Two Sea Fans: Mote Marine Laboratory Podcast

Dr. Cindy Heil studies microscopic living things with huge impacts: phytoplankton. These ocean-dwelling, plant-like organisms are known for producing 50% of the oxygen we breathe along with food for other living things; a minority of species can produce toxins or have other negative impacts. Dr. Heil and her Mote colleagues focus on one of the most challenging phytoplankton: the Florida red tide algae species, Karenia brevis. In this episode, Dr. Heil tells hosts Joe and Hayley about her efforts to understand Florida red tide ecology and to test methods for mitigating and controlling the toxin-producing Florida red tide blooms that challenge coastal communities along the Gulf of Mexico. Tune in to learn how scientists are expanding the possible "toolbox" of technology for directly mitigating red tides, while continually working to better understand how red tides function. That knowledge is important for societal leaders working to protect the public and reduce possible water quality issues that may help "feed" a red tide after it forms offshore and moves to the coast. Dr. Heil is Director of the new Red Tide Institute at Mote, which formed to investigate red tide mitigation and control tools thanks to its Founding Donor, the Andrew and Judith Economos Charitable Foundation.

Mote Aquarium Biologist II Veronica Garcia just returned from an adventure in Argentina, where she assisted the program Proyecto Yacaré in their conservation and research efforts with broad-snouted caimans — reptiles related to alligators and crocodiles. Garcia tells hosts Joe and Hayley what it was like to visit Argentina, help incubate caiman eggs and care for the hatched caimans, visit nest sites in the field with a local guide and participate in Proyecto Yacaré’s student research projects. Many thanks to the Florida Association of Zoos & Aquariums for the competitive grant that allowed Garcia spend two weeks with this exciting project!

From sea snakes in Australia to nurse sharks in the Dutch Caribbean, Dr. Rob Nowicki studies fascinating animals around the world, to better understand the ecology of natural communities and sometimes to solve immediate problems, such as how to keep nurse sharks out of lobster traps to benefit both the sharks and lobsters. With a case of self-described "academic ADD," Nowicki has an excitingly diverse and adventurous research career. In this episode, he educates hosts Hayley and Joe on the complex interactions among multiple marine species, which must be understood for effective conservation - especially as big challenges like climate change reshape natural communities.

Since 1968, passionate ocean educators have been joining the Florida Marine Science Educators Association (FMSEA). This episode features two of our favorite FMSEA friends — Jason Robertshaw of Mote’s Virtual Learning Program and Kasey Gaylord-Opalewski of EarthEcho International — sharing how they train teachers in safe, legal collection of aquatic organisms and lead multiple efforts focused on conservation and ocean literacy. What is ocean literacy anyway? What ocean topics are “hot” among educators right now? Why is Joe so good at answering ocean trivia questions? Do FMSEA educators really have THAT much fun at their conferences? Tune in to find out! Educators can register for the May 2-5 FMSEA conference in Crystal River at: fmsea.org Mote Marine Laboratory's education programs mentioned today include Virtual Learning (seatrek.tv) and Teacher Professional Development (mote.org/teacher) EarthEcho International, earthecho.org, features monitorwater.org and stemexplore.org. Please rate and review Two Sea Fans in the iTunes Store or Apple podcast app. It really helps! In those apps, you can also download episodes free.  

The world's third-largest barrier coral reef is losing its battle with an unprecedented coral disease outbreak, and Mote Marine Laboratory scientists are determined to do something about it. Dr. Erinn Muller, Science Director of Mote’s Elizabeth Moore International Center for Coral Reef Research & Restoration, is on the front lines of the response to the stony coral tissue loss disease outbreak on the Florida Reef Tract. She updates hosts Hayley and Joe on the intensive efforts by Mote and numerous partners to study the disease and investigate how coral restoration can help the reef bounce back.

Veterinarian Dr. Whitney Greene has worked with “all creatures great and small” – more than 100 species ranging from tiny frogs to massive elephants. She joined Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium in 2018 to apply her skills with marine veterinary medicine for the care of sea turtles, manatees, sharks and other species. Before working with Mote, she served as Staff Veterinarian at Buttonwood Park Zoo in Massachusetts. In this episode, she tells hosts Joe and Hayley about some of her most challenging and rewarding veterinary cases, and she shares how aquarium and zoo vets have to think outside the box to treat a diverse array of species. If you enjoy "Two Sea Fans," please rate and review the program in the iTunes store or Apple podcast app, and share your favorite episodes with friends. The sea fans thank you!

Today we meet Dr. Lee Fuiman, who investigates how fish "make a living" during the early parts of their lives. He is especially interested in how the diets of adult fish can influence their babies, or larvae. Dr. Fuiman was recently selected as the new William R. and Lenore Mote Eminent Scholar Chair in Fisheries Ecology and Enhancement, an award from Florida State University and Mote that will support his collaboration with Mote scientists studying sportfishes and aquaculture (fish farming). Dr. Fuiman, Director of the Fisheries and Mariculture Laboratory at the Marine Science Institute of the University of Texas (UT) at Austin, will spend four of the next six months based at Mote’s Sarasota County campuses, exchanging knowledge related to his focus on larval fish ecology and physiological ecology. His research includes a focus on improving fisheries stock enhancement efforts - a goal near and dear to Mote scientists. Mote's "Two Sea Fans" hosts Hayley and Joe were delighted to learn that Dr. Fuiman produces the podcast and radio production "Science And The Sea," whose recent episode "Changing Eggs" highlights a redfish study Dr. Fuiman discussed here on "Two Sea Fans." Read the Jan. 22, 2019, news release about Dr. Fuiman's work with Mote.

Happy New Year from “Two Sea Fans” hosts Joe and Hayley! This year-in-review episode recaps and updates many of Mote Marine Laboratory’s stories from 2018. From the challenges of red tide and coral disease to the highlights of shark-tagging expeditions, sea turtle nesting and cool ocean chemistry studies, this special episode will help you catch up on the life and times of our favorite working marine Lab, its public Aquarium, and the amazing humans and animals that make it a special place. Please rate and review "Two Sea Fans" in the iTunes store or Apple podcast app — you'll really make our year!

Marine animals run across many harmful, environmental contaminants. If they survive exposure, are they really "out of the woods," or will their health (and even their offspring's health) change? Mote Marine Laboratory Senior Scientist Dr. Dana Wetzel investigates the presence and impacts of contaminants — including oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico — as one key focus of her Environmental Laboratory for Forensics based at Mote’s Sarasota, Florida, campus. In this episode, hosts Joe and Hayley ask Dr. Wetzel about the questions her lab is working to answer, including the latest steps in long-running research in partnership with Dr. Kevan Main, focusing on oil exposure in fishes.

Mote Senior Scientist Dr. Bob Hueter returns to discuss a highly successful research expedition focused on great white sharks off Nova Scotia. Seven white sharks were caught, tagged, sampled and released, supporting 15 projects by 25 scientists at 18 institutions, during this expedition conducted by the organization OCEARCH with Hueter as Chief Expedition Scientist during late September-early October 2018. Hueter discusses where the white sharks have been tracked, what other scientific questions are being asked about them, what conservation and safety questions scientist must answer as white shark populations rebound, and what it was like to work with a whopping, 15-foot-plus, white shark nicknamed “Luna.” Track white sharks tagged during OCEARCH expeditions at: ocearch.org

Dan Bebak joined Mote Aquarium as an intern, and over decades he's advanced to lead its operations as Vice President of Mote's Education, Aquarium & Outreach Division. In this episode, he shares his memories from the early Aquarium along with Mote's vision for the Aquarium's future, which is tied closely to the future of the expanding research at Mote Marine Laboratory. Bebak and his colleagues are working hard toward a rebirth of the current Aquarium - as Mote Science Education Aquarium (Mote SEA) - at a new mainland location easily reached by residents and visitors to Sarasota and Manatee counties in Florida. The new Mote Science Education Aquarium will be an awesome new learning hub where science is the attraction. Tune in to hear about the process of creating it!  

When a fishery declines, can you release fish to aid its recovery – without unintended consequences? Mote Senior Scientist Dr. Ken Leber investigates how to raise and release fishes in ecologically sound ways, a process known as responsible stock enhancement and codified by Leber and colleagues. Learn how stock enhancement took hold in the U.S., why it became a research focus at Mote, how Leber has advanced responsible practices around the globe, and what Florida sportfish was the favorite of William R. Mote, the benefactor and namesake of Mote Marine Laboratory.

When we spot a female sea turtle on her nesting beach or care for patients in Mote's Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Hospital, we get a snapshot of these animals' long, fascinating lives. However, once they return to sea, these turtles can migrate for hundreds of miles and are mostly hidden from humans. Mote Senior Biologist Kristen Mazzarella is shedding light on their journeys. She fits sea turtles with satellite tags to track where they go, including what threats they might encounter. Tune in as Kristen tells Hayley and Joe what she hopes to learn from the latest tracked turtles.

Some coral reefs in the Middle East are strikingly beautiful and seemingly well-preserved, but will they stay that way as humans alter the environment? Dr. Emily Hall traveled to Israel to study stress on corals, including eutrophication – a big word you can say at parties to sound smart. But seriously, eutrophication (excess nutrients in bodies of water) could be challenging to corals already stressed by global climate change. Joe and Hayley ask Dr. Hall what she has learned about this challenge and what it's like to work in the Middle East, including diving for another project in the gorgeous Gulf of Aqaba. Dr. Hall also shares updates on her U.S.-based work as manager of Mote’s Ocean Acidification (OA) Program, including rebuilding her Florida-based OA research system to make it bigger and better after Hurricane Irma.

School’s out for the summer — some students might take a vacation, but a select 10 college students have found their summer vocation at Mote: a 10-week independent research experience. Mote’s Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Program, funded by the National Science Foundation, has educated and trained more than 150 aspiring scientists since 2003. In this episode, Dr. Cathy Walsh, REU Coordinator and Senior Scientist at Mote, and REU intern Hery Rios-Guzman from Puerto Rico join hosts Joe and Hayley for an inside look at the way top students pursue their research passions with help from a mentoring scientist. What skills does a young scientist need to learn? What advice do Walsh and Rios have for next year’s applicants? And how does Rios’ interest in veterinary medicine relate to his summer study subject, coral reefs? Tune in!