By Alex Babcock, Marine conservation student Sea otters are recognized most for their cute appearance and adorable behaviors; however, this species also serves very important roles in its’ ecosystem. A new study, published in this month’s issue of Frontiers in Ecology and Environment, posits the importance of sea otters and carbon sequestration (Wilmers et al. […]
By Mary Trainor, Marine conservation student It is a wonderful sign of the times that governments around the world are taking action to protect the ocean. One popular marine management tool is the marine protected area (MPA), which aims to conserve marine life and habitats by restricting what people can do within designated MPA boundaries […]
By Asta Mail, Marine conservation student Imagine that you are entrusted with the duty of conserving a colony of beautiful seabirds. Your objective is to create Marine Protected Areas (MPA’s) that shelter birds from disturbances, so that they can do what they do best: eat, sleep, fly and reproduce! How then do you decide which […]
By Christina Marmet, Marine conservation student Sharks have been around for 450 million years, and have survived every extinction episode that our Earth has known since then (Litman 1996). However, human beings may be the biggest threat they have ever faced. Today, there are about 500 species of sharks in the ocean, with more being […]
By Jennifer Dean, Marine Conservation student Have you ever wondered how your seafood is caught? Many of the species commonly consumed by humans, such as cod, flounder, and shrimp, are caught by a method called bottom trawling (montereybayaquarium.org). Bottom trawling is a large scale fishing method that has been used for many years, consisting of […]
With great excitement, we would like to announce a brand-new educational activity now offered here on the RJD website! Utilizing a subset of data from RJD shark research trips, you can investigate the bioaccumulation of methyl mercury in South Florida shark populations. Broken down into two worksheets, the first part will provide you with a […]
By Kayleigh Michaelides Marine conservation student The Manta Ray: The giant manta ray (Manta birostris) is the world’s largest ray species with a disc width of up to 7m from wing tip to wing tip (Graham et al. 2012). Despite their large size, mantas are harmless to humans. Manta rays have a broad distribution throughout […]
by Audra Burchfield, Marine conservation student Imagine being a reef fish around twenty years ago. You are swimming around when all of the sudden a new fish you have never seen before is on the reef. Over the next few years more of these strange fish are present and pretty soon they are common place. […]