WWF is elated to announce Jasmin Graham, MSc., as winner of the third-annual Conservation Leadership Award. This award aims to give the next generation of conservation leaders access to a global platform and experts, and provides a financial prize that recipients can use to further their professional or educational goals related to their conservation work. Graham is a marine biologist, environmental educator, and social justice activist. She is the CEO and president of the organization Minorities in Shark Sciences.

The largest grouper in the Atlantic Ocean is so big that it can eat a four-foot-long shark in one gulp and makes noises so loud that nearby scuba divers feel an effect much like a sonic boom. These fish, named goliath groupers after the giant of Biblical legend, can reach more than eight feet long and weigh over 800 pounds. But their gargantuan size offers little protection against the proposed lifting of Florida’s fishing ban for this threatened species.

Dr. Grubbs and Dr. Abel's book, "Shark Biology and Conservation" has rave reviews! Check out the awesome write-up on their book on pages 70 - 74 in "Shark News" - a publication put out by IUCN Shark Specialist Group.

Researchers at FSU say fluctuations in nesting activity is common and it’s more important to look at the trend over multiple years rather than data from just one season. “The nest numbers this year are low, but on average the last ten years, the nest numbers have been increasing, from what FWC has been showing us. So that’s really a reflection of the effective conservation measures that have been put in place over the last several decades.” Dr. Matthew Ware, a Florida State University Marine Turtle Research, Ecology, and Conservation researcher, stated.

Dr. Matt Ware of the FSU Marine Turtle Research, Ecology and Conservation group (MTREC) talks with WFSU media about this year's sea turtle nest numbers & the threats they face in the Florida Panhandle.

FSU Ph.D. Candidate Ian Silver-Gorges and faculty member Dr. Jeroen Ingles have published a new study following their interest on the small animals that live on turtle carapaces. After examining what they are and how they get there, the authors were interested in discovering if these organisms can tell them anything about the turtle they are travelling with. Insights surrounding this new question are reflected in their latest paper: Epibionts Reflect Spatial and Foraging Ecology of Gulf of Mexico Loggerhead Turtles (Caretta caretta).

Almost all of the nitrogen that fertilizes life in the open ocean of the Gulf of Mexico is carried into the gulf from shallower coastal areas, researchers from Florida State University found. Michael Stukel, an associate professor in the Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science The work, published in Nature Communications, is crucial to understanding the food web of that ecosystem, which is a spawning ground for several commercially valuable species of fish, including the Atlantic bluefin tuna, which was a focus of the research.

Dr. Jeroen Ingels contributes to the United Nations' Second World Ocean Assessment, leading the chapter on "Abyssal Plains" and contributing to Levin et al. “Continental Slopes and Submarine Canyons”. Check out the assessment and global launch!

Certain brightly colored coral species dotting the seafloor may appear indistinguishable to many divers and snorkelers, but Florida State University researchers have found that these genetically diverse marine invertebrates vary in their response to ocean warming, a finding that has implications for the long-term health of coral reefs.

Sophie McCoy, an assistant professor in the Department of Biological Science, will receive $300,000 over three years to support her research and graduate students through the newly established Tatelbaum Ocean Research Fund. The McCoy Lab conducts a variety of marine research projects ranging from climate change to pollution.