Purpose From the moment I joined Florida Sea Grant our community has been concerned with the number of health advisories issued in the Pensacola Bay area. Bayou Chico is our local BMAP waterway (Basin Management Action Plan) which ... READ MORE
Category: Coasts & Marine, Natural Resources, WaterIntroduction Many scientists would agree that one of the countries’ number one water quality issues are excessive nutrients. Excessive nutrients can lead to algal blooms which in turn can reduce dissolved through the process of ... READ MORE
Category: Coasts & Marine, Natural Resources, Water
Dirt in the water doesn’t seem like it should be a big deal. I mean, there’s dirt everywhere, right? The seafloor is made up of sand, muck, or some type of soil—surely it’s natural. But like most things, an excessive amount of something, ... READ MORE
Category: Natural Resources, Water
As a mostly land-locked state with a relatively tiny coastline, going to a university in Alabama to earn a degree in marine biology seems like an unusual choice at first. However, both our Sea Grant Agent, Rick, and I can attest it works ... READ MORE
Category: Coasts & Marine, Natural Resources, Recreation, Water, Wildlife
On any given day, a walk down the Navarre Beach Fishing Pier over the Gulf of Mexico will typically reward the observant visitor with what, for most places, is a rare treat—a sea turtle sighting. Today, on a 30-minute stroll, we saw four ... READ MORE
Category: Coasts & Marine, Conservation, Natural Resources, Water, WildlifeProject Objective: Organize health advisory data collected by the Florida Health Department to determine what percent of samples collected from each body of water requires a health advisory. Health advisories are issued when ... READ MORE
Category: Natural Resources, WaterPart of the 2019 UF IFAS social media survey across Florida found that many Floridians understood how septic systems worked, but fewer understood how sewer systems functioned. This article is going to try and tell you the basics of how sewage ... READ MORE
Category: Coasts & Marine, Natural Resources, WaterHealth advisories are issued by state and local health departments when levels of fecal bacteria become too high for the public to safely enter the water. Sewage can be a source of these fecal bacteria. They can harbor pathogenic organisms ... READ MORE
Category: Natural Resources, Water
Like any Florida nature trail worth its salt, the approach to the Edward Ball Nature Trail on the University of West Florida (UWF) campus includes a sign asking visitors not to feed the alligators. UWF sits along Thompson Bayou, which flows ... READ MORE
Category: Natural Resources, Recreation, Water, Wildlife
It’s peaceful out there. At the end of the boardwalk, you can look over one of the few completely undisturbed shorelines in the Perdido Key area. Almost every time I’ve visited, an osprey or bald eagle has flown past, hunting for its ... READ MORE
Category: Coasts & Marine, Conservation, Forests, Natural Resources, Recreation, Water, Wildlife