You cannot have a healthy estuary without healthy habitats. Estuaries include habitats such as mud flats, sand bottoms, salt marshes, mangrove swamps, oyster reefs, and seagrass meadows. Here in the Pensacola Bay system Florida Sea Grant ... READ MORE
Category: Coasts & Marine, Natural ResourcesWhen I first joined Florida Sea Grant water quality was, and still is, a big issue in the community. Many remember the 1960s and 1970s when fish kills were common, industrial waste was discharged into local waterways, fish were changing sex ... READ MORE
Category: Coasts & Marine, Natural Resources
One of the first science-related things we learn as children at school is that some animals, like birds and mammals, are warm-blooded, while others, such as amphibians, reptiles, and fish, are cold-blooded, also known as ectothermic. Cold-blooded ... READ MORE
Category: Coasts & Marine, Conservation, Natural Resources, Wildlife
Every time I go to the beach, I love to walk along the shoreline to see what may have washed up from the ocean – usually several beautiful shells, oftentimes sargassum seaweed, maybe even part of a crab exoskeleton. Unfortunately, I usually ... READ MORE
Category: Coasts & Marine, Community Volunteers, Conservation
We all know how important oxygen is to all life. It is an element with the atomic number of 8, meaning it has eight protons and eight electrons. It has an atomic mass of 16 indicating that it also has eight neutrons. Oxygen is a gas at ... READ MORE
Category: Coasts & Marine, Natural Resources
What is Florida Friendly Angler? Florida Friendly Angler is a free, online course open to anyone, especially anglers looking to up their game! The course teaches skills and practices that help fish and the environment, a win-win for our ... READ MORE
Category: Coasts & Marine, Conservation, Natural Resources, Recreation, UF/IFAS Extension, Water, Wildlife
In recent weeks there have been reports of large masses of jellyfish along the Gulf Coast. I have actually heard people state “I would rather be in the water with 100 sharks than 100 jellyfish”. Maybe that is true from some. Honestly, ... READ MORE
Category: Coasts & Marine, Natural Resources
Wild Weeds - Weed of the Month St. John's Wort Hypericum tetrapetalum St. John's Wort is an evergreen perennial shrub found in Florida. Blooms typically appear in late spring but can be found throughout the year. Flowers are bright lemon-yellow ... READ MORE
Category: Agriculture, Coasts & Marine, Conservation, Forests, Home Landscapes, Natural Resources, Recreation, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, Water, Wildlife
On first glance at a gopher apple, one might think there were live oak leaves dispersed across the dunes. On closer inspection, though, you’d find individual leaf clusters sprouting right out of the sand. For the majority of the year, ... READ MORE
Category: Coasts & Marine, Natural Resources