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For Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) research in the Seagrass Ecosystems Lab, we venture out into Florida Bay every two months to do a survey of the submerged aquatic vegetation (seagrasses and macroalgae).   As I mentioned in my last post ( Florida Bay:  Beneath the Surface ) Florida Bay is a honeycomb of basins, which creates different habitat types.   These different habitats, specifically the type and density of vegetation on the floor and sediment type (and many other factors that are beyond the scope of this post), attribute to the color of the water.   In a single LTER trip, we see water ranging from deep blue to teal, green, and even brown!    After 2 years of running the LTER project for our lab, I am still amazed by the dynamic nature of Florida Bay on the surface and below. Darker blue waters as we travel to Sprigger Bank. At Sprigger Bank:  notice the greenish patch to the left.  There is sparse shoal grass (Halodule wrightii...

Our full time bloggers are recovering from the  FCE-LTER Beach BBQ  this weekend so we've asked Mike Bush from the Department of Biology to talk about his research on fish movement in the Everglades. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Identifying patterns of animal movement is an important part of most conservation programs. As Everglades restoration continues, identifying how fishes respond to changes in water flow, removal of levees, etc. will provide us with important information about how restoration is changing the Everglades. I’m going to briefly discuss some of my work with large fish movement in the central Everglades. Starting in May 2011 and continuing almost uninterrupted through today, I’ve been tracking two different fish species in an area known as the Gap (between Water Conservation Areas 3A and 3B). The fish are largemouth bass and bowfin, two big species that a...

In continuation of Ann’s post a couple weeks back, conferences and meetings are very important in becoming a successful and knowledgeable graduate student. Currently, I am in Estes Park, Colorado, which is about 1.5 hours outside Denver and adjacent to Rocky Mountain National Park for the  Long-Term Ecological Research All-Scientists Meeting . In a nut-shell, this meeting is held once every three years and brings together scientists and researchers from 26 LTER sites around the country and around the world. This meeting differs from a conference by being primarily focused on cross-site and interdisciplinary collaboration. This is done by holding working group discussion sessions surrounding a particular topic. Scientist that are interested in that topic can participate in a discussion session that has a specific outcome; typically information exchange, brainstorming, or a product such as data analysis or a journal article.   Map of all 26 LTER sites ...

Our regular bloggers are out gathering data so today we have a guest blogger, Stephanie Long from the Department of Earth and Environment .  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Despite all of the extreme weather reporting and constant television coverage, Hurricane Isaac was just another storm for most of South Floridians. The only trouble the storm brought us was copious amounts of rain. So when I got a chance to go take samples along the L30 Levee just three days after the storm had passed, I was given a very fundamental lesson in South Florida hydrogeology. Fast moving water coming through  the L30 Levee and into the L30 Canal. Water Conservation Area 3B is FIU's nearest WCA neighbor. It is bordered by the Tamiami Canal to the south and the L30 Canal to the east. Three days after Isaac, the water in WCA 3B was pretty high; it even seemed to swamp the invasive cattail. We dr...

One of the great joys of science, in my view, is teaching others about science, how it works, and why it is arguably the most advanced type of problem solving ever invented by humans. As graduate students at FIU we are given ample opportunities to pass along our knowledge, expertise, and love of science to the next generation of scientists (undergraduates) through teaching classes, giving public lectures, and directly mentoring individual students. At last count FIU had about 40,000 undergraduates enrolled, so finding motivated students to help out with graduate research is a relatively easy task. After five years in FIU's biology PhD program, I've had the pleasure of mentoring eight students for various lengths of time (six FIU undergrads, one Ursinus College undergrad, and one Miami-Dade high school student). They've assisted me with data entry, data analysis, lab work, literature research, and even field work in the Everglades, including alligator catching. In return, be...

Greetings from St. Paul, Minnesota!  I have left the sweltering heat of south Florida for a few days to attend the American Fisheries Society Conference .  Attending conferences is a must-do for graduate students.  It's a chance to share your research with a large, scientific audience, get feedback from the top scientists in your field, and make connections (and new friends) along the way.  These meetings can be a bit overwhelming so I've generated some tips to help you get through them: Photo Credit . 1)  If you're attending a national meeting, chances are there will be anywhere from 10 to 15 talks going on at once.  Running from room to room to see all of them isn't necessarily the best approach.  Stay in one session for a series of talks and sit near the front.  If there are discussions after the talks, don't run off.  Sit and listen and even participate if you have something worthwhile to add!   Photo Credit . 2) Network network netw...

Good afternoon everyone! I hope everyone had a good summer! For us, school is beginning, once again FIU has become a large traffic jam.  And as I was sitting in my car waiting to leave FIU, I came up with this blog idea. When is accomplishing nothing, more than just accomplishing nothing?                     What I am referring to applies to research with animals.  Often, when you work with some mobile animal, your study organism may not be where you think it is in the environment.  Causing you to spend an entire day in the Everglades searching for your target species, only to go back to your lab empty handed. These events usually precede a very fun conversation with your adviser about what exactly you were doing in the field.                    I found myself in this situation last week, when I spe...