by Becca Shelton, RJD Intern 11/17/12 I was really excited for the RJD shark trip with American Heritage for three reasons. First, this was my last trip of the year with the RJD crew and Captain Curt. While it was a sad thought, the anticipation of the trip was more exhilarating because it was going […]
by Brittany Bartlett, RJD intern Coral reefs are vulnerable species, highly susceptible to a wide range of disturbances. And, episodic outbreaks of the Crown-of Thorns coral killing sea star (Acanthaster planci) are one of these dangerous disturbances. These sea star outbreaks threaten the well being of our ocean, as they feed on and deplete reef […]
by Dani Escontrela, RJD Intern 11/11/12 It was going to be another day of shark tagging and I was too excited. After the last trip with no sharks, all I could hope for was for this day to be different. As usual, I woke up at 4:30am and began my long drive down to the […]
by Laurel Zaima, RJD Intern Saturday, November 10th, 2012 After all of the late nights studying for my tests, and quizzes, Saturday could not have come fast enough! Before I knew it, the count down was finally over and I was driving down to Islamorada with Christine. Unfortunately, when we arrived at Captain Curt’s house, […]
by Becca Shelton, RJD Intern Goliath grouper, Epinephelus itajara, were documented as commercially extinct in the late 1980’s and have had protection from fishing in USA waters since 1990. They are the largest grouper in the Atlantic Ocean, growing up to the record size of 2.5 m in total length and 450 kg, making them […]
by Fiona Graham, RJD intern November 3rd, 2012 It is always exciting to have something remarkable to report after a trip, and this was one of those trips. Jumping right into the highlights of the day, not only did we get one tiger shark, but two! Our original plan was to spend the day at […]
by Jennah Caster, RJD Intern Climate change is a phenomenon that is affecting many marine species. However, not all species are influenced in the same ways, or to equal degrees. Average sea surface temperatures (SST) have shifted in some marine regions faster than the global average (Trenberth et al. 2007). Extreme localized changes have lead […]
This week’s “Photo of the Week” is a video taken by RJD Ph.D. student Austin Gallagher. Last weekend, after the RJD team worked up and released a tiger shark, Austin swam after it with his GoPro camera. This video is the result. Enjoy! Swimming with a Tiger from Triakis Films on Vimeo.
by James Komisarjevsky, RJD intern Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) are something that affects almost every coastal region in the world. Many people know of the these HABs as red tides (Figure 1). These HABs not only affect coastal regions but have also been found to affect open ocean, brackish ecosystems, and freshwater ecosystems. Most of […]
10/28/12 By Jon Dorsey, RJD Intern Today the RJD crew met at the dock nice and early to welcome our shipmates from South Broward High School and special guest Steve Cooke. Despite the long bus ride and early arrival time, the Reef Dogs were in high spirits once they arrived on the dock and boarded […]