News at FSUCML

High School Students Explore Seagrass Responses to Climate Change


Under the advisement of Dr. Sophie McCoy and laboratory technician Penelope Ales, four high school students from various parts of Florida have been exploring the effects of climatic stressors such as fluctuating nutrient levels, low salinity, and water browning on the metabolic functions of Thalassia testudinum, also referred to as turtlegrass.

International Workshop at FSUCML: Antarctic Ecosystem Research Following Ice Shelf Collapse and Iceberg Calving Events


Worldwide publicity surrounding the calving of an iceberg the size of Delaware in July 2017 from the Larsen C Ice Shelf on the eastern side of the Antarctic Peninsula presents a unique and time-sensitive opportunity for research and education on polar ecosystems in a changing climate. The FSUCML will host a workshop that will draw from the large fund of intellectual capital in the US and international Antarctic research communities.

Researchers Discover Critical Clue in the Mystery of Sawfish Mating


For the first time in 17 years of Florida-based research, scientists have discovered a mating ground for the Endangered smalltooth sawfish. During an expedition early April to the shallow-water back-country of Everglades National Park, a research team captured, tagged, and released three adult sawfish (one male and two females) in an area previously known almost exclusively as juvenile sawfish habitat. All three had distinctive lacerations, apparently sustained during mating, that match the pattern of teeth on the animals’ saw-like snouts.

FSUCML scores another scientific first: Dr. Dean Grubbs and colleagues document and assist pregnant sawfish give birth in the wild


Dr. Grubbs described the experience as "the biggest day of my research career!" His team captured a female sawfish who started giving birth. This is the first time a live sawfish birth has been documented in the wild.

Lecture by Dr. Bob Steneck on "The Eastern Caribbean: a laboratory for studying the resilience and management of coral reefs"


Dr. Bob Steneck (Univ. of Maine) has studied Eastern Caribbean coral reefs and how local management of natural areas has had a strong positive effect on them, facilitating their recovery and improving their resilience.