FSUCML in the News

Discovered: Giant Deep-Sea Coral Reef Off Atlantic Coast


FSUCML’s Dr Sandra Brooke is part of a research team that discovered a giant coral reef about 160 miles off of Charleston, South Carolina. The reef is a half mile below the ocean surface and is estimated to run for at least 85 linear miles. These corals could be hundreds of thousands of years old. “It’s kind of thrown my mental image of what the reef out here looks like for a loop” says Dr. Brooke. Dr. Brooke was among team members on Friday-8/24- who dove in the sub Alvin to see this new reef. She stated it was an “incredible” surprise to find so much live coral in the area. A reporter for the Huffington Post is aboard the R/V Atlantis. To read his article, click the title above to learn more about this amazing discovery. Also, to learn more about the ongoing research trip and live blogs from the scientists click here: https://marinelab.fsu.edu/news-around-the-lab/deep-search-2018-deep-sea-exploration

FSU Alumna Publishes Paper on New Shark Species


Former FSU undergraduate and marine certificate student Mariah Pfleger recently published a paper on a newly discovered shark species. The discovery and research on the new species, named Squalus clarkae, also known as Genie's Dogfish, was identified from the Gulf of Mexico and western FSUCML’s Atlantic Ocean. This research work was the basis for Mariah's Master’s thesis at the University of West Florida. FSUCML co-authors include Dr. Dean Grubbs and Dr. Chip Cotton.

Lifeboats For Sawfish?


Research into the smalltooth sawfish in Florida and The Bahamas is gradually revealing important information about this mysterious species. Perhaps the biggest question of all is whether marine national parks can provide sanctuaries in which its population can recover.