Respect and protect marine wildlife this Memorial Day and year ‘round

May 21, 2020 Hayley Rutger
Respect and protect marine wildlife this Memorial Day and year ‘round

As people return to local beaches and visit local waters by boat for Memorial Day, Mote Marine Laboratory reminds everyone to respect and protect marine life. Social distancing might be new to humans, but marine animals have always needed safe, undisturbed space for essential behaviors such as feeding, mating, and bearing and rearing young.

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Podcast: Where do baby turtles come from? Sea turtle mating systems

May 11, 2020
Where do baby turtles come from? Sea turtle mating systems

Sea turtles are currently nesting on southwest Florida beaches: laying eggs that will hatch to produce babies known as hatchlings. On April 15, as Mote began its annual routine of monitoring these nesting beaches for research and conservation, our new Postdoctoral Research Fellow Dr. Jake Lasala joined the "Two Sea Fans" team to describe the new research projects he is launching with Mote's Sea Turtle Conservation & Research Program. Dr. Lasala studies sea turtle mating systems and other population features to support conservation and management of these endangered and threatened reptiles. In this episode he explains why we need to investigate sea turtle mating and estimate how many females and males might be contributing to a population. He also shares why sea turtles are nicknamed  "hot chicks and cool dudes."

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Podcast: Animal care is essential during Aquarium closure

April 30, 2020

In this episode, Adam Dolman tells hosts Hayley and Joe about the continuing animal care duties Mote Aquarium biologists carry out even while the Aquarium is closed temporarily to protect public health amid COVID-19. In particular, he shares a few highlights on taking excellent care of corals, including the rescued corals Mote Aquarium is hosting through the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' Florida Reef Tract Rescue Project. Please note: The sound quality of this episode is rough because it's a remote recording made during a time of social distancing. Your Two Sea Fans are working to improve the audio for future remote recordings. We can't wait until we're able to get back to the studio, and we especially can't wait until we're able to see your smiling faces in the Aquarium again. Stay well, everyone!

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New sea turtle scientist expanding Mote’s research this nesting season

April 27, 2020 Hayley Rutger

Just in time for sea turtle nesting season, Mote Marine Laboratory is pleased to welcome Mote Postdoctoral Research Fellow Dr. Jake Lasala, who studies sea turtle mating systems and other population features to support conservation and management of these endangered and threatened reptiles. Read our Q&A with Dr. Lasala.

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Red Tide Initiative advances mitigation science, even in challenging times

April 21, 2020 Hayley Rutger

Just like other community members, many marine scientists were self-isolating to protect public health in April 2020. In the meantime, researchers from multiple institutions were joining forces—mostly virtually, for now—to arrange the next major steps in a quest to fight impacts of Florida red tide, through new competitive grants from the Florida Red Tide Mitigation and Technology Development Initiative.

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