A Florida crown conch population explosion devastates the oyster populations in Southern St. Johns County. The conchs eat oysters and clams and can destroy entire reefs. In particular, the data collected by graduate student, Hanna Garland, reveals the crown conch racing through oyster beds, especially near Matanzas Inlet. She was looking to find whether the animals were eating oysters that were killed off by something else or if they were directly responsible for the damage. Results proved that it was solely the conchs, without a doubt.
Good news and bad news
FSUCML faculty Christopher Koenig and Felicia Coleman's research, which synthesized data from over 30,000 surveys to map goliath density across space and time, shows that the recovery of the species is concentrated off the southwest coast of Florida. This research as well as Koenig and Coleman's new investigation will provide more insight into the impact and successes of the 1990 goliath grouper fishing ban.