Field work is the heart and soul of any good research project in botany or wildlife ecology. When kids—heck, even most adults—picture a “scientist,” usually one of two images comes to mind. First will be the chemist in a full white ... READ MORE
Category: Natural Resources
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
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
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
Growing Algae to Remove Excess Nutrients With all of the press regarding harmful algal blooms, it is sometimes easy to forget that most algae are good – in fact crucial for the health of our aquatic food webs. Algae also help us breathe, ... READ MORE
Category: Coasts & Marine, Conservation, Natural Resources, UF/IFAS Research, Water, Wildlife
Florida’s farms, ranch and forest industries are taking a lead and calling for deeper exploration of farmers, ranchers, and forest land owners as suppliers of environmental protection as well as of food and fiber. The Florida Climate-Smart ... READ MORE
Category: Coasts & Marine, Conservation, Natural Resources, UF/IFAS Research, Water, Wildlife
Florida's Big Questions As Floridians look for solutions to the state's growing harmful algal bloom problem, a few major questions regarding the causes of these blooms can arise: What are the current sources, fate and transport ... READ MORE
Category: Coasts & Marine, Conservation, Natural Resources, UF/IFAS Research, Water, Wildlife
Productivity in natural systems refers to the amount of biomass produced by living organisms over a given period of time. Estuaries are one of the most productive ecosystems on earth, and freshwater inflows are the single most important determinant ... READ MORE
Category: Coasts & Marine, Natural Resources, Water
On May 30, seventh-grade students from Gulf Coast Academy of Science and Technology braved bands of heavy rain to plant smooth cordgrass along the shoreline of Linda Pedersen Park. With their eager work ethic, they were able to plant everything ... READ MORE
Category: Coasts & Marine, Conservation, Natural Resources, Recreation, UF/IFAS Extension, Water, Wildlife