By Hanover Matz, RJD Intern If asked what marine ecosystems are currently most at risk, many people would probably identify coral reefs and mangrove forests. Climate change, sea level rise, and habitat degradation are all terms that come to mind when addressing the decline of corals and mangroves worldwide. However, equally important and at risk […]
by Jacob Jerome, RJD student From small bowls that house beta fish, to extensive aquariums with hundreds of individuals, fish are found in homes around the world. Through this hobby, people have the opportunity to experience the world of fish in a way that was never possible before. But there can be drawbacks to the […]
By Stephen Cain, RJD Intern Shifting baselines, a term introduced by Daniel Pauly in 1995, occur when successive generations view contemporary environmental conditions as the baseline to measure future change against. The problem with this sort of bounded rationality is that it fails to account for long-term historic trends, and risks myopic decision-making in the […]
by Jessica Wingar, RJD intern In the last decade, the concerns of how global climate change is going to affect our planet have grown. One of the main components of what is causing this climate change is the increase in carbon dioxide in our environment. There was a major increase in carbon dioxide in the […]
by Hannah Armstrong, RJD intern On Friday, February 27th the RJ Dunlap team set out for what we all anticipated to be a great day of shark research. I was eager to head out into Biscayne Bay, as this was my first trip of the New Year. I had the pleasure of being on a […]
by James Keegan, RJD intern Global demand for renewable energy is increasing as nations strive to decrease their carbon emissions, pollution, and dependence on non-renewable resources like coal or oil. Because of its energy output and potential to compete in energy markets, wind energy may be the most promising renewable energy (IEA 2013). Consequently, wind […]
by Alison Enchelmeier, RJD student This past Thursday and Friday, the RJD crew spent two days tagging with a group of citizen scientists. Our guests met us at the boat at 9:00 am and we set off for one of our usual spots, Safety Valve. I’d been on a trip there the previous week and […]
by Hanover Matz, RJD Intern On Saturday, February 21st, the RJD team set out with a group of citizen scientists for a fantastic day of research. The morning was cool and windy, with some rough waves offshore. For everyone’s comfort, Captain Eric decided to stay closer to shore that day, taking us to the Safety […]
by James Keegan, RJD intern Coral reefs suffer from a multitude of problems, such as global warming and ocean acidification, which can be deadly for the reefs. Other issues, like losing individual species, although troublesome, do not garner the same attention because they do not cause as much harm. However, each reef organism has their […]
by Laurel Zaima, RJD intern The introduction of an invasive species into a foreign ecosystem has dire and often unforeseen consequences. An invasive species is considered any living organism that is not native to the ecosystem and causes harm to the local environment (“Invasive Species”). Non-native organisms alter the ecosystem, which affects the native species, […]