Tag Archives: Florida

Student Assists with Rescue of Stranded Pilot Whales

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On September 1, 2012, the Marine Mammal Conservancy (MMC) provided me with a rare and unforgettable opportunity to assist with the rescue of stranded short-finned pilot whales.  Earlier that day, a pod of 22 pilot whales beached themselves at Avalon State Park in Ft. Pierce, Florida.  MMC rushed to the scene to assist with the mass stranding after receiving a call from Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute (HBOI).

I arrived on the beach later that afternoon and was directed to help transport the whales using a unique dolphin and whale stretcher.  We moved the first of five juvenile pilot whales off the beach to a rescue truck destined for the nearby critical care facility at HBOI.

Pilot Whale Initial Acclimation + Exam sm

Following in my truck, I arrived at the facility to witness veterinarians and experienced staff members wading with the whales in a shallow pool at the center of the facility.  At this stage, the animals had already been weighed, tagged, and provided antibiotics to fight infection.  While absorbing the experience from the side of the pool, the director of the Marine Mammal Research and Conservation Program (MMRC) Steve McCulloch called me into the water.  I was shocked at the offer and couldn’t refuse.  He gave me a brief crash course in animal rehabilitation and subsequently placed one of the orphaned whales in my care once he was confident in my abilities.  I slowly introduced the wild whale (technically adolphin considering its taxonomic classification in the Family Delphinidae) to its new enclosure, while making occasional eye contact and lightly gripping its pectoral fin, hoping to provide a sense of reassurance and commonality.

I spent hours assisting the orphaned whales in the pool, never losing sight of the momentous opportunity I was provided to play an active role in some of the most humble interactions between marine mammals and human beings.  As day turned to night, everyone was called out of the water.  It was time to see if the animals were stable enough to swim by themselves.  To the relief of all, they managed to stay afloat, bringing their blowholes above the surface of the water to breathe periodically.  Although extremely weak from their ordeal, they maintained a loose group and set a slow pace around the perimeter of the pool.

Elated by this small victory, I picked up a clipboard and spent the first night collecting critical data on respiration rates for the veterinarians and rehabilitation experts.  The information was crucial to the rehabilitation effort, because it served as a baseline for evaluating the overall health of the animals in our care and also acted as an early warning sign should the animals’ condition start to deteriorate.

I spent the next two days assisting HBOI in various tasks, all focused on saving the lives of the whales in our care.  These tasks included transporting supplies, sanitizing equipment, maintaining facilities, learning how to prepare diets, and training incoming volunteers to identify the animals and collect data.  I also had the privilege to assist in tube feeding the whales.  “Tubing” involved making special whale “milkshakes” and pouring the mixture down a tube into their stomachs.  This procedure was necessary to ensure the hydration and proper nutrition of the whales, since they had likely never been asked to consume dead fish, much less accept hand feeding.  Take it from my experience, there’s nothing natural about sticking your hand into a wild animal’s mouth, past rows of sharp teeth, but the process was critical to their survival.

Although there was no shortage of learning experiences during my stay at HBOI, learning to put my feelings on hold was perhaps the most helpful.  A stranding is no time to allow emotions to get the best of your judgment and professionalism.  Keeping this in mind, I was able to effectively absorb and retain information, complete all tasks with equal motivation, and take a measured approach to an emergency.

It was a sincere privilege to work with the remarkably selfless group of animal experts and volunteers of MMC, HBOI, and other rescue groups in what became an inspiring and life-changing event.  Together, we saved the lives of the pilot whales in our care, and thereby created an everlasting bond between animals and the human beings that reached out to help them in a selfless act of dedication.

 By: Ethan Kleinschmidt, MPS Graduate Student

Masters of Professional Science: Marine Mammal Science
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White Shark Sighted Off Florida – Time to Cue “That” Music Once Again

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Earlier this week, a group of Fort Pierce spearfishermen stumbled upon a rare occurrence – a white shark (the true common name actually omits the ‘great’ part) patrolling the warm waters of Florida.

White sharks have perhaps the widest global range (the habitat they can persist in) of any shark species, largely because this species is more or less “warm-blooded.” The white shark is in the Family Lamnidae, a group of speedy and robust predatory sharks that includes the makos, threshers, and porbeagles. These species are superb swimmers, and have a relatively higher metabolism due to their warmer internal temperature. For this reason, they are generally always on the move and hunting speedy prey.

While a few white sharks are spotted off Florida and the Keys each year, seeing them in the summer is quite a rare event, mainly because the warmer water temperatures can actually be energetically costly for warm-blooded species (where they would need to keep raising their metabolic rate).

Furthermore, white sharks don’t exclusively feed on marine mammals like seals. They actually have a wide range of food items that includes bony fishes like tuna and jacks, they can switch prey with seasonal changes, and recent research suggests that may even utilize stalking and scavenging (on whales) as a feeding strategy. There aren’t many large marine mammals off Florida in the summer, so it’s possible this species was passing through while stalking spawning schools of game fishes.

White sharks are among the most publicized and well-studied species of shark in the world. And while they are certainly a very “sexy” species, they are truly magnificent predators. The most intriguing thing about them is that they are still keeping us guessing – still surprising the greater research community as new insights on their biology and ecology develop. And while the discussion of “danger” surrounding this species is a common thing, I think ocean conservation in general can benefit from avoiding the mention of its falsified mythology. Therefore, my main question is this: will a news story or the journalism community ever be able to resist mentioning the movie Jaws when a shark is sighted?

One thing is for certain – I would have loved to be on that boat. And while our research team has actually encountered and tagged mako sharks (a close relative of the white shark) in Florida waters, I speak for all of us when I say that we are still holding out for an encounter like this.

-Austin Gallagher
PhD Student, Research Assistant
RJ Dunlap Marine Conservation Program
Abess Center for Ecosystem Science and Policy
www.austingallagher.com

Tropical Storm Debby: Expect More Rain

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Tropical Storm Debby formed on June 23rd, making it the earliest date in the Atlantic for the 4th named storm, breaking the previous record set by Dennis on July 5th during the infamous 2005 season. It was slow to get organized and was an area of interest since about June 18 in the western Caribbean Sea, before drifting across the Yucatan Pensinsula, and finally reaching tropical storm status in the central Gulf of Mexico. Since then, its motion has been slow and unpredictable owing to weak steering currents, and is now located just 80 miles from the northwest Florida coast.

Tropical Storm Debby remains disorganized with very little deep convection near the center, but as history has taught us, even a weak tropical storm is capable of being destructive.

By far, the biggest issue associated with Debby is the rainfall, as expected. Parts of the Florida panhandle have received nearly 25″ of rain in the past few days (much of that came in the past day), but the bulk of Florida has been hit with 6″ or more. To add to that, an additional 3-6″ is expected over northeastern Florida in the coming few days.

As of 8am EDT today, Tropical Storm Debby has peak sustained winds of 40kts and a 991mb central pressure. It’s centered about 85 miles west of Cedar Key, FL and drifting east at 3kts. It is expected to come ashore on Wednesday morning between Apalachicola and Tampa as a tropical storm.

Tropical Storm Debby’s pre-storm path is indicated in dashes, while the forecast path is dotted.

Again, the biggest threat will be additional heavy rain, and the exact timing and location of landfall makes little difference. As far as storm surge goes, some areas in western Florida could see up to 6′ above normal tidal levels, particularly in Waccasassa Bay, Withlacoochee Bay, Crystal Bay, and Homosassa Bay. You can find additional details and maps of storm surge products at the National Hurricane Center website.

Have questions about Tropical Storm Debby or other Hurricane related topics? Leave them in the comments section below.

Brian McNoldy
Senior Research Associate
& Author of Tropical Atlantic Update
Follow Brian on Twitter: http://twitter.com/BMcNoldy

Do’s & Don’ts For Sea Turtle Nesting Season

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Sea turtle nesting season begins March 1 on Florida’s east coast. Loggerhead Marinelife Center (LMC) patrols 9.8 miles of beach in Juno Beach, Jupiter and Tequesta, where 12% of the state’s sea turtle nests were laid last year. The organization’s team of biologists, surveys the beaches each morning during nesting season, from March 1 to October 31, counting crawls and nests, and documenting hatch success for the three species of sea turtles that nest on local beaches: greens, leatherbacks, and loggerheads.

Hatchling Loggerhead sea turtle

Here are some nesting season “Do’s & Don’ts”

Do:
• Throw away foreign objects and debris left behind on the beach
• Fill in holes in the sand which may obstruct a sea turtle’s path to and from the ocean
• Observe a nesting sea turtle from a distance from behind
• Look out for disoriented hatchlings on trails and roads near the beach
• Keep your Lights Out near the beach or install sea turtle-friendly lighting
• Bring weak or confused hatchlings to LMC
Don’t:
• Don’t interact with or disrupt a nesting sea turtle
• Don’t use lighting on the beach at night including flash photography
• Don’t touch hatchlings on their way to the ocean
• Don’t take any action for empty egg shells, or exposed, un-hatched eggs
• Don’t harm or harass sea turtles, their nests or hatchlings
• Don’t use shovels to dig on the beach during nesting season

2011 Stats:
On 9.8 miles of beach in Juno, Jupiter, and Tequesta in 2011, Loggerhead Marinelife Center biologists counted:
• 23,349 sea turtle crawls
• 9,856 total nests
• 7,674 loggerhead nests
• 1,904 green nests
• 278 leatherback nests
• 125 individual leatherbacks encountered
• 466 individual leatherbacks tagged since 2001

Biologists estimate over 1,000,000 eggs were produced and over 400,000 hatchlings reached the water on that same 9.8 mile stretch of shore.

What is your favorite species of Sea Turtle? Comment below.

Brittany Jo Miller, Sr. Coord., Marketing & Communications
Loggerhead Marinelife Center
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RSMAS Science Highlights of 2011

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RSMAS was a busy place for cutting-edge science this year. Here’s a look back at the top research studies that made headlines in 2011 and the latest science and education from Virginia Key and beyond.

Dr. Neil Hammerschlag’s study of one hammerhead shark’s lone journey to New Jersey made headlines in early 2011 as did Dr. Lisa Beal’s ongoing research on the Agulhas Current and its link to global change change.

Coral reefs made news this year, including from a newly published study by Dr. Diego Lirman that showed Florida’s reefs cannot endure a ‘cold snap’ and from a study of Papua New Guinea reefs by Dr. Chris Langdon that suggests ocean acidification may reduce reef diversity.

 

Before the year closed, Dr. Shimon Wdowinski presented a new study at the AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco that showed tropical cyclones could trigger earthquakes.

RSMAS scientists and student were part of many new and ongoing research expeditions. Researchers and students from RSMAS joined an international team on a six-month field campaign in the Indian Ocean, known as DYNAMO. They are studying how tropical weather brews over the region and moves eastward along the equator, with reverberating effects around the entire globe. Follow the ongoing work from the scientists.

Meanwhile, it was a busy end of the year for Lisa Beal and her research team who embarked on a month-long expedition to the waters off of South Africa to understand how one of the world’s strongest ocean currents – the Agulhas Current – is both affected by climate change and also has an effect on climate change.

On the academic side of RSMAS life, the Masters of Professional Science program was in full swing this year and the newly acquired Broad Key Research Station welcomed its first cohort of students to study the coral reef ecosystems of the Florida Keys. Finally, joint degrees in law and marine affairs was launched at UM to provide students with a unique educational opportunity to tackle environmental issues.

As 2011 comes to a close, RSMAS faculty, researchers and students are looking forward to another busy and exciting year in 2012 filled with new scientific discoveries and educational opportunities.

Tell us about your research plans for 2012.

One Tiny Fish’s Struggle for Survival

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The most important fish in the sea is facing an uphill battle for survival.

The Atlantic menhaden—a type of herring—is highly sought after by both fish and fisherman. Menhaden, also known as “bunker” or “pogy” to many anglers, is being fished at unsustainable rates and its population has plunged down below 10 percent of historic levels.

RSMAS Marine Biology & Fisheries Professor Jerry Ault is worried about these little plankton-eating fish and the ripple effect their dwindling numbers could send through the entire U.S. Atlantic coast marine ecosystem.

The coastal migration of menhaden schools intersects with the movements—and stomachs—of many larger and more highly valued predators. In Florida, the “Silver King” (Atlantic tarpon), king mackerel, sharks, cobia, and birds like brown pelicans, bald eagles, and ospreys, as well as Royal and Sandwich terns all rely upon these tiny fish to fuel their migrations.

“Wherever they travel, Atlantic menhaden feed on plankton, converting it into fatty, high-nutrient tissue that larger fish then readily consume to fuel their own migrations,” Ault explains. “All of these larger fish need the rich menhaden flesh for sustenance and reproductive power.”

In Chesapeake Bay, they are the primary diet for striped bass, bluefish and weakfish. As they head south for the winter, they cross paths with Atlantic tarpon off the Florida coast. When they head north again in late spring and summer, as far as the waters off Cape Cod, they become prey to bluefin tuna as well as many other ocean giants.

“If allowed to continue unchecked, the unsustainable fishing of menhaden could create a domino effect that cascades throughout east coast fisheries, potentially forcing the collapse of not only this fishery, but also other economically critical fisheries,” says Ault.

More of these tiny fish are caught per ton than any other fish on the East Coast, all for their rich, nutritious meat. Hundreds of millions of menhaden are hauled in annually, ground up, and reduced to fish meal and oil for human dietary supplements, such as like omega-3 fatty acid pills or processed into pet foods, fertilizers, and feed for agricultural animals, as well as farm-raised fish.

During a critical meeting in November, Ault urged the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), the inter-governmental body that manages the fishery and sets fishing levels, to support the science to better protect the small but mighty fish that plays a vital role in keeping our oceans healthy.

In an overwhelming vote of 14 to 3, the commission took the first step by agreeing to reduce harvest of Atlantic menhaden by 37 percent compared to 2010 levels.

“The action by the commission sets limits on the fishery and with the new reference points they adopted over the next few years the amount of menhaden left in the ocean will quadruple,” said Ault.

Watch this video to learn more about Ault’s fisheries research in the Dry Tortugas.

–Annie Reisewitz
Follow Annie on Twitter @annelore