote on Lido Key

"Farfalle," a loggerhead sea turtle rehabilitated at Mote Marine Laboratory, reaches the surf guided by caregivers from Mote. Mote staff beside Farfalle: Paul Hillbrand (grey shirt) and Lynne Byrd (blue shirt).

A sea turtle rescued from entanglement in a crab trap and treated by Mote Marine Laboratory was returned to sea by Mote caregivers this morning, Aug. 30 from Lido Beach.

The 163-pound adult female loggerhead sea turtle, nicknamed “Farfalle” raised her head and eyed Mote caregivers the crowd of well wishers before crawling down the beach and swimming off into the surf.

Farfalle has been in treatment at Mote since May 22, when she was found entangled in a crab trap about a mile offshore of Siesta Key Public Beach. Members of the public reported the turtle to Mote’s Stranding Investigations Program, a 24-hour response service.

The crab trap rope around Farfalle’s neck caused a deep laceration. Entanglement in rope, nets, monofilament fishing lines and other marine debris is a common problem for marine animals in local waters and can lead to serious injury or death for dolphins, manatees and sea turtles.

Mote staff disentangled Farfalle and brought her to Mote’s Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Hospital — one of Mote’s nationally recognized treatment facilities for sick and injured marine life. She received fluid therapy, food, antibiotics and excellent care until she was medically cleared for release.

Here are some ways the public can help sea turtles like Farfalle:

• Whenever possible, avoid leaving fishing gear and other debris in our waters. Stow your trash (especially cigarette butts and plastic) and recycle or dispose of it in a closed container on shore.
• Make sure your fishing line is in good condition to help reduce breakage.
• Use corrodible hooks. These hooks are designed to rust away and are less likely to harm sea turtles and other marine life.
• To report a stranded or injured dolphin, whale or sea turtle in Sarasota or Manatee county waters, please call Mote’s Stranding Investigations Program's 24-hour pager: 941-988-0212. If you see a stranded or dead manatee anywhere in state waters or a 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).
• Make a donation online to support Mote’s rescue and rehabilitation programs at mote.org/donate.

International Coral Project Breaks Record, Restores Reefs with Help from Mote

Mote Marine Laboratory staff biologist Cory Walter installs a coral nursery platform in Curacao during a project led by the SECORE Foundation (credit Mote Marine Laboratory).

An international coral-conservation team collected record numbers of coral offspring this week in Curacao to be grown for reef restoration, with help from Mote Marine Laboratory scientists, who plan to carry forward the project’s innovative techniques with corals in the Florida Keys.

The Curacao project, organized by the nonprofit SECORE Foundation (SExual COral REproduction), involves collecting coral sperm and eggs, helping the eggs become fertilized and develop into larvae that settle and begin growing in a lab. Then SECORE participants raise the resulting young corals in a special nursery and plant them onto natural reefs off Curacao, a Dutch-governed island in the Caribbean. 

Due to threats such as climate change, ocean acidification, pollution and disease, live corals in the Caribbean cover an average area of just 8 percent of the reef, down from more than 50 percent in the 1970s, according to a report from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature in September 2012. 

Scientists from Mote, a world-class nonprofit marine research laboratory, conduct groundbreaking studies on coral reef biology, ecology, health and disease, with a focus on the Florida Keys and U.S. Virgin Islands and with collaborations in Israel and other nations. Mote, based in Sarasota, Fla., has a Tropical Research Laboratory on Summerland Key dedicated to coral reef research, conservation and restoration. Mote scientists are continually seeking new ways to understand, conserve and restore reefs — especially by participating in collaborations such as SECORE, one of the leading coral conservation initiatives of scientists and aquarium professionals from around the world.

On Saturday, Aug. 25 through Monday, Aug. 27, Mote scientists dived with SECORE colleagues to gather offspring released by elkhorn coral (Acropora palmata) — a species deemed threatened by the U.S. government and endangered in Curacao.

On Monday, Aug. 26, the corals spawned big-time, helping the team of divers break records:

“I've never seen anything like this,” said Dr. Kim Ritchie, manager of the Marine Microbiology Program at Mote.  “We collected over 1.5 million eggs from the elkhorn coral.”

The scientists used netted tents to gather the pinkish egg and sperm bundles released by the adult corals. Later, in a lab at Curacao Sea Aquarium, project scientists separated eggs and sperm and combined them again at specific concentrations. By keeping conditions just right, the team helped nearly 100 percent of the eggs become fertilized.

After each batch of eggs is fertilized, the resulting coral larvae settle onto small tiles, which are later moved to a coral nursery behind the Sea Aquarium. SECORE participants raise the “baby” corals and, after a year or two, plant them onto natural reefs. Mote scientists including Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Erinn Muller and Cory Walter have been assisting with plantings and with preparing nursery areas for elkhorn coral.

“It has been great to work with the SECORE participants and learn from one another,
said Muller, a Mote Postdoctoral Fellow. “Many of them are aquarists who are very good at raising corals, getting just the right water conditions, plumbing and setup for fertilization and settlement.  In turn, our team from Mote has a lot to offer from the perspective of our ecological research with corals in the wild.”

Currently, Mote scientists raise fragments of staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis) — another threatened species — in nurseries, and they have transplanted thousands onto reefs in the Florida Keys. So far, Mote has raised these nursery corals through asexual reproduction — producing new coral colonies from adult fragments. In the future, they hope to add techniques from their successful collaboration with SECORE, combining coral sperm and eggs to produce young through sexual reproduction.

“This would be the best way to select for corals that are resilient against environmental change, since you start with not just one fragment but with millions of embryos,” Ritchie said. “Being able to rear coral larvae this way also empowers research on the health and disease of these threatened species. We would like to rear larvae for studying how beneficial bacteria enhance coral settlement and how local stressors affect coral larvae.”

About Mote Marine Laboratory
Founded in 1955, Mote Marine Laboratory is an independent, nonprofit 501(c)3 research organization based in Sarasota, Fla., with field stations in eastern Sarasota County, Charlotte Harbor and the Florida Keys. Donations to Mote are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. 
Mote is dedicated to today’s research for tomorrow’s oceans with an emphasis on world-class research relevant to conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity, healthy habitats and natural resources. Showcasing this research is The Aquarium at Mote, open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 365 days a year. Learn more at www.mote.org. 

About SECORE Foundation
SECORE is a global network of scientists, public aquarium professionals and local stakeholders. We use a multidisciplinary strategy combining research, education, outreach and active reef restoration for the conservation of coral reefs. Learn more at http://www.secore.org.

Oct. 18
Mote's Night of Fish, Fun & Fright to Feature "Icky-ology Lab"

Buoys and ghouls of all ages are invited to dress up in costume for a Night of Fish, Fun and Fright from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 18, 2013, at Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium.

Discover creatures from the deep in a safe and fun trick-or-treating zone and explore “Dr. Frankin-Fish's Icky-ology Lab" (recommended for children 8 and older).

Unearth shark teeth in “Coffin Creek”, enjoy deep sea delights in the “Diner of the Dead" and take part in an education program geared toward ages 2-5. And don’t miss our signature underwater pumpkin carving in our spooktacular shark tank!

Tickets are available for $6 per person online through Oct. 16. Tickets at the door are $8 per person for Mote Members or $10 per person for nonmembers. (Children age 3 and younger are admitted free.) More information: www.mote.org/halloween

Charlotte Harbor Photo Release Fishing Tournament

The Charlotte Harbor Photo Release Fishing Tournament will take place Sept. 20 and 21 at Laishley Crab House, 50 Laishley Court in Punta Gorda. 

Beyond Borders Outfitters and the C.A.R.E. Auxiliary Society are partnering to present this inaugural fishing event officiated by Captain Rhett Morris. The tournament will benefit victims of violent crimes receiving shelter and services at The Center for Abuse and Rape Emergencies, Inc. and will promote awareness about conservation and protection of the harbor fishery. 

Tournament winners will be judged on an Inshore Slam, with the largest combined snook, redfish and trout, as well as a winner for the largest of each species. This is a photo release tournament with catch-and-release fishing only. Photos will be broadcast throughout the Crab House during the event. Spectators and anglers may participate in the auction and raffle.

Proceeds from the tournament will be used to help victims and survivors of domestic abuse and sexual assault and to fund preventive education focused on creating healthy relationships and life choices.  At the same time, anglers on the harbor will keep sport fishing alive while highlighting the need to preserve nature’s balance with clean and healthy ecosystems on our waterways.

To support sustainable fisheries, scientists from Mote Marine Laboratory will assist with collecting and managing data about fish caught and released during this tournament, and they will contribute tournament prizes and share knowledge about their research and conservation activities with participating captains. Mote scientists study snook, tarpon, sharks and other key species in Charlotte Harbor, often working in collaboration with anglers.

The C.A.R.E. Auxiliary Society provides fundraising support for C.A.R.E. which is a 501 (3) (c) organization.  Beyond Borders Outfitters offers world class saltwater fishing trips in Charlotte Harbor and Boca Grande Pass.

Event contacts:
Kim Fender, C.A.R.E. Auxiliary Volunteer: 863-990-1765 (cell), carequeen1@gmail.com, www.carefl.org

Mark Your Calendar: September
Good eats, great cause at Columbia

Dining out can satisfy much more than your appetite — eat at Columbia Restaurant during September and five percent of your check will support Mote or another nonprofit of your choice. The 16^th Annual Columbia Restaurant Community Harvest builds on 15 years of raising more than $1.3 million for Florida nonprofit organizations.

Columbia Restaurant is open from 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and from 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 365 days a year at 411 St. Armands Circle, Sarasota.

Other Columbia locations participating in Community Harvest will include: Tampa’s Historic Ybor City, the Historic District in St. Augustine, Sand Key on Clearwater Beach, Central Florida's town of Celebration, the Columbia Café on the Riverwalk in Tampa and the Columbia Restaurant Café at Tampa International Airport. For more information about the Community Harvest program, including a list of participating nonprofits and restaurant locations, visit www.columbiarestaurant.org or contact Columbia Restaurant in Sarasota at 941-388-3987.

Mote needs your help to continue our mission of advancing marine science, education, and outreach. Visit www.mote.org for more food for thought.