There is a world of life on the backs of loggerhead sea turtles, and it’s more abundant and diverse than scientists knew. An international team led by Florida State University researchers found that more than double the number of organisms than previously observed live on the shells of these oceanic reptiles, raising important questions about loggerhead sea turtle ecology and conservation. Recently picked up by Italian Magazine - La Repubblica!! https://www.repubblica.it/dossier/ambiente/biodiversita/2020/06/03/news/quanti_ospiti_sulle_tartarughe-258335327/?ref=RHPPBT-BS-I252749253-C12-P10-S3.4-T1

FSUCML's Dr. Dean Grubbs co-authored a book with Dr. Daniel Abel from Coastal Carolina University. The book is set to Sept. 2020, is titled " Shark Biology and Conservation: Essential Information for Enthusiasts, Educators, Naturalists and Students" -(And anyone else fascinated by these magnificent beasts). Elise Pullen, MSc, also from Coastal Carolina University, created the scientific illustrations for the book with Marc Dando.

Ten years ago, an estimated 200 million gallons of oil flowed into the Gulf of Mexico from a damaged well below the Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig. Scientists and first responders scrambled to predict where the released oil would go and how it would affect the circulation, ecology and biogeochemistry of the Gulf. FSU researchers, including FSUCML's own Dr. Grubbs, were at the forefront of that effort, attracting millions in research dollars to conduct thorough investigations into the crisis and its aftermath.

Dr. Grubbs teamed up with Sharks 4 Kids, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing marine educational materials for students across the world, to create a webinar on deep-sea sharks of the twilight zone. Click the link below to watch!

Read the recent Fisheries article by Koenig, Coleman, & Malinowski about the drawbacks of re-establishing a fishery for the threatened Atlantic Goliath Grouper, including: the loss of nursery habitat, increasingly destructive episodic red tide and cold snap events that decimate juvenile populations, and the effects of mercury contamination on survival. Add to this the human health risk of consuming these mercury-contaminated fishes, and the argument supporting the fishery evaporates.

A plan to protect corals in the Gulf of Mexico is close to becoming a law, drawing cheers from environmental groups who believe leaving the corals alone would help vulnerable ocean ecosystems to grow.

Hundreds of meters below the surface lurks a predator older than the dinosaurs and bigger on average than the great white. This is the story of a group of scientists who came together to achieve the unthinkable: tagging the cryptic bluntnose sixgill #shark in its natural environment using a submarine. This is a product of One Big Wave, produced by #OceanX in partnership with the Moore Charitable Foundation and the Bloomberg Philanthropies Vibrant Oceans Initiative. Research by the Cape Eleuthera Institute and Florida State University Coastal & Marine Lab.

Florida scientists have tagged a deep-sea shark from a submersible, a historic first that took three expeditions, more than 2,000 pounds of bait, custom-built spear guns and over a dozen tries.

Human interest in the marine environment originally focused on the highly productive coastal zone, where food and energy resources were readily available. The deep sea was left in relative peace. Over time, we began to use up our coastal resources and started looking further offshore for unexploited fish stocks and oil reserves. This industry migration precipitated the need to understand the distribution and sensitivities of deep-sea ecosystems to prevent damage from human activities.

When people think of coral reefs, they typically picture warm, clear waters with brightly colored corals and fishes. But other corals live in deep, dark, cold waters, often far from shore in remote locations. These varieties are just as ecologically important as their shallow water counterparts.