Estuaries & Coral Web Events

Hosted through Estuaries.org and NOAA, EstuaryLive is an online virtual field trip through a select number of estuary systems from around the United States. The event takes place tomorrow, with segments beginning before noon and ending late afternoon. Check out the webpage and test your link before the virtual trip goes live. Unfotunately EstuaryLive does not appear to have ever highlighted the Indian River Lagoon, and that’s something that perhaps needs to change!

Also within the realm of online expeditions and learning, NOAA is hosting an web talk on climate change and coral reef systems tonight, from 630 – 8pm.

Sorry for the late notice on both of these intriguing events. If you happen to catch either of them be sure to comment or send me an email for a review. I won’t be able to catch either because of my teaching schedule.

Pineapple With A Side Of Crow

It would seem that my parents have won the great pineapple battle and debate. It is now undoubtedly possible to grow the fruits all the way to harvest from just the fruit-tops. A bit more importantly, we can close a loop on a family favorite that previously had to travel several thousand miles in transit from the usual growing operations all the way to our table in Florida. Last July I was skeptical that this experiment would succeed (see Homegrown Pineapples?) but less than a year later we’re all eyeing the maturing fruit on the plant and wondering when we’ll be ready to serve it up.. complete with a side of crow for me.

A Total Disconnect When It Comes to Trash

I hate weekenders. The people, local and tourist alike, who visit the lagoon on their days off must be the source of all the trash I found fresh on the beachline and the lagoon today. I went out to scout some locations, take gopher tortoise burrow photos, and look for manatees. I went out with the intention of writing and of thinking about this grand scheme I have whirling about in my head concerning a kayak, and a paddle, and 156 miles of estuary and an outreach campaign. I went with the intention to relax and recharge and just enjoy the beautiful sunshine and the light breeze.

And then I saw all the trash.

I wasn’t at all prepared to do a beach cleanup but after ten minutes of attempting to take photos I became so distracted by the debris that I had to do something. I found plenty of plastic bags on the beach to use to pick up the other trash. All estimated eight pounds of it (the bag felt at least as heavy as a milk jug). Since I’ve been doing lots of heavy lifting on beach cleanups, I’ve added a running tally to the sidebar on WaterNotes, see “Lagoon Trash Pickup”.

Some interesting outliers in the mix? A pair of boxer-briefs, a child’s pink flip flop, a single Nike running sneaker, bait bags with hydroids growing upon them, and an apple juice box resting next to the decaying remains of an unfortunate southern pufferfish who stole someone’s bait too often. The item that really made me wonder about the sanity of the world: a plastic bag with a load of dog poo. Can someone please explain to me the logic of picking up your dog’s waste but leaving it in a Wal-Mart bag at the edge of the estuary?

The final straw today came when a couple drove up to me, rolled down their windows, and asked what I was doing. I politely explained the pollution situation and briefly mentioned how wildlife are effected by trash. They shook their heads and agreed, “It’s a d**n shame.” They slowly drove past me further down the shoreline. The old man opened his window, held out a bag of popped popcorn, and began to shake it on the ground for the ring billed gulls, white ibis, terns, and starlings. (This obviously is their natural food afterall.) When the bag was empty, he threw it on the ground, made a u-turn and drove off.

All I could do was stare.

Congo River & Leatherbacks On National Geographic

A hat tip to Ann Barrett of National Geographic who wrote to me after spying my confessional post on sea turtles and memories of my grandfather. National Geographic’s May issue features leatherback sea turtles with some absolutely dazzling photographs by Brian Skerry included. (Well, naturally they’re dazzling photos, it is NatGeo afterall!) Alongside the visual feast, Tim Appenzeller writes an exploration of the status of the species and the continued efforts to conserve and manage the existing populations in both the Atlantic and the Pacific.

The Great Turtle Race, also on NG, follows eleven tagged Atlantic leatherbacks on their way to nesting natal beaches in the Caribbean. The Race ends Thursday, so check in to see who falls in behind Backspacer!

National Geographic has been on my mind a lot lately, especially in the TV form. This weekend I caught the Explorer’s episode, Monster Fish of the Congo, documenting an expedition to learn more about tigerfish and icthyofauna diversity in the Congo River (particularly by comparing the lower and upper populations which are divided and potentially isolated by enormous cataracts). Not only was I appreciative of the deep love of fish displayed by the researchers, I was completely blown away by a staggering fact discovered by the team. The Congo River is probably the deepest in the world with several canyon systems along its path that measure well past 700 feet.

SEVEN HUNDRED FEET! IN A RIVER! I almost fell off the couch! This remarkable find adds a new dimension to the habitat types available in the Congo River. The team already suspects that a new species of cichlid – both eyeless and entirely depigmented – is probably a deepwater denizen. If you havent caught the episode or read the May issue consider it your newly assigned homework!

Don't Leash the Gopher Tortoise

Over the last two years of working with wildlife groups in Florida I’ve seen five – yes, five – juvenile gopher tortoises come in to us in boxes. How’d they get in a box? Well, each were surrendered to local pet shops and then funneled to the nearest zoo or aquarium (where I was at) in an effort to get the protected species back to where it belongs.

Apparently local residents spy the small tortoises, fall in love with their intricately gorgeous shells, and start to think that a gopher tortoise for a pet sounds like a great idea. While I can’t exactly think of a major negative with this beyond their somewhat smelly poo… I also know that the species does far too much good out in their natural scrub and hammock habitat to be cloistered inside a suburban home or penned up in a run in someone’s backyard.

And if I’ve seen five in two years that were actually surrendered that really makes me suspiciously ponder all the times I’ve been told by students that they had pet turtles back at home. How many gophers are out there as pets in Florida?

There’s another gopher tortoise pet problem – their interactions with dogs. I’ve known a handful over the years that were brought in as rescues because of dog bites with lasting leg and foot injuries sometimes preventing them from a future release. For now the juveniles I’ve seen have all gone up near the same spot, a sanctuary near Gainesville and Ocala in a more northernly area of the state.

"What Time Do The Turtles Get Up?"

Ten years ago, at the very feisty age of sixteen, I had driven to Florida from Delaware on a quest to relax and have adventures while on spring break. Easter fell late enough in my school district that a beautiful thing happened; my break lined up perfectly with the first full moon in April and the official start to sea turtle nesting season in the sunshine state. I schemed brilliantly to attempt to watch females crawl onshore and deposit their eggs by researching nesting site data and looking up laws on observation. On the strongest lunar night I planned to take a nap, wake up in the twilight hours, and look for titans on the beach.

There was just one problem: my alarm never rang. My grandfather, a lifelong waterfowl hunter and early riser, found me asleep on the couch in the morning and roughly awoke me laughing and asking one question: “What time do the turtles get up?” To this day he teases me with this lamentable remark. And to this day, whenever I’m planning expeditions and adventures, I think of my missed opportunity and remember to double and triple check my alarms and wake up calls.

Luckily I now live so close to turtle territory that managing to see females, brand-new hatchlings, and nests isn’t quite the logistical nightmare. Yesterday I spied the first nests of the season – likely loggerhead – on one of my favorite beaches in the refuge system off of Canaveral National Seashore. Many people celebrate the cycles of the seasons from winter to spring to summer in other areas of the country. In Florida, I’m excited by the turning of the tides from seasons of an entirely different flavor. From right whale calves and fire season, to sea turtle nests and monsoon-worthy afternoon thunderstorms. Lets hope the turtles turnout a good yield of nests and that hurricanes stay offshore long enough to preserve the ping-pong-shaped eggs beneath. (And for any Florida residents, remember, its okay to educate the tourists whose feet stray too close to those nest markers.)

Seal Tracks Via Satellite

My inner nerd is exulting and frolicking at the moment. Go ahead and bookmark WhaleNet (hosted through Wheelock College). Its a seriously interesting marine resource. While other rescue groups have done a great deal to satellite track and tag released marine mammals and other wildlife the maps for the animals’ locations are not always readily available. Not so on WhaleNet. Right now you can track Snuffy, the harp seal, or view sighting reports for Northern Right Whales in their calving and nursing grounds on the US Atlantic coastline.

Crochet Collides With Coral.. Really

Margaret Wertheim and her sister started creating crochet reefs as a response to the overwhelming press of climate change back in 2005. Earlier this year at TED she demonstrated these reefs and gave a beautiful explanation of the special geometry that helps create corals and other underwater denizens as well as crochet arts. Her talk is a gorgeous example of the power of art where it collides with science and leads to deeper understanding and awareness on so many levels.

WaterNotes Turns Two

Without the internet I would feel incredibly isolated regarding conservation and nature. The blogosphere as well as digital magazines and other sources all come together as a scope of information and opinions that offer inspiration and even shift my focus. For example, Richard Louv recently wrote an article for Orion magazine, a combination of one of my favorite reading posts as well as one of today’s most thoughtful authors.

Or Kids Who Hate Earth Day, over at Slate reinforces my thoughts that, when kids are small, we probably have to stay positive. I love that you can share all sorts of experiences via photos as well, such as the shared images from a field study of Andros Island in the Bahamas posted via Flickr by nashworld. (And he should definitely consider funneling them through the Marine Photobank project!) Speaking of the Photobank, the images of the Delray Beach outfall over the years have made an impact. On April 1st the pipe dumping sewage into the Atlantic was closed!

Most intriguingly, blogs are becoming major outlets for major players in conservation and media; consider the interview Public School Insights posted with Jean-Michel Cousteau.

With these things in mind, I’m pondering the future of WaterNotes and what it means to be a blogger in today’s online environment. It appears that we have a tremendous capacity to reach out to people by posting what we see and experience everyday. I want to keep WaterNotes as authentic and original in content as possible; lots of photos and firsthand reports of what is going on in Florida and on the waterways. At two years of age, I’m still amazed by how much I’ve written and how many people have visited the site over time. For all of you who’ve stopped in, thank you for visiting (especially you, Uncle David) and I hope to keep the conversations rolling along like so many waves coming in to the shore.

Killer Whales Steal Salmon

Note: This video is not exactly safe for work because of the language. Turn your speakers down.