Conservation of Marine Resources

Congratulations Jennifer Micklewright

2011-05-15T12:44:00.001-07:00

Congratulations to Jennifer Micklewright on her BA degree in Biological Sciences. Jennifer was a senior honors research student in my lab and a three semester member of the Conservation of Marine Resources creative inquiry team.

Jenn's research project was to determine the influence of salinity on Hematodinium infection on blue crabs. She collected and processed blood samples from over 400 individuals collected in the ACE Basin NERR.

Jenn extracted both host and parasite DNA from preserved blood and amplified them for species-specific genetic markers. She found that diseased crabs were most likely found in high salinity locations, in the Combahee River, in December, and in years with the lowest river discharge.

She presented her research at the 2011 Benthic Ecology Meeting and the 2011 Focus on Creative Inquiry Symposium. Her thesis research was supported by funds from the SC Sea Grant Consortium, the Calhoun Honors Society, and the Creative Inquiry program.

For a PDF version of Jenn's research poster, click here.

Congratulations Anna Gurley

2011-05-15T12:25:00.001-07:00

Congratulations to Anna Gurley on receiving her BS in Biological Sciences from Clemson University. Anna was a senior independent study student in my lab and a four semester member of the Conservation of Marine Resources team.

Anna's senior thesis research was on the Influence of Salinity on Juvenile Blue Crab Growth and Survival. Anna raised crabs at three salinities and measured the rate of molting and mortality over a three month period.

She found that blue crabs had similar growth for all salinities but that crabs had highest survival in 20 psu over either 35 psu or 5 psu.

She presented her research results at the 2011 Benthic Ecology Meeting in Mobile, AL and at the 2011 Focus on Creative Inquiry Symposium. Anna's research was supported by funds from the SC Sea Grant Consortium, the Creative Inquiry Program, and the Council for Undergraduate Research.

For a PDF version of Anna's research poster, click here.

2011 Benthic Ecology Meeting

2011-05-15T12:09:00.000-07:00

The 2011 Benthic Ecology Meeting was held in Mobile, AL. Our entire lab, Kirk, Katherine, Kylie, Jenn and Anna attended and presented research.

The meeting was held in the old town section of Mobile a short walk from Mobile Bay.

As is often the case, the meeting happened to be over the St. Paddy's Day celebration including green fountains, a parade and, of course, green beer.

The banquet was held at a marsh-side restaurant with a giant crayfish boil.

Did I mention the mountain of crayfish?

As the chief crustacean biologist in the group, I was expected to demonstrate the proper peeling technique.

Katherine caught on quickly, much to her own delight.

Kylie and Anna did too, but couldn't take it too seriously.

Jenn found it messy but was able to keep up with the rest of us.

Overall, the Childress lab had a great meeting for both science and seafood.

UNCW Lab Seeks New Graduate Students in Ecology of Coral Reefs

2010-09-13T13:41:00.000-07:00

The Pawlik lab will be recruiting one or two new MS/PhD students for Spring or Fall 2011 to study the ecology of Caribbean coral reefs. Our research program, funded by NSF and NOAA, includes research components in the Bahamas, southern Caribbean, and the Florida Keys, and has included missions in NOAA’s Aquarius habitat. More information about our research is at this website: http://people.uncw.edu/pawlikj/index.html

Applicants should be highly motivated and independent, with an excellent academic record, references, and past field research experiences using SCUBA. More information about the UNCW graduate program and about expectations of graduate students in the Pawlik lab can be found at this website: http://people.uncw.edu/pawlikj/prosStudent.html

Focus on Creative Inquiry

2010-04-21T02:49:00.001-07:00

Last week's focus on creative inquiry symposium was very interesting event. It was a great chance for all of the creative inquiry teams at Clemson to get together and showcase their hard work for the semester. There were over 100 posters and they all covered a unique topic. This symposium was an excellent chance to ask questions of one another and learn about other areas of research. For instance, I learned from a poster about pain thresholds and how it relates to genders as well as importance of body parts. Although there were many other posters I spent most of my time at the event discussion our poster. Many people were interested to learn that fishermen are missing the areas of highest crab abundance even though they are inside the legal areas. I explained how our data showed that fishermen base their fishing effort on salinity and that crab abundance is also based on salinity. I was often asked why fishermen are unable to effectively fish for crabs if they have the proper methods for finding them and I explained how we believe that salinity and crab abundance in the rivers has changed dramatically over the past few years in response to the drought and then recent rains. Discussing our poster was very interesting, but it wasn't until I walked around and talked to other teams that I gained a full perspective of the event. This was a great opportunity to learn about hundreds of different research projects going on in different fields all across campus and to be able to take in such a vast amount of information in one place was an incredible opportunity and I am glad I was able to take part in it.

Why do scientists have to have meetings?

2010-04-20T17:49:00.000-07:00

The Benthic Ecology meeting was my first time witnessing so many people gathered to share science. I though it was pretty awesome to have that many people in one place who were all doing research that would help our understanding of the benthic world. After hearing quite a few speakers I began to question why there needed to be a physical meeting of scientists. Why couldn't everyone just share their research electronically. It seemed to me that all the travel and use of resources was unnecessary and wasteful. I gained a different perspective on this dilemma after attending the film festival at the meeting. Some of these films were quite good and also quite disturbing. The combination of music and video images really spoke to me in a way that posters, talks, numbers, and graphs couldn't. I left the film festival with an intensified frustration and conviction that I had to do something about the environmental problems that exist on our Earth (now, a month later, I still have the same intense conviction). After the film festival, it occurred to me that scientists have to gather and speak to each other in person to share things that just can't be shared any other way. I realized that it will take more than logic and reason to inspire the change necessary to take care of our environment. This is true of scientists and the general population. That's why scientists have to have meetings.

Busy week at Bennetts Point

2010-04-13T10:42:00.000-07:00

The time we spent at the Bennetts Point field station in the ACE basin this Spring Break was definitely an interesting experience.

Most of the time was spent on the boat setting out and pulling up crab traps.

Abby and I also slaved during a gnat storm to put plastic Vexar mesh around new crab pots to prevent the smaller crabs from escaping. Sometimes research materials require a little DIY.

Once the crabs were caught, we had to process them in the lab. On the day that the middle of the Ashepoo was sampled, we had to measure, weigh, extract hemolymph, and photograph over a hundred crabs.

Frank, Adam, and I also worked with SC DNR on the SCORE project. We bagged up a trailer of oyster shells, and added them to an oyster reef not too far from the field station. The folks from DNR said that since the first bags were put in place, they could definitely tell a difference in the number of live oysters that had been recruited to the site, and the reduced erosion of the marsh grasses behind the reef.

seashores and sunsets.

2010-04-09T18:46:00.000-07:00

This year, instead of heading down go the Florida panhandle to get a tan and drink margaritas, I spent my spring break on the Carolina coast with the rest of the CMR team. Our first stop was the University of North Carolina at Wilmington where we attended the 2010 Benthic Ecology Meeting. This was my first experience at an academic conference. Not only did we get the chance to hear Dr. Childress, Kirk, and T.J. discuss their research during the presentations, but we were also granted the opportunity to listen to many other captivating speakers discuss their respective areas of research. Academics from all over the country, as well as a few from nations abroad, had made the trip to Wilmington, North Carolina that weekend in March to discuss the ecology of benthic marine life.

A few of my favorite parts of the BEM were the evening poster sessions, the incredible hors d'œuvres and the friendly bar tenders, and the first annual marine ecology film festival. From a disturbingly intense, yet enlightening film about the harsh realities of shark finning, to a short video filmed in Africa which taught us about the mysterious morymid electric fish known as Chisembe, to a remake of the popular music video by T.I. called “What Invert You Like,” the film festival included several extraordinary original pieces, not to mention a few short films submitted by Dr. Childress and Kirk. However, for me, the best part of the weekend would have to have been the nights we spent out bowling with the group, and especially, the banquet cruise in historic

downtown Wilmington. Watching the sun set from the top deck of the Henrietta with my new friends was the perfect way to end a wonderful weekend.

I stayed in Wilmington an extra night to visit an old friend, then left bright and early Monday morning to head down the coast and rejoin everyone in Charleston. It was the perfect day for such a drive, and I stopped to take a walk on the beach more than once along the way. When I finally made it to ACE Basin, just south of Charleston, my teammates were relaxing on the balcony at the field station overlooking Mosquito Creek, a tributary of the Ashepoo River. This was my first time participating first hand in field research. However, we all spent the first night playing cards and getting to know each other just a little bit better. Abby and I, “Team A,” were up by 8:00 am the next morning to go out on the boat and set traps on the upper Ashepoo with Kirk. It was a little bit chilly out on the river that day, but we enjoyed every minute of it. In between setting crab pots and collecting data at each station, we had a picnic out on the dock. Abby and I managed to catch about seven crabs that day, although at first it seemed like most of our traps were coming up empty. Back at the lab, the rest of the team joined us to assist in measuring and photographing the blue crabs, as well as extracting a sample of hematocrit

from each specimen. It was an experience unlike any other. On my last night at ACE Basin, we grilled hot dogs and hamburgers out by the fire pit. And the next morning after assisting Dr. Childress and a few of the girls with zip-tying Kevlar mesh to a few new crab traps, I left ACE Basin. I believe that it was a very successful trip, and I definitely wouldn’t have traded my spring break for another visit to Panama City for anything. On my drive home to Charlotte, I thought of all the wonderful memories I had made on my last spring break as an undergraduate.

Catching Crabs

2010-04-07T08:11:00.000-07:00

This year's spring break was definitely different then any other spring break trip I have ever had. At first, I was extremely unsure of how the week was going to go. This all changed on our way to Wilmington. As Alyssa already said, the conditions on the bus were not the greatest, but it was a great opportunity to bond with the people in our group. Once we actually got to the Benthic Ecology Meeting, I was assured that the week wouldn't be boring.

The first morning, we learned a lot about blue crabs, which was really interesting since the rest of our spring break would be spent catching crabs. I really liked the speaker from Texas that talked about the effect of insecticides and pesticides on blue crabs. Although the talks were interesting, my favorite part was the film festival. Some of the films were serious, and some of them were hilarious. The best film was the rap about invertebrates. I was amazed at how much I actually remembered from my invertebrate biology class! After the film festival, we spent our night bowling, which was definitely an interesting experience since I never broke a score of 100.

As the Benthic Ecology wrapped up, we all prepared for a much different atmosphere in the ACE Basin. Whenever anyone asked me what my plans for spring break were, I would simply respond with "catching crabs." This obviously received some interesting responses. But down at the ACE Basin, this is precisely what we did. Rebecca and I were on a team that went out on the upper portion of the Ashepoo River. It was freezing cold when the boat was moving, but not too bad when we were sitting still. The morning consisted of setting out the crab pots, surveying the water, and a picnic at the bacteria-infested landing. Later in the afternoon, we went back to get the crab pots, which were really hard to get out of the water. I think we caught 7 crabs total, naming them as we caught them. Once we got all of the pots back up, we went back to the lab to take all their measurements. I think my favorite part was extracting the hematocrit from the crabs. Although, we didn't catch many crabs on my day, a lot more were caught throughout the week. Overall, I think it was a very successful trip. I learned a lot more about catching crabs then I ever thought I would, and I would definitely do it again.

Benthic Ecology Meeting

2010-04-06T20:35:00.000-07:00

Our journey to Wilmington, NC began with six hours in a huge white van with absolutely no circulation. While everyone in the front of the van was freezing, those of us in the back row were sweating from the lack of air/ sticking to the seat. Despite the heat, I got to know some of my fellow research teammates very well. Our voyage in the van began with being quizzed by TJ on biology questions for a middle school class. Sounds like a nerd fest, right? Let's be honest, why else would we all choose to go to the Benthic Ecology Meeting if we weren't a little nerdy?!

Once we arrived in Wilmington, I honestly couldn't be happier for the air conditioning in our hotel. It was amazing! We woke at 7 a.m. the next morning for a full day of talks. These talks ranged anywhere from blue crabs to sea grass to predatory behavior. I'm a little biased when I say that all the talks done by Clemson (Dr. Childress, Kirk and TJ) were some of my favorites. There was a really good talk on explaining how alligators are apex predators in marine environments. I was also really engaged in all of the coral reef restoration talks since we had talked about them a lot in class.

My favorite part of the Benthic Ecology Meeting was the film fest. To be able to see these ecosystems working in a video was incredible. The most moving film I saw was one on shark finning. This global issue really hits home to me. I absolutely love sharks. I've been scuba diving with numerous species on several occassions and they're awesome animals. Seeing the shark finning industry unfold in front of me was completely eye opening. My goal in life is to save as many species as I can; so to see animals that I love so dearly being chopped to pieces and then thrown back into the water to die was really upsetting. I hope that film reached all of the other biologists in the audience as well so we can do something to protect the few shark species that are left.

There was also an extremely interesting film on the chisembe. The chisembe is found in Lake Malawi in Africa. These fish hunt by emitting electrical pulses from a "battery-like" organ found near their tale. The impulses project a shadow of their prey, commonly cichlids, onto their body so they know where to find them. The chisembe also modify their electrical pulses when a member of their same pack is nearby. The pulses will become synchronized and be in short bursts that go back and forth between the two fish.

The amount of information I took from this meeting is incredible. I learned so much on several different aspects of marine biology. I got to know everyone in my class pretty well, and we had several nights of bonding at the sketchiest bowling alley ever. Needless to say, I think I can go a few years before I feel the need to go bowling again. The last night ended with a beautiful dinner cruise, dancing, and Clemson taking home two poster awards. All in all, it was a fun and very valuable trip that I can't wait to (hopefully) take again next year.

Clemson SCORE

2010-04-06T17:10:00.000-07:00

Over Spring Break Clemson's Conservation of Marine Resources team traveled to ACE Basin National Estuarine Research Reserve. In addition to working with Blue Crabs, those of us in 494 worked with SC DNR and their South Carolina Oyster Restoration Enhancement (SCORE) program. Oysters work as filters by improving water quality, provide habitat to fishes and invertebrates, and protect shorelines by controlling erosion. SC DNR was kind enough to provide us with all the shell that was needed to be bagged. Once all shell was bagged we traveled to our site. We waited until low-tide and then began hammering our bags of shell in with rebar extending the pre-existing reef both laterally and outwards.

Benthic Ecology Meetings

2010-03-31T12:41:00.001-07:00

The Conservation of Marine Resources team participated in the 39th Benthic Ecology Meeting in Wilmington, NC. Their poster won an award for "Outstanding Undergraduate Student Research".

This is why fisheries need to be protected from overfishing:

2010-01-21T11:45:00.000-08:00

The red grouper was just discovered to be an important "habitat engineer." How many other vital ecosystem processes are performed by heavily fished species that we don't even know about? Once a species is gone from the ecosystem, it could have far greater effects than just losing one entree from our seafood menu.

In search of manatees

2009-12-02T11:43:00.000-08:00

This picture is an interesting view of what our group of snorkelers looked like on a trip through an ocean water channel near the research lab. We set out for this trip on foot with gear in hand and on head after a tiring day of data collection. The small adventure was optional for our class but everyone opted to go. What motivated me was the possibility of seeing a manatee, even if the possibility was only slim. Frank and I were first to jump in. I could see him swimming in the water just below me, and as he went further down I followed him and began to realize that I couldn't see the bottom even though I'm sure it wasn't very deep. I just saw frank and behind him a dark brown murky abyss that seemed to go on forever. This image was quite surreal. Once the group was ready we moved in formation fighting the current as we swam upstream, observing through both sight and sound. This territory was much different than our data collection areas. The mangroves provided a habitat for many species. The tangle of mangrove roots continued into darkness along the shores convincing me that there was always much more to be seen. After heading upstream for a while we turned around for the easy downstream swim. In the end we never found a manatee but did experience a new environment where our limited sight left much to the imagination.

CMR in the Keys

2009-11-22T08:21:00.001-08:00

Over Fall Break, Clemson's Conservation of Marine Resources team traveled to the Florida Keys and asked the question, "Does Structure Increase Biodiversity?" We had several sample locations including the Keys Marine Lab, Long Key, and Bamboo Key. Data was collected at these sites and we were looking at the types of algae, coral, sponge, and invertebrates found. This was a great hands-on experience to learn what organisms are actually living in our coral reefs. While doing work we would occasionally come across a Jellyfish or a Nurse Shark, making the experience all the more exciting.

The best day I had was when the group decided to go diving / snorkeling at Looe Key. For a lot of people it was their first time being out surrounded by the deep blue color of the ocean. After our dive briefing we literally jumped right in. Immediately when we reached the bottom we saw two Grouper behaving in an unorthodox way. Maybe competing over territory, or a female? We weren't sure. Continuing we saw lots and lots of coral, several kinds of grunts, hogfish, snapper, grouper, barracuda, parrotfish, spiny lobsters, and an eel. The eel was awesome. It was close to five feet long and was just chillin' in its hole as we passed by. I was also very excited when I spotted a Brittle Star crawling along the bottom, one of my favorite echinoderms.

A research vacation

2009-11-14T09:03:00.000-08:00

Our Creative Inquiry team traveled by air, land, and sea to reach our research destinations where we worked long, hard days setting up underwater plots, collecting data, avoiding deadly sea creatures, and just barely escaping drowning episodes.

Just kidding! While we did collect data for our research project, it wasn't a chore. I had a great time and learned so much about the marine biodiversity, marine systems, and marine research in the Keys, all the while enjoying the beautiful setting of the Florida Keys.

My favorite expedition was the snorkel through the mangroves. It was very different from the sites where we collected data and the Looe Key reef. The water was a dark brown from the tannins in the mangrove leaves, and the prop roots provided structure for algae, anemones, sponges, and other organisms.

The coolest things I saw were the blue sponges and spiral anemones. The snorklers in the front of the line got to see a couple nurse sharks, but by the time I had caught up, the sharks had swum on their way.

Snorkeling at Looe Key

2009-11-13T07:40:00.000-08:00

Over fall break, our creative inquiry team traveled to the Florida Keys and performed research in order to determine if natural and artificial structures increase biodiversity. While there, we decided to take a day off from research and make a snorkeling/SCUBA diving trip to Looe Key Reef. Looe Key is located five nautical miles offshore of Big Pine Key and is not an island but instead a "groove and spur" reef. After about a 45 minute boat ride to Looe Key, we jumped into the water and discovered the reef was home to a vast amount of species. We saw many different fish including yellowtail, angelfish, parrotfish, sergeant majors, and even barracudas. Even though one barracuda followed a few of us around and gave us quite a scare, the trip was very enjoyable and gave us the opportunity to see and explore the biodiversity of the Florida Keys.

Fun Findings in the Florida Keys

2009-10-31T13:16:00.000-07:00

During our Creative Inquiry’s most recent research trip to the Florida Keys, we discovered a lot of interesting and exciting things above and below the water. For some of the trip, we were hard at work snorkeling and performing a census of the biodiversity of various marine habitats. An important fact we learned is that at first glance, the ocean floor may not always appear to be a very happening place, but when you take the time to dive down and explore (usually with the help of a tickle stick), a whole new world of marine organisms comes to life. While exploring we discovered numerous kinds of sponges, algae, and corals in areas that are experiencing both species die-off and recovery. Although it takes some practice, by the end of the trip we were busy finding and naming interesting and dynamic sea plants and animals.

Not to be overlooked, the Florida Keys “wildlife” above the water is as interesting and eclectic as our underwater discoveries. Our trip to Key West served as a good introduction to the Keys locals, who work hard to give tourists a good dose of Bohemian yet American culture at the Southern-most point of the continental U.S. We enjoyed good food and people as we toured Key West and explored other places such as the Safari Lounge back on Long Key. Needless to say, the Florida Keys are full of interesting discoveries, both above and below the water, that we will be sure to remember for years to come.

90 degrees...in the water

2009-10-26T18:54:00.000-07:00

Such was the situation in the Florida Keys during fall break. We could not have asked for better working conditions (though I would hardly call the research we were doing work). To me, anything that has to do with snorkeling and being in the ocean constitutes fun, no matter if we are measuring the biodiversity of different marine habitats or taking data on the type of ocean bottom we observe. It was fascinating to learn the many types of algae and the names of all the sponges and corals we came across. Yet, even though the shallow waters where we were conducting our research were amazing, my favorite memories of the trip come from our non-research experiences on Looe Key Reef, in the mangroves, and night snorkeling. It was during these excursions that we saw the most exciting and unique sea creatures, such as a sea turtle, multiple barracudas, two nurse sharks, and giant clinging crabs. I loved the fact that I had the opportunity to share the ocean with such animals as these and learn about their habitats, but each evening I enjoyed just being able to relax and watch the sunset before preparing for the next day’s activities. The ocean is a beautiful and mystifying domain, and even though it can be terrifying (especially at night, when one can only see the creatures that surround her by the small beam of a flashlight), it is a place well worth exploring, regardless of the risks. Believe me, I do plan on snorkeling at night again sometime...though I might bring a bigger dive light.

Snorkeling After Dark...

2009-10-25T13:40:00.000-07:00

Over fall break, our CI team headed down to the Florida Keys for some research (and fun in the sun). Our last night in the Keys we decided to go on a night snorkel trip. Everyone had mixed feelings of anxiety and excitement about going. The night snorkeling gave us an opportunity to see some of the animals that are most active at night. We saw clinging crabs, a few different lobster species, and Adam even spotted an octopus. One of my favorite parts of the snorkel was when we turned off the flashlights and waved our hands through the water to see the bioluminescent algae. Although most of us got stung by something (probably cassiopea), I think we were all happy to have faced our fears!

Fall Break Field Trip to the Keys

2009-10-21T12:45:00.001-07:00

Our creative inquiry team spent the fall break in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Our goal was to conduct field research on impacts to marine biodiversity in different marine habitats.

Spring Semester in Marine Biology

2009-09-29T11:47:00.001-07:00

South Africa Water Toxicity

2009-04-22T11:00:00.001-07:00

Over Spring Break this year I visited South Africa. One of the sites I saw was the Flamingo Island at Kampfer's Dam in Kimberley. This is a completely man made S-shaped island that was constructed specifically to house a Lesser Flamingo colony. It contains the second largest colony in the world. The project was a great success and proved to serve its purpose better than anyone thought it would. Now it is host to thousands of flamingos. The health of the lake the island sits on is in peril. Sewage is being pumped into the lake on the other side of the dam. These toxic chemicals could infect the flamingo food source and drive the flamingos away. We talked with a Clemson graduate student who is studing wildlife toxicology. Her project is to draw blood samples from the birds to be analyzed for any pathogens. The colony is also threatened by development. Plans have been proposed to put a large housing development right next to the dam. A disturbance of the birds could drive them to abandon the island and any nests with chicks. They would never return. In this case marine resources could play a huge role in the survival of this island.

Wonders of the Marine World

2009-04-19T13:12:00.000-07:00

A picture that wasn't already on the blog!

MCR Spring 2009 Closing Thoughts

2009-04-19T12:54:00.000-07:00

The close of the semester is upon is, and looking back on it, I think that this was an awesome semester for our class. We accomplished a great deal and I think that we all learned a lot about how to design and set up an experiment, as well as how to keep a lab room clean and organized! For those that were lucky enough to go on the trip with us, we saw some amazing things and had too much fun for our own good. Whether or not you made it on the trip, we all definitely learned a lot about the plight of the marine environment. Furthermore, I think that we can all better inform others about the problems and any possible solutions. I'm really excited about all of the people that are coming back to the class next year. I think that we can get a lot done and I am definitely excited about future trips!

Cambodian River Traffic

2009-04-17T15:38:00.000-07:00

Over Christmas break I traveled through Cambodia. While in Cambodia we took an eight hour boat trip on the Sangker River from Battambang to Seim Reap. The boat was a river taxi that brought food into the villages for the people who lived on the river. The people who lived in the villages relied on the river for their livelihoods. They live in floating house boats. Marine Conservation is important in that area because the village people and the future generations depend on the river for their economic survival. What can we do to promote an awareness of Marine Conservation in river villages to protect future generations?

More Exciting Adventures from the ACE Basin

2009-04-13T18:08:00.000-07:00

As mentioned below, our CI group had the opportunity to travel to the ACE Basin National Estuarine Research Reserve over spring break. This area of the South Carolina coast consists of over 130,000 acres of estuary, named for the Ashepoo, Combahee, and Edisto Rivers. One of the most interesting aspects of this trip was collecting and processing the blue crabs. Every day, one CI student would accompany graduate students Kirk and T.J. on one of the boats to set crab pots out in different areas of the rivers. Back at Mosquito Creek, Dr. Childress and two other students would set crab pots out right in front of our station.

At the end of the day, all crabs collected would be processed in the lab. In order to process the crabs as fast as possible, we formulated an assembly line. This method allowed for official “crab wranglers” to pull the crabs in the basket off of one another, tag them with color-coded bracelets, as well as determine sex, weight, and carapace width. One person (usually me) would write down all the data and pass the crabs down the line. Crabs would then have a small blood sample taken from in between the last walking leg and swimmerette (easier said than done). Lastly, crabs posed for a quick picture and then were released back into Mosquito Creek. Recaptured crabs were identified by their bracelets and gave us valuable information regarding crab movement in the estuary. Collecting and processing blue crabs was an interesting way to become familiar with blue crab behavior (and resilience). Although there were a couple of painful pinches, our team was able to process 399 crabs while at the ACE Basin…and managed to have fun while doing it!

The Most Dangerous Part of Our Trip to ACE (besides crab attacks)

2009-04-13T09:03:00.000-07:00

Over spring break, our CI went to ACE Basin (as explained a couple of posts below). One of the most apparent animals, to me, were all the alligators. Coming from Tennessee, alligators were not a big part of my growing up. Along the estuary, however, they were all over the place! Going out in the mornings and afternoons to set crab traps and pick them up again, I was able to see a good dozen or so alligators. The gators had a big range in size, from juvenile (3 ft like the one above) to adult (10 ft long).

Astonishingly, a mere fifteen minute drive from the NERR station where we were staying, there was what appeared to be an alligator haven. Never in my life have I seen so many alligators in one place (up to 26 in a 25 square meter area). These alligators were all of a nice size as well, very few baby ones to be seen! All along the sides of the embankments in the park were alligator "slides" like the one below.
Surprisingly, it wasn't scary being around all of those alligators (from a distance). They seemed to be more timid than aggressive (but then again we were being loud and hopefully they weren't hungry). I unwittingly scared a few big ones from one of their basking mud holes, and they just seemed more annoyed at having to go in the water than angry wild beasts. I definitely wouldn't go close enough to one to tempt them into attacking me though, I'll leave that for whomever has stepped up to take Steve Erwin's crazy place.

Summer Research

2009-04-13T06:54:00.000-07:00

This past summer I was involved with the Turtle project under the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. The Turtle project was designed a few years back as a conservation project for loggerhead sea turtles. Originally it was designed to obtain an idea of the population of reproductive male loggerhead sea turtles. To catch the male sea turtles you must go offshore to find them because unlike the females who come back to a shore, once the males leave their nests as infants they never hit land again. So the research vessel was a old shrimp boat, the Lady Lisa now owned by the SC DNR and to catch the sea turtles we "shrimped" for them. (it was a little like a finding a needle in a hay stack) With about twenty trolls a day we averaged about 1 turtle a day. Once we caught a turtle we would first lay them on the "turtle chair" which makes them sit upside down.
This position made it easier to draw blood and check vitals.
Then we would place the turtle on a tire so they could not run
away (keep in mind these turtles sometimes weighed up to 500
lbs so these tasks weren't exactly graceful). Then we would tag
them with an external metal tag and an internal microchip tag.
If we caught a large mature female we might do ultrasound to
see if she had any eggs and every other day we would take a biopsy from the turtle’s flipper (seemed to be very painful). Then we connected the turtle to a harness and would weigh them. After weighing, we then lowered them over the side of the boat and let them go (defiantly not as easily as it sounds). So now you’re asking yourself what does this have to do with conservation? Well the sex of a sea turtle is determined by where the egg lays in the nest. The lower cooler part of the nest is where males are found and the higher warmer part of the nest is where females are found. So remember, "hot chicks" and "cool dudes." This comes into play when you think about the increasing beach erosion and the water level rising which pushes the nest to higher warmer parts of the beach causing more females to be created. If we need to figure out if the male population is big enough to sustain the loggerhead population we have to go find them offshore.

Spring Break at the Ace Basin

2009-04-08T09:41:00.001-07:00

The ACE Basin National Wildlife Refuge whose name is derived from the 3 rivers that flow through it, the Ashepoo, the Combahee, and the Edisto, is one of the largest estuaries on the East Coast. Over spring break, our creative inquiry class had the opportunity to travel to the research station of the ACE Basin and help conduct research on blue crabs. Not only did we learn the various steps of collecting and processing blue crabs, we also took many boat rides, went to secluded beaches, observed surveying methods such as electrofishing and trolling, and explored the area to find a great diversity of wildlife.

Center for Biological Diversity

2009-04-06T17:12:00.000-07:00

The Center for Biological Diversity believes that the welfare of humans is directly linked to the the welfare of nature. Because of this, they work to secure a future for all animals that are on the brink of extinction. To do this, they do things such as advocate for conservation laws, perform scientific analysis, and educate the public. The Center for Biological Diversity is a wonderful organization because it addresses a wide range of conservation issues. Visit the Center for Biological Diversity's website.

CMR Field Research Trip to the ACE Basin NERR Station

2009-04-06T16:46:00.001-07:00

The Conservation of Marine Resources team spend their spring break conducting research at the ACE Basin National Estuarine Research Reserve Station in Bennett's Point, SC. The team assisted the Childress Lab graduate students in the collection and processing of some 399 blue crabs. The team conducted a mark-recapture study by releasing 330 marked crabs and recapturing 4 over a period of five days. Local fishermen recaptured an additional 24 tagged crabs from stations down river from the NERR station. These results suggest that most of the crabs headed toward higher salinity waters even though they were captured at lower salinity stations.

Best Job in the World Video

2009-03-10T18:46:00.000-07:00

On the coldest day of the year, standing knee deep in the Library pond, the Conservation of Marine Resources class worked hard to get the shot just right. The goal, a one-minute video application for the "Best Job in the World" competition, and the chance to become a caretaker of Great Barrier Reef. The theme of the video was "Because this job is too big for one person" and the message helped raise awareness of the plight of the world's declining coral reefs.

Video of Snorkel Trip to Chica Rocks

2008-11-14T06:52:00.001-08:00

My favorite part of the trip was the day of snorkeling at Chica Rocks Special Protected Area.

It was great to see a patch reef where the live coral wasn't smothered by macroalgae.

It was a real treat to share a visit with an endangered hawk's bill sea turtle.

But don't take my word for it, see for yourself in our video log of Chica Rocks.

http://people.clemson.edu/~mchildr/videos/ChicaRocks.wmv

Long Key

2008-11-10T17:09:00.000-08:00

Day 1
There was an obscene amount of driving that occurred on this day. We left around 7am or so and didn’t get to mile 68(Long Key) till about 11pm! But you know what, it wasn’t that bad, probably because my seat partner slept for 10 out of 16 hours of the drive (Lynn, hahaha)and mostly because the group I was privileged embark on this adventure were sooo awesome! I traveled a lot in groups through the years with sports and there is always some type of drama that occurs but there was nothing of the sort on this trip. This was mostly because everyone was incredibly easy-going and did I mention awesome! As layer after layer came off as 16 hours on driving from cold to hot, mountain air to salt air progressed I came closer and closer to edge of the back seat on the12 passenger silver van. Once we finally arrive in the middle of the night the warm salty breeze hit my cheeks and lungs and the 16 hours disappeared.

Day 2
The day starts at 9 am when we get to try on wetsuits for the snorkeling and data collection exercises were going to do in the next few days. The weather wasn’t all that glorious in the morning with heavy wind from the north and a potential thunderstorm coming with it. The group decided to snorkel in the backyard basin of the KML (Keys Marine Laboratory) and do a little sight-seeing in Key West in the afternoon. During the first snorkel, I learned the difference between turtle grass (shorter thick bladed grass) and manatee grass (longer thin bladed grass). A fare warning about Cassiopeia was given the night before and was one of the first organisms that was identified to me.
Cassiopeia Jellyfish
The Upside Down Jellyfish named because its flattened bell (head) rests on the bottom. It extends its frilly tentacles up into the water column where they capture planktonic food and absorb light that is used by photosynthetic algae that are housed in its body. It also prefers a wide sandy bottom to the aquarium and requires high intensity light for photosynthesis to occur. It will not tolerate copper or high nitrates in the water, and since its body is composed of 95% to 98% water, sudden changes in salinity or pH can have radical consequences.
Then I noticed various shaped what looked liked semi-clear balloons on the bottom of the sea floor. These I was told by Dr. Childress were egg cases for a variety of mollusks.

See yall soon

2008-11-10T10:41:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone. I hate that I had to miss the trip. It sounds like you guys had a fun...and interesting...time. Bring some pictures to class so I can see what I missed. Is anyone else taking this class again with me next semester?

What A Trip!

2008-11-10T07:07:00.001-08:00

A week or so after this trip my back is almost done peeling from my lack of sun screen. Yum.

After a long car ride, most of which I slept :), it was nice to be back in Florida. It was my first time in the Keys and wearing a wet suit. My first time snorkling...ever! Now I think I am hooked. It was cool to glide in the water with sting rays and other creatures. Making new friends is always a plus in my book. I am gratiful that I had the chance to go on this trip. Thanks to ALL for being awesome!

I miss the sun and warm weather. Can we go back?

The Keys

2008-11-09T17:01:00.000-08:00

It has been almost a week since our trip to the Keys but it was an amazing trip. Our first day we were able to test out our gear in front of the KML research lab and get used to the cold weather while snorkeling over some sea grass beds and then went to Key West for dinner. On the second day we went to one of the research sites and practiced mapping organisms on the sea floor and helped document some of the lobster data before releasing them. On our last day we did some snorkeling over the reefs and then went to dive near the overhang of an island. We finished the day by stopping by an old shipwreck and the water finally got warmer. We got to see a lot of sea life and I enjoyed everything we saw especially the reef. It was a great trip (just a really long car ride) and I want to thank everyone involved.

trip reflection

2008-11-07T07:18:00.000-08:00

So, here we are several days after our fateful trip to the keys. this trip contained many firsts: boat ride, snorkel trip, and field research techniques. not all of these firsts were my own but i enjoyed sharing those experiences with everyone on the trip. i would like to thank everyone on this trip for being so open minded and easy-going. i believe that this attitude is what made the trip fun ( OK, I know it would still have been fun). i would also like to thank the trip administrators because this trip made me realize that i am on the right career path and that i actually do like field biology, before this trip i had no way of knowing. so again thank you to all involved.

not very substance filled sorry. I am compiling a species list of what we saw so if anyone wants to email me what they saw or just post it i will compile a master list.
cheers,
brandon

Final Full Day

2008-11-03T13:18:00.000-08:00

Today is our last full day here at the Florida Keys. We were able to finally get some warmer weather and sun! We did a marathon snorkeling trip/tour with our boat Captain Cynthia Lewis. We rode on a 25 foot Parker and it took the waves much better than the 18 footers from the day before. The first stop was to Cheeca Bay. Here we saw two spotted eagle rays and a yellow ray, and a sea turtle! The water got warmer as we headed out to the park for lunch and our second swim. Here we jumped in and snorkeled around the overhang of the island. Once we were all very cold, we headed over to what I though was the most fun snorkel (even though I had some wet suit trouble), the San Pedro boat wreckage. We though that is was going to be very cold, but turns out a very warm current created a thermocline that was very warm on the top, near 80 degs. This snorkel we were able to see some of the old boat, cannons, and even the boat anchor. A big thanks to all who helped with this trip!

Day Two

2008-11-02T17:14:00.000-08:00

Today we spent some time in the morning snorkeling on one of the research sites. We were able to assit with the data collection for the lobsters collected and learned more about the research that the lab has worked on. We then ate lunch by the mangroves, followed by some kayaking. After the wind died down it got quite toasty and we got some tan lines. It's been a long, but exciting day and I'm looking forward to even more excitement tomorrow!

Autumn in the Florida Keys

2008-10-30T16:51:00.000-07:00

Long Key Lake at Sunset. It seems that autumn has arrived in the Florida Keys just in time for the creative inquiry class visit. Air temperatures are returning to the lower 80s but the water temperature has dropped to the mid 60s.

Heading South for the Weekend

2008-10-30T12:30:00.000-07:00

This weekend, we head to the Keys for the field research experience of a lifetime at the Keys Marine Laboratory in Long Key Florida. After a bit of a ride down to Florida, we are looking forward to brisk fall conditions of 80 degrees and sunny, with winds from the Northeast at 15-20 kts. Should be a great weekend!

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