Category: Coasts & Marine

2022 A Very Strange Rainy Season

by Barbara McAdam
September 28, 2022

Or why average rainfall records do not fully relay the ups and downs of rainy season (nor dry season). As I sit writing this blog we are soaked in rain from a brush with Ian. This rainfall event and the past 10 days of rainy weather have ... READ MORE

Category: , Coasts & Marine, Conservation, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Natural Resources, Water, Wildlife
Tags: Climate Change, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Homestead, South Florida, UF/IFAS Extension

Coral Bleaching

by Ana Zangroniz
September 28, 2022

Basic coral biology Corals are incredible animals that build reefs in the ocean. While they might look like rocks, they are living organisms that require certain conditions in which to live: clean, clear water, warm water, the right amount ... READ MORE

Category: Coasts & Marine, Natural Resources
Tags: Conser, Coral, Florida Sea Grant, Marine Ecosystems, Water

National Estuaries Week – Bay Scallops

by Rick O'Connor
September 23, 2022

We round out National Estuaries Week with an article about yet another marine animal that was once common in lower Pensacola Bay and disappeared. This is one that many local residents would LOVE to see make a return. It is the bay scallop. Many ... READ MORE

Category: Coasts & Marine, Natural Resources
Tags: Florida Sea Grant, National Estuaries Week, Scallops

Oysters and foodborne illness: What you should know

by Tory Moore
September 22, 2022

Each year, consumers eat millions of oysters worldwide, with a significant number of the mollusks grown in the Gulf of Mexico. While illness from eating oysters is rare, it can be fatal. Here, Razieh Farzad, a UF/IFAS and Florida Sea Grant seafood ... READ MORE

Category: Coasts & Marine, Food Safety, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension
Tags: Food, Food Is Our Middle Name, Food Safety, Oyster, Oysters, Seafood

Weekly “What is it?”: National Estuaries Week

by Carrie Stevenson
September 22, 2022

Happy Estuaries Week! Begun in 1988 to educate lawmakers and citizens about the importance of estuaries nationwide, the third week of September celebrates all things estuary. But what is an estuary, exactly? The most frequently cited ... READ MORE

Category: Coasts & Marine, Conservation, Natural Resources, Recreation, Water, Wildlife
Tags: Environmental Education, Estuaries, Weekly What Is It

National Estuaries Week – Horseshoe Crabs

by Rick O'Connor
September 22, 2022

Another creature that was once common in Pensacola Bay, declined, and is trying to make a comeback is the horseshoe crab. Many know about the shallow area in the center of Little Sabine, but you may not know that it was once an island that ... READ MORE

Category: Coasts & Marine, Natural Resources
Tags: Florida Sea Grant, Horseshoe Crabs, National Estuaries Week

National Estuaries Week – Diamondback Terrapins

by Rick O'Connor
September 21, 2022

Another metric of a healthy estuary is the diversity and abundance of fish and wildlife. Estuaries are teeming with a variety of benthic creatures like annelids worms, mollusk, and crustaceans. I have personally collected 101 species of ... READ MORE

Category: Coasts & Marine, Natural Resources
Tags: Diamondback Terrapins, Florida Sea Grant, National Estuaries Week

National Estuaries Week – Habitats

by Rick O'Connor
September 20, 2022

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 Resources
Tags: Estuaries, Florida Sea Grant, National Estuaries Week, Oyster Reefs, Pensacola Bay, Salt Marsh, Seagrass

National Estuaries Week 2022 – Water Quality

by Rick O'Connor
September 19, 2022

When 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
Tags: Estuaries, Florida Sea Grant, National Estuaries Week, Pensacola Bay

Shark Bits: Warm-blooded sharks – the Lamnidae family

by Armando Ubeda
September 15, 2022

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
Tags: Cold-blooded, Ectotherm, Endotherm, Florida Sea Grant, Pgm_Marine, Shark, Shark Bits, SharkBits, Sharks, Warm-blooded

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