Mote’s World Oceans Day brings good, clean fun to the Suncoast

Hundreds celebrated World Oceans Day on June 2 at Mote Aquarium in Sarasota, where ocean conservationists shared their knowledge through fun activities and guests explored the special exhibit “Sea Debris: Awareness through Art” before it concludes on June 15.

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New Study shows local environmental stressors reduce resiliency of Red Sea corals to global change

Ocean acidification (OA) is hard to describe. Many do not realize it's even there, but why would they? It doesn’t have a taste or smell. Despite its mysterious nature, OA is impacting the ocean at an exponential rate. Scientists around the world are studying its effects, but Mote Marine Laboratory scientists and their collaborators are asking an even bigger question - what happens to coral reefs when OA is combined with other stressors?

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Learn about sea turtles during free Turtle Walks on Longboat Key

Join Mote Marine Laboratory’s monitoring collaborator, Longboat Key Turtle Watch (LBKTW), on their free Turtle Walks every Saturday morning in June and July. The walks will begin at 6:45 a.m. at the public beach access entrance on 4795 Gulf of Mexico Dr. on Longboat Key. Participants of all ages are welcome to attend these walks, and no reservation is needed.

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Saturday: Celebrate World Oceans Day at Mote Aquarium

Join in on the worldwide celebration of our magnificent oceans at World Oceans Day at Mote Aquarium from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, June 2. The festival is free with regular paid admission to the Aquarium and is free to members.

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Podcast: Fishes in your backyard

Waterside residents: You probably have fishes in your backyard, whether you know it or not! Dr. Ryan Schloesser knows all about those fishes in southwest Florida, especially the treasured sport fish common snook. In this episode, he tells hosts Joe and Hayley how he and Mote colleagues release hatchery-reared snook to study their habitat preferences, likelihood of survival, ability to enhance the wild fishery, and more. Tune in for fish facts both practical and fun: How can southwest Florida anglers get involved in fisheries research, how are snook tagged for science, and how hard is it to catch a hatchery-reared fish with your hands? Stay for some nerdy discussion — for instance, why do scientists care so much about fish “otoliths,” or ear stones? Also, anglers should mark their calendars for the William R. Mote Memorial Snook Shindig on Sept. 28 and 29. This catch, sample and release tournament targets snook released by scientists from Mote’s Fisheries Ecology and Enhancement Program and colleagues at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

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Mote partners with SciGirls to offer STEM summer camp for girls

The week of Fourth of July is all about girl power at Mote Marine Laboratory—this summer, Mote will be offering an exciting, free, week-long opportunity for girls going into grades 6th to 8th. Mote is partnering again with SciGirls, a NSF-funded informational science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) educational program started by the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) to spark girls’ interest and engagement in STEM.

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Mote to Host ‘Meet & Greet’ with Scientists from Upcoming OCEARCH Key West Expedition

On Friday, May 25, Mote Marine Laboratory will host a “Meet & Greet” reception with OCEARCH on Summerland Key, Florida.  This reception, from 6-8 p.m. at Mote’s Elizabeth Moore International Coral Reef Research and Restoration (IC2R3), will feature an overview of OCEARCH’s upcoming expedition from its Founding Chairman and Expedition Leader, Chris Fischer. Guests can also meet collaborating scientists involved in the expedition, including Dr. Robert Nowicki, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Mote.

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