Keys Marine Laboratory Blog

FSU Class Visits KML

2012-04-17T09:45:00.004-04:00

A reef ecology graduate class from FSU visited KML to take advantage of a beautiful week of weather here in the Florida Keys. The class was led by Markus Huettel, whose lab's work focuses on the ecology of coastal and shelf environments with emphasis on processes in the sediments and at the sediment-water interface. During their time here at KML they were able to visit a variety of sites, deploying sampling equipment, surveying reef life, and even taking advantage of KML's Living Laboratory. With the help of the KML science staff the Huettel group was able to deploy non-invasive instruments utilizing new techniques to measure vertical oxygen flux at the sea bottom. Vertical oxygen flux is vital in understanding processes such as aerobic decomposition of organic matter, animal respiration, and oxidation processes.

FSU divers with sampling equipment

Deploying oxygen flux measuring equipment

Of the variety of sites that were visited during the week, Alligator Reef, a favorite of many groups, gave students the opportunity to observe a variety of marine life including the threatened Elkhorn coral, Acropora palmata.

Acropora palmata at Alligator Reef

The Huettel Group was able to participate in KML's Living Laboratory which gives student groups a unique opportunity to participate in long term sampling project. Sites are stationed at various permanent locations near the KML facility. The program introduces students to field research in marine ecology utilizing a variety of common sampling techniques. Students are then able to input their data into the KML Living Laboratory data base to contribute to an ongoing data set and compare their findings with previous groups who have participated in the program. For more information on KML's Living Laboratory or how to request participation please visit the "Living Lab" tab on the home page of our website.

FSU student swims transect line back to the boat

KML staff orients students on Living Lab

Special thanks to Markus Huettel and his team for contributing photos for this post. If you are interested in more information on the work being done by the Huettel Lab at FSU you can visit their website by clicking "here".

KML Open House

2012-02-29T08:46:00.003-05:00

The Keys Marine Lab will be hosting an Open House Saturday, March 3rd, from 2:00 to 4:00. Guided tours of renovations around the Lab and saltwater tanks with live animals for viewing .

Free, and open to the public.

Uneven terrain around the Lab so sturdy footwear is strongly recommended.

A Lobster's Point of View: Life in the Florida Keys

2012-02-21T12:05:00.004-05:00

KML will host the 3rd in a series of Science Seminars in the KML classroom at 6:30pm Tuesday February 21st. Fish & Wildlife Research Institute's marine biologist, Tom Matthews, will give a 20-30 minute talk on Florida's spiny lobsters and how they "see" their world under the waves here in the Keys. There will be opportunity to ask Tom questions following the talk. Seating is limited so call the office to reserve a spot.

Celebrating 20 years at KML

2011-12-16T15:33:00.005-05:00

Hot off the printing presses! New KML 20th Anniversary t-shirts! Designed by KML alum, Peter Bouwma (Bouwma Communication Design), with the KML 20th Anniversary logo on the front pocket area and full-color artwork depicting marine creatures of the Keys, bayside and oceanside, on the back (can you find KML on the map?). These beautiful 100% heavy-weight (6.2 oz) cotton tees are available in sizes Small through XX-Large. Short-sleeved style available in white or ash for $15.00 (plus $1.13 tax). Long-sleeved tees available in ash only for $20.00 (plus $1.50 tax). Order yours online through the Wildlife Foundation of Florida http://www.wildlifefoundationofflorida.com/?q=catalog/1

If you are visiting KML, order your shirts through the Foundation, present your receipt, and pick up your shirt in the office. KML ball caps are also still available for $15.00, plus tax.

As always, your generous donations are used for upgrades and improvements around the Lab and are tremendously appreciated.

Welcome Trevor, new KML staff scientist

2011-12-09T12:36:00.004-05:00

Trevor Luna joined the KML team as a Biological Scientist for FWC/FWRI in December of 2011. He graduated with a Bachelors of Arts in Biology from Rollins College in Winter Park, FL before moving to Zambia, Africa to serve in the U.S. Peace Corps. There he worked with the Zambian Department of Livestock and Fisheries as an Aquaculture Extension Agent promoting rural Tilapia culture. Trevor is an avid boater, diver, fisherman and hunter. The KML team is very excited to have Trevor on board. Welcome Trevor!

Adaptation to loacal environment in corals?

2011-11-01T12:44:00.009-04:00

Are corals genetically adapted to different habitats, or are they able to change their physiology to match novel environmental conditions? Carly Kenkel, a PhD candidate from the University of Texas at Austin hopes to answer this question for her model coral species, the Mustard Hill Coral (Porites astreoides), in the Florida Keys. She came to KML to set-up a large reciprocal transplant experiment to test for local adaptation of P. astreoides to differing thermal environments in the Keys. Because she was only able to spend 5 days here, the KML staff scientists helped with her collections and field deployment of the experiment. KML divers collected 15 P. astreoides colonies from a near-shore and off-shore site.

Healthy P. asteroides colony next to color reference card

Carly then fragmented these colonies using a tile saw, and mounted them on cement pucks with cattle tag labels to keep track of all the individuals.

Finally, Carly weighed all the fragments so that she can monitor growth during her experiment.

KML divers returned all the mounted fragments to her field sites, and she’ll be back in the spring and again in the fall to see if her predictions are correct!

Spiny lobster denning behavior

2011-10-19T09:28:00.009-04:00

What factors contribute to the denning behavior of Florida Bay's juvenile spiny lobster (Panularis argus) population? And how might shelter loss events, such as sponge die-offs, influence denning behavior and dispersal? What is the most effective way to conserve this important marine resource?
Katherine (Kat) Heldt, PhD candidate from Clemson University, has spent several months at KML, observing "social status" among lobsters and testing what mechanisms by which they choose shelters. Kat hopes to determine whether dominance status or familiarity can influence denning behavior and dispersal.

First, pairs of lobsters are housed in 15-gal replicate aquaria, plumbed to KML's seawater system. They are offered artificial shelter and observed at night for aggressive behavior under dim red lighting.

Next, the lobsters are transferred to KML's mesocosm ("The Shallows", KML's 122,000-gal flow-thru seawater pond) along with unfamiliar individuals (pairs housed in separate aquaria) equipped with artificial shelters. After several days of observing denning behavior and dispersal in the mesocosm, some of the shelter blocks are removed to mimic sudden habitat loss.

Finally, the tagged lobsters are released onto field sites (16 pre-selected 25m x 25m near-shore bay-side sites) for further observation.

Kat and her lab assistant, Frank, self-captain KML's 18' Parker, the R/V NariNari, to reach their sites.

FAU students take a fish-eye view of marine habitats

2011-10-01T16:01:00.008-04:00

No, this is not synchronized swim class. Dr. Stephen Kajiura, professor at Florida Atlantic University, brought 17 graduate students down to KML for their Sensory Biology and Behavior of Fish field trip in October. They spent 3 days exploring the various marine habitats, observing and discussing fish behavior.
Moving off the reef into deep water, students paired up to see how well they could navigate (ie swim a straight line) without visual references, such as being able to see the bottom. Students all agreed that they would make very poor fish. In another exercise, they were challenged to detect sounds of varying frequencies, while under water at varying depths and distances from the sound source.
Dr. Kajiura and his grad students are frequent visitors to KML, studying elasmobranch sensory abilities.

BURR Team on hand for Coral Spawning Event in the Keys

2011-09-15T10:49:00.002-04:00

Boulder Star Coral (Montastrea faveolata) setting gamete bundles prior to spawning (photo by P. Gillet)

Every August, several nights after the full moon, Boulder Corals along the Florida Keys reef tract synchronize their reproductive efforts in an amazing coral spawning event. Dr. Mary Alice Coffroth, professor at SUNY Buffalo, was on hand to capture the event for on-going projects exploring the many facets of coral-algal symbiosis.

An army of grad students, divers and snorkelers from Buffalo as well as volunteers from south Florida institutions, took to the water to arrange collection tents over promising colonies near Alligator Reef as dusk approached, then returned to the boat to wait. Teams of divers splashed again at 11:00pm to gather cupfuls of the coral spawn, handing them off to snorkelers who ferried them back to the boat. Weather was a bit rough but the team was fearless!

Returning to the dock at 2:00am, the army worked around the clock at KML's wet lab facility to carefully rear the developing coral larvae. Spawning was so successful at the Middle Keys site this year, that the BURR Team (Buffalo Undersea Reef Research) had plenty to share with fellow scientists in the Upper and Lower Keys.

The new coral recruits were allowed to settle on ceramic tiles in their special Kreisells at the wet lab and then placed back out on the reef to follow development. Dr. Coffroth's team will periodically return to KML to sample the new recruits on the tiles to asses the coral/algal symbiosis between near-shore and off-shore sites.

Check out the BURR blog for more on this project
: http://burrcoralspawn11.blogspot.com/

The world of the Upside-down Jellyfish

2011-07-01T15:04:00.005-04:00

Upside-down jellyfish, Cassiopea xamachana

Rachel Mellas, Masters candidate at SUNY Buffalo with Dr. Mary Alice Coffroth, spent 2 months at KML. She is studying the fitness effects and symbiont type in the upside-down jellyfish, Cassiopea xamachana.

Upside-down jellyfish right side-up!

In Cassiopea, establishment of the symbiosis occurs in the scyphistomae (polyp) stage of development where multiple strains of Symbiodinium can be acquired. Upon infection, the scyphistomae produce ephyra (young medusa) through a process termed strobilation. Once they reach the adult medusa form, they typically harbor one specific type of symbiont (Symbiodinium A1).

Cassiopea scyphistomae (polyp) stage

To understand the potential fitness advantages to the host of harboring different symbiont types, Rachel has set up laboratory experiments which look at the how different symbionts affect the growth rate, survivorship, and timing of strobilation of scyphistomae, and if strobilation occurs with only certain symbionts (A1). (photos by R Mellas)

Lionfish, Lionfish Everywhere!

2011-05-20T17:20:00.012-04:00

KML staff recently participated in the Middle Keys Lionfish Derby, which was the first derby of REEF's 2nd Annual Lionfish Derby Series. The City of Layton was one the derby's major sponsors which was held at Fiesta Key Resort on Long Key.

Though the team was unable to improve upon last year's 2nd place finish, they had a great time and were able to catch 66 lionfish, which was just a few fish behind the 3rd place team that had 69.

To see the complete derby results follow this link:
http://www.reef.org/lionfish/derbies/2011MiddleKeysResults

Then the week following the derby, researchers Carmen Schloeder and Andrew Sellers from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in Panama visited KML and were also in search of the invasive lionfish.

They completed 9 dives in 3 days off of Long Key and were able to find lionfish on every dive except for 1. On the dives they were looking at density of the fish to compare to reefs in Panama and Belize. They also collected fish to look at gut content, size classes, distribution, and parasitology. In total they were able to catch 44 lionfish on their dives during the visit.

Visit to the Tennessee ROA

2011-04-13T14:24:00.005-04:00

KML science staff, diving under their Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary permit, checked on things in the Tennessee Research Only Area (ROA). Located 2 miles east of the Tennessee Reef Light, this small 0.2 acre Special Use Area was designated as one of the "no entry" zones by the Sanctuary, to be used as an undisturbed reference area.

The habitat within the ROA is characterized by low-relief contiguous reef, with areas of bare sand bottom, ranging from 12' to 35' depth. Divers floated past large barrel sponges and massive ancient coral heads

There were several long-spined urchins (Diadema antillarum) tucked away, with plenty of macro-algae to feed on. A big Goliath grouper (Epinephelus itajara) followed divers around the reef.

A brilliant green moray eel (Gymnothorax funebris) was sitting out in plain view (or trying to blend in with the algae!), watching the show.

And it seems that no dive would be complete these days without encountering at least 1 invasive exotic lionfish (Pterois volitans). KML and FWC staff are specially permitted by the Sanctuary to capture and remove lionfish within all Special Use Areas, including Special Preservation Areas, ROAs, and Ecological Reserves. Staff scientist Andrew Crowder used a pair of hand nets to capture this lionfish near a large coral head.

Staff scientist, Cindy Lewis displays the 4 lionfish captured during the day of diving in the Tennessee ROA. The lionfish will be used in a feeding trial at KML.

New Shade Stucture

2011-03-30T11:51:00.005-04:00

The cement pad in front of the classroom/dry lab once again has a shade structure! It will be a much-needed place to work on vessels and vehicles, out of the sun and also an area of shade for our visiting groups to utilize.

It all started with a pile of pipes and boxes of screws on the concrete pad.

One half done, tackling the second set of arches

Bill and Dave have worked pretty much non-stop since the delivery of the base plates. Several of the FWRI Marathon office crew came up to give us a hand for 2 days and that was a huge help - Thanks Bryan, Chris and Nick!

The Great Moon Snail Search

2011-03-26T15:30:00.007-04:00

University of South Florida's Dr. Gregory Herbert's Geology class visited KML to survey the diversity and ecology of local benthic marine invertebrates, with an emphasis on mollusks, specifically moon snails.

The elusive moon snails were nowhere to be found during their boat trip with stops at Old Dan Bank, White Marlin Beach, and Indian Key. However, the group did find evidence of their presence: tracks, eggs, and prey(Chione elevata).

Fortunately, the class was very pleased to find a few moon snails while snorkeling down near Bahia Honda State Park at the Missouri - Ohio Channel, and also enjoyed a rocky trip on FIO's R/V Bellows before heading back to St. Petersburg.

First visit for Randolph-Macon College

2011-03-25T16:22:00.005-04:00

First-time visitor to KML, Grace Lim-Fong, assistant professor of Biology at Randolph-Macon College (Ashland, VA), ventured to the Keys with 8 enthusiastic marine biology students.
They spent a rigorous week at the lab, learning about the various habitats, marine life, and designing experiments for class presentations.

Students collecting data at the Bamboo Key Living Lab site

One challenge in the marine environment is learning techniques for collecting data. The students participated in KML's Living Lab project, collecting data at 3 of our 5 permanent near-shore sites, using belt transects, line intercept, and quadrat sampling methods.

Upon their return to Randolph-Macon, Professor Lim-Fong and her students sent us a school pennant, signed by all the students, which is hanging in the Classroom in our "Who's Who at KML" display.

A long road to the Keys from Idaho

2011-03-18T11:52:00.003-04:00

Graduate and undergraduate geology students from the University of Idaho (Moscow, ID) came to the Keys in March to warm their bones while studying the Modern Carbonate Sediments of the Florida Keys. Led by their professor, Dr. Peter Isaacson, they explored some of the geological highlights of the Keys.

They had an opportunity sample the shoreline sediments and snorkel live coral reefs near KML. Then, in contrast, they visited Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park, where they saw 125,000 year old coral formations in the walls of the old quarry.

Once back in Idaho, the students signed their U. Idaho pennant, which now hangs in the Who's Who at KML display in our Classroom.

Duke Marine Geologists at KML

2011-03-10T12:14:00.006-05:00

Professor Gary Dwyer, Duke University (Durham, NC), explored the Marine Geology of South Florida with his undergraduate students for a week in March.

Core sampling at Old Dan Bank

Using KML as home base, they experienced a variety of marine habitats from the Everglades to Key West.

In search of Marine Gastrotrichs

2011-03-01T16:24:00.001-05:00

William D Hummon, Emeritus Professor of Biological Sciences (Ohio University Athens, OH) spent the month of February at KML in search of marine gastrotrichia. Gastrotichs are microscopic animals, covered with cilia and found "running around" between sand particles.
Dr. Hummon and his able assistants, wife Meg and daughters Jules and Cheryl, gathered samples from 2 dozen intertidal and subtidal sandy banks throughout the Keys, from Harry Harris State Park to the beaches of Key West.

His seach turned up 33 different species of gastrotrichs for this trip, 8 of which are probably new to the scientific community.

MURI team model and measure underwater spectral-polarized light field

2011-01-15T16:22:00.008-05:00

The MURI team of researchers joined forces at KML in January to study the dynamic spectral-polarized light field with hopes to identify mechanisms of adaptive camouflage in the near-shore littoral zone. Each team came with their own array of highly-specialized instruments, gathering data at several locations both on the ocean side and bay side of Long Key.

Dr. James Sullivan (U. Rhode Island) deploying their equipment overboard using their davit

KML Divers positioning equipment underwater in preparation for data readings

Dr. Alex Gillerson's team (City College of NY) positioning "the Octopus" at the surface for sunlight readings

Dr. Heidi Dierssen's (U. of Connecticut) and Dr. Molly Cummings dive team (U. Texas) worked underwater with instruments to quantify the spectral-polarized light field and the biological response to these dynamic optical environments. The team has plans to return to KML for summertime data collection.

Happy Holidays from KML

2010-12-14T10:42:00.005-05:00

Heddy & Lisa are keeping track of everyone's wish-list

Bill & Dave have Santa's sleigh in fine working order

Andrew & Cindy are keeping an eye on the weather forecast and sharp look-out for any stray reindeer

The staff at KML wish you all a Happy Holiday Season and look forward to seeing y'all in the New Year!

Students from University of Mainz, Germany

2010-12-13T11:11:00.002-05:00

Professors Bernhard Lieb, Frank Depoix, and Bettina Ebner, from the Department of Zoology at the University of Mainz, led a group of 20 students on an extended field trip to Keys Marine Lab. Using KML as their home base, they explored a variety of tropical habitats. The students enthusiastically snorkeled mangrove, reef, and near-shore hard-bottom habitats in spite of unseasonably cool temperatures.

Students embarked on the self-guided tour of the former settlement at Indian Key State Park

...and explored the rocky intertidal zone at Indian Key

They collected and identified various marine flora and fauna and tried their hand at several collection and sampling techniques. The group also took some time to venture up to the Everglades, and of course, to Key west. As they departed, they were already talking about bringing another group next year.

Lower Keys Lionfish Derby

2010-11-16T11:55:00.001-05:00

This past weekend KML staff participated in the 1st Annual Lower Keys Lionfish Derby sponsored by REEF, and placed 2nd out of 18 teams for most lionfish collected with 21!!

Follow the link below to see the complete results...

http://www.reef.org/lionfish/derbies/keysresults

The team hit the water bright and early in Long Key and had to be in Key West to have their lionfish counted and measured by sundown.

You can see that Andrew, Bill, and Cindy were glad to do their part to remove the invasive fish from the Florida Keys waters and also enjoyed eating their catch at the banquet.

Mooching Manatee

2010-11-12T09:50:00.002-05:00

We found this big ol' manatee slurping the trickle of fresh water as we flushed our engines today! He looked in great shape, with no visible prop scars but lots of barnacles on his back. We don't normally encourage them into such close association with boats by offering them fresh water from a dock hose.

2010 Long Key Sea Turtle Nesting Season

2010-11-10T12:30:00.000-05:00

With the end of another sea turtle nesting season the volunteers of Save-A-Turtle look back at the long and busy summer on Long Key beach.

The crack team was made up of Cindy Lewis (KML staff scientist on for her 1st official season), Nancy Godshall (Long Key Condo resident and self-proclaimed "Turtle Nazi"), and The Crowders (KML staff scientist Andrew, FWRI's biologist Whitney, and their son Finlee back for his 2nd season).

As you can see below Finlee is well on his way to following in his parents footsteps of tracking the "turtles", which was one of his first words!

The group walked the beach every morning again from mid-April to the end of October and marked a record high 49 crawls with 13 of those being nests. The first nest was laid May 11th and the last couple of nests weren't laid until July 19th and 29th, which is much later than any other previous few years. This was possibly due to the cold weather event the Keys experienced this winter and the sea water temperatures taking longer to warm up.

The nesting to false crawl ratio of 26.5% was the lowest percentage that had been seen in the last 3 years and far behind last year where the ratio was over 40% (11 nests and 16 false crawls).

Of the 1420 eggs that were surveyed by the team 860 loggerhead sea turtles hatched, which is over a 60% success rate. However that was down over 17% from the year before mostly due to 2 nests being over-washed by extremely high tides and one nest being destroyed by raccoons. Above you can see the nests that were affected by the high tides and were inundated with saltwater.

The group was encouraged by such a high number of crawls (only 25 and 27 the two previous years), and looks forward to next season where hopefully there will be even more nests!

FGCU students experience KML's Living Lab

2010-11-01T10:44:00.007-04:00

Marine Ecology students from Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Meyers, visited KML to get hands-on experience in a marine environment. Led by their professor, Dr. Micheal Parsons, they participated in KML's Living Laboratory Project (see KML website for more details). Students learned first-hand the challenges of laying out a site grid and doing belt transects and point counts while snorkeling, at 2 of the selected sites.

Actual data collected by the students will be added to the growing data base for the project and can be compared to previous assessments at each site.

Also down from FGCU was Dr. Robert Erdman's Invertebrates class. Students snorkeled various habitats, including seagrassbeds, mangroves, intertidal zones, and patch reefs, collecting and identifying animals for their studies. One of the days' highlights included the thrill of observing an 8' Hammerhead chasing fish near-by!