Florida is blessed with an abundance of ecologically diverse state parks. Among them are opportunities to hike, camp, and see wildlife lush forests and wide-open savannas or fish, swim, and paddle through pristine bayous and rivers. One ... READ MORE
Category: Conservation, Natural Resources, Recreation, Water, Wildlife
Beachcombing is a fun way to spend time on our local shorelines. While most people are interested in unusual shells or intact sand dollars, other fascinating organisms will wash up in the wrack line as well. One of my favorites is the unassuming ... READ MORE
Category: Coasts & Marine, Natural Resources, Wildlife
In most Florida waterways, stormwater runoff is the primary source of pollution. If you think about what gets washed down the drain during a typical rainstorm, it may include anything from trash and construction dirt to oils, gasoline, and ... READ MORE
Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes, Natural Resources, Water
Somewhere on the road between Okaloosa County and Boca Raton, three guys are driving a van and their equipment all the way back to the Florida Atlantic University (FAU) campus. An engineering professor and two undergraduate students (one ... READ MORE
Category: Coasts & Marine, Natural Resources, Water
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