Today’s research for tomorrow’s oceans: A year of stories from Mote Marine Lab

Mote Marine Laboratory rang in 2015 by celebrating its 60th anniversary — the start of a spectacular year of science, education and exciting new efforts to expand Mote’s positive impact locally and globally.

In January Mote publicly launched Oceans of Opportunity: The Campaign for Mote Marine Laboratory — a multi-million-dollar, comprehensive fundraising effort to support and grow Mote’s research and education efforts now and into the future. As of early December, the campaign has raised more than $40 million of its $50 million goal, and it continues with amazing momentum. It is already the most successful fundraising effort in the nonprofit Lab’s history.

Mote’s famous founder, “Shark Lady” Dr. Eugenie Clark, lived to see her Lab turn 60 and then died this year at age 92. Clark is dearly missed, and her passion for science lives on at Mote. This year, Mote leaders and numerous family members, friends and colleagues from around the world honored Clark’s life and legacy.

Carrying on that legacy are 201 Mote employees, including more than 30 Ph.D. scientists who work in oceans around all seven continents. Mote announced the arrival of five new Ph.D. researchers in 2015 and Mote researchers produced 53 peer-reviewed articles in scientific journals, along with several book chapters. In addition, 58 technical reports were published by Mote.
 
Mote Aquarium — an informal science education center — shared the Lab’s research with an estimated 310,000 visitors this year. Now the community is abuzz about Mote’s upcoming exhibit “Otters & Their Waters,” expected in early 2016.

Mote's education programs served more than 27,000 people of all ages, and the Mote Mobile exhibit traveled to bring Mote science to an estimated 80,000 more this year. The Lab also hosted 190 college interns and 73 high school interns.

Mote's dedicated volunteers helped all of this year's successes happen. They contributed 147,037 hours of service for the benefit of our oceans. In addition, 6,690 people either began or continued supporting the Lab as Mote Members this year.

Below are Mote's 2015 stories by month, including many new updates. Happy holidays and best wishes for the new year!

 

January

Mote celebrates 60th Anniversary, announces Lab-wide, fundraising campaign

Robert Essner, Mote's Campaign Chair, speaks during Mote's 60th Anniversary celebration in January 2015. (Credit Mote Marine Laboratory)

Mote kicked off its 60th Anniversary with a Jan. 22 celebration, where Mote leaders announced the multimillion-dollar fundraising effort Oceans of Opportunity: The Campaign for Mote Marine Laboratory to expand the Lab’s impact in marine science and education locally and globally.
 
The campaign — Mote’s first multi-year, comprehensive fundraising effort — marks a pivotal moment for the Lab’s science and education missions, which have led to groundbreaking discoveries about marine ecosystems, supported economic development and helped millions of people become more ocean literate.
 
Mote was founded in 1955 as a one-room lab by famous “Shark Lady” Dr. Eugenie Clark. Since then, Mote has grown to become a world-class research institution with 25 diverse research programs that operate at Florida campuses from Sarasota to the Keys.
 
Updates:

As of early December, 2015, Oceans of Opportunity has raised more than $40 million toward its $50-million goal, providing vital support for three Lab-wide goals central to Mote’s 2020 Vision & Strategic Plan: supporting and expanding Mote’s annual research and education operations, spurring long-term growth in the endowment for Mote’s future and constructing a new, state-of-the-art research facility at Mote’s property on Summerland Key, Fla.

“Though Oceans of Opportunity is still in progress, it is already the most successful fundraising effort in Mote’s history,” said Mote President & CEO Dr. Michael P. Crosby. “Many leadership donors have stepped forward and pledged $1 million or more, and we look forward to even greater community engagement as we near the finish line. The warm welcome this campaign has received really shows how much our communities care about marine research, the health of the oceans and all the lives that depend on them.”
Updates on leadership donors and the planned Keys facility are included in the November and December sections of this press release.
To support Oceans of Opportunity, visit www.moteoceans.org or contact Erin Knievel at 941-388-4441, ext. 415 or eknievel@mote.org.

January/February

Mote partners with two higher-education institutions

Florida Keys Community College President and CEO Dr. Jonathan Gueverra and Mote President and CEO Dr. Michael P. Crosby sign an agreement to help their institutions collaborate. (Credit Mote Marine Laboratory)

Mote forged education-focused partnerships with Florida Keys Community College (FKCC) and Jacksonville University (JU) in January and February, respectively.
 
These two memoranda of understanding allow Mote to partner with each institution in teaching, mentoring student research, conducting joint research and sharing research and education facilities and infrastructure.  
 
Read full press releases on Mote’s partnerships with FKCC and JU.

February

Mote's founding "Shark Lady" dies, concluding extraordinary life

Dr. Eugenie Clark during her early years of research before she founded Mote Marine Laboratory. (Credit Mote Marine Laboratory)

Dr. Eugenie Clark — the famous “Shark Lady” who founded Mote — died at age 92 on Feb. 25, in the company of family at her home in Sarasota, due to complications from the lung cancer she had battled for years. She undertook her last ocean dives in 2014, and her latest research was in review for publication when she passed away.

“Genie” Clark blazed trails for women in science; inspired generations of people from ocean experts to school children; swam with sharks to learn about them; and lived to see the world-class research enterprise of Mote turn 60 in 2015.
 
Clark, an ichthyologist, was a world authority on fishes — particularly sharks and tropical sand fishes. A courageous diver and explorer, Clark conducted 72 submersible dives as deep as 12,000 feet and led over 200 field research expeditions to the Red Sea and Gulf of Aqaba, Caribbean, Mexico, Japan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Thailand, Indonesia and Borneo to study sand fishes, whale sharks, deep sea sharks and spotted oceanic triggerfish. She wrote three books and more than 175 articles, including research publications in leading peer-reviewed journals such as Science and a dozen popular stories in National Geographic magazine.
 
In 1955, Clark started the one-room Cape Haze Marine Laboratory in Placida, Fla., with her fisherman assistant and with philanthropic support and hearty encouragement from the Vanderbilt family. The Lab thrived in partnership with its community and became Mote Marine Laboratory in 1967 to honor major benefactor William R. Mote. Today the Lab is based on City Island, Sarasota, and it hosts 25 diverse marine research and conservation programs, education programs for all ages and a major public Aquarium.

Read more.

Manatee picks Super Bowl winner for seventh time in eight years

Mote manatee Buffett picks the 2015 Super Bowl winner: his seventh correct guess in eight years. (Credit Mote Marine Laboratory)

The New England Patriots won Super Bowl XLIX — as predicted by one Florida manatee that has guessed the winning team for seven of eight years.
 
Buffett, a manatee living with his half-brother Hugh at Mote Aquarium in Sarasota, Fla., picked the Patriots on Jan. 29. Hugh selected the Seahawks. Each manatee swam toward one of two targets showing the teams' logos.
 
2015 marks the manatees’ eighth year of Super Bowl predictions. To date, Buffett has picked correctly for seven of eight years, and Hugh has five correct guesses and three incorrect. Aside from being sports fans, Hugh and Buffett are the world’s most extensively trained manatees. Training helps their veterinary care run more smoothly and allows the two manatees to participate in Mote Marine Laboratory’s innovative research about their senses, such as hearing and touch, and about their physiology.

Read February's press release.

Updates:

In April 2015, Buffett and Hugh showed how they participate in research during a web video from Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom. Read more in April section.
Media: Please watch your email for an invitation to cover Mote manatees’ 2016 Super Bowl predictions during late January or early February.

February/March

International ocean experts share their passion in Mote lecture series

From deep-sea discoveries to marine biomedicine, ocean experts shared their passion and knowledge with the Sarasota community during Mote’s Special Lecture series in February and March.
 
Audiences learned how stingrays might give us clues to improve human healthcare, how Mote’s coral reef restoration efforts are helping save a treasured ecosystem, what amazing creatures inhabit the “Galapagos of the Indian Ocean” and why bacteria aren’t always icky — many are important companions for corals, other animals and us!
 
Mote is dedicated to sharing scientific discoveries with the world, helping the public become more ocean literate and supporting marine stewardship.
 
Update:

Mote’s 2016 Special Lecture Series will take place on Mondays, March 7, 14, 21 and 28. Watch www.mote.org and Mote’s social media pages for specifics.

March

Lots of baby scallops found at Mote restoration site in Sarasota Bay

Juvenile scallops found during March 2015 at Mote's Sarasota Bay restoration site. (Credit Mote Marine Laboratory)

Mote scientists and a Japanese colleague tallied a record 114 “baby” scallops from one Sarasota Bay restoration site in March — good news for Mote’s community-wide partnership working to replenish the Bay’s depleted scallop populations.
 
Florida’s scallop populations fell dramatically around 1960. The reasons are not fully understood but are thought to include decreased water quality, extreme red tides, destruction of sea grass habitat and overharvesting. To restore Sarasota Bay populations and study which strategies work, Mote is working with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Sarasota Bay Watch, Sarasota Bay Estuary Program, Sarasota County, Bay Shellfish Co., local business leaders, and most importantly, many volunteer citizen scientists. Partners are placing young scallops into the Bay, monitoring for recovery and working to improve environmental quality and expand community involvement.

The Mote Community Partnership: Scallop Restoration Initiative is being studied by the Japanese Research Institute for Humanity and Nature (RIHN), as part of a global research initiative to study how communities and scientists work together on environmental problems.

Full press release from March.

Update:

During fall and early winter 2015, shellfish in Sarasota Bay encountered the challenge of Florida red tide — a naturally-occurring type of harmful algae bloom that forms offshore. When Florida red tide drifts toward shore, it can be exacerbated by manmade and natural nutrients from land. At high concentrations, it can affect numerous marine species, including most shellfish.

This year’s red tide, which has drifted to southwest Florida’s coast, is likely affecting scallops and certain other invertebrates in Sarasota Bay. Given that Mote’s scallop nursery draws water directly from Sarasota Bay, Mote scientists released their nursery scallops in September and October, distributing them over a wider area to increase their chances of surviving and reproducing.

Both natural and manmade challenges serve as a reminder that shellfish restoration is important

National recovery plan will benefit threatened corals, says Mote co-author

Staghorn coral. (Credit Kim Ritchie/Mote Marine Laboratory)

In March, NOAA Fisheries announced its recovery plan for elkhorn coral (Acropora palmata) and staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis), identifying criteria that must be met for these branching corals to be removed from the list of threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. Coral reefs are critical to the health of marine ecosystems and economically valuable to coastal communities around the world.

Mote scientists wrote portions of the staghorn and elkhorn coral recovery plan and conducted research that helped inform its recommendations. Mote is carrying out innovative coral science and restoration projects at its research facility on Summerland Key that are relevant to the recovery plan.

Full press release.

April

Five years after Deepwater Horizon, new studies under way at Mote

Dr. Dana Wetzel (above) and Mote colleague Dr. Kevan Main are working on a new study investigating subtle effects of oil on Gulf of Mexico fishes raised at Mote Aquaculture Park. (Credit Mote Marine Laboratory)

Five years after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Mote scientists are leading new, spill-related studies focusing on the health of key fishes in the Gulf of Mexico.
 
This research is part of the C-IMAGE II consortium of many institutions studying the spill, led by the University of South Florida. C-IMAGE II and its earlier iteration, C-IMAGE I, are both supported by the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative.

Mote scientists are examining how specific levels of oil components affect fish under highly controlled conditions in the lab. Lab studies focus on three important Gulf of Mexico marine fishes — red drum, pompano, and southern flounder — to rigorously examine any oil-related changes in immune and reproductive health, viability of offspring and other traits important for maintaining populations.

April press release.

Update: Mote scientists began conducting oil-exposure studies in July and continued these studies in November using several species of Gulf of Mexico fishes reared at Mote Aquaculture Park (MAP). They are currently expanding the water filtration systems to support research trials that will take place in 2016. Mote scientists are working with Complete Water Services, LLC, of Marietta, Ga. to install a new water treatment system. The system was donated in large part by Complete Water Services and is instrumental for completing the exposure studies at MAP.

Mote manatees star in Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom web video

Mote's resident manatees star in a Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom web series launched April 23 — raising awareness for their species and demonstrating their special “job”: participating in Mote research to benefit conservation.

Read more and watch the web video.  (Choose “Mission.”)

Mote honors volunteers for decades of service

Mote honored its volunteers — including some who have served for more than 25 years — and recognized their valuable contributions to the Lab’s mission during a special awards ceremony in April.

Volunteers help Mote educate hundreds of thousands of people and they serve every area of the Lab from science and education to administration and facilities.

The volunteers honored in that ceremony have contributed more than 1,500 years of service. In 2014 they contributed 220 thousand hours of service, helping Mote save over $4 million.

Read the full press release.

To learn more about volunteering at Mote, visit www.mote.org/volunteer.

May

Turtle rescued by Coast Guard is released after care at Mote

Mote Marine Laboratory staff and U.S. Coast Guard crewmembers prepare to release a female loggerhead sea turtle named Mrs. Turt Lee from Lido Key on May 8.  The turtle was rescued by the Coast Guard and rehabilitated at Mote. From left: Paul Hillbrand, Animal Care Technician for Mote Marine Laboratory, Jennifer Fye, Seaman for U.S. Coast Guard, Jose Perez, Petty Officer 3rd Class for U.S. Coast Guard, Ekahi Lee, Chief Petty Officer for U.S. Coast Guard, Daniel Benoit, Chief Petty Officer for U.S. Coast Guard, and Jenna Rouse, Animal Care Technician for Mote.

A loggerhead sea turtle rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard and treated for boat-strike injuries at Mote was returned to the wild on May 8 from Lido Key in Sarasota County.

The 255-pound, adult female turtle, nicknamed “Mrs. Turt Lee,” crawled into the sea and swam away, returning home after nearly a year of care. At the time of release, caregivers suspected she might be getting ready to mate — an ultrasound in April 2015 revealed that she was carrying large follicles, precursors to eggs.

Read the May press release.

Mote researcher receives major NSF grant to study threatened corals

Staghorn corals planted by Mote scientists for reef restoration. This species of coral is the focus of a new study that received National Science Foundation funding in 2015. (Credit Joe Berg/Way Down Video)

In May, Mote announced that staff scientist Dr. Erinn Muller received the National Science Foundation’s (NSF’s) prestigious CAREER grant totaling $578,681 for five years of research and education focused on threatened corals.
 
The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program offers NSF’s most prestigious awards to support exemplary teacher-scholars through the integration of excellent education and outstanding research.
 
This grant is allowing Muller — who earned her Ph.D. in 2011 and is building an exceptional career — to conduct new research with staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis), a threatened species that has dwindled significantly in Florida and beyond. Muller is studying the coral’s potential to be affected by, and rebound from, major environmental stressors: disease, high water temperatures and ocean acidification. Muller has worked with college interns and will involve high-schoolers in her research in 2016, engaging younger generations in science designed to benefit reefs.

Read the May press release.

June

Novel acoustic study of protected grouper

Goliath grouper. (Credit NOAA's Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary)

In June, Mote scientists announced they had received a grant for their new study to “listen” to mating aggregations of protected grouper species by combining two acoustic techniques in a new way, advancing research to benefit depleted and recovering fish stocks.

Dr. James Locascio, staff scientist at Mote, was awarded a Marine Fisheries Initiative (MARFIN) Program grant provided by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to study protected populations of goliath grouper by combining sonar data with recordings of fish sounds — two key types of information normally collected separately. Learning to combine these acoustic data could provide a new quantitative way to study fish spawning aggregations.

June press release.

Update:
Field work for the grouper study kicked off in September 2015, when Mote scientists placed several underwater sound receivers at their research site off Jupiter, Fla., to collect acoustic data from the grouper before their spawning season ended in October. More data will be gathered during the 2016 spawning season and during non-spawning times — a necessity for understanding how the sounds from these grouper change in relation to the “baseline” (aka background) sounds and sonar detections of other species.

In January 2016, Mote scientists will return to the Jupiter site to recover some acoustic recorders to download data and redeploy the recorders, while also gathering sonar data. Using the “passive acoustic” recorders and the “active acoustic” sonar together is a novel research method Mote is testing, with the goal of enhancing various fisheries studies in the future. If scientists can detect the number and biomass of fish present using sonar, while also recording their sounds with receivers, then they may be able to mathematically relate fish sound levels to fish number and biomass. Mote researchers hope future studies can measure just the fish sounds and accurately infer the number and biomass of fish present — a “shortcut” that would expedite and enhance fisheries research and monitoring.
 
Update on another acoustic, fisheries study:
This year, Mote scientists also “listened” for the movements of tarpon in the Charlotte Harbor area by fitting the fish with tags that ping, allowing the tarpon to be detected when they swim near underwater receivers.

Mote scientists have placed an acoustic array of underwater receivers strategically in Charlotte Harbor. Since 2013, Mote has been fitting tarpon and other fish species with acoustic tags that remain active for as long as 10 years. Mote's receivers can detect and record fishes acoustically tagged by Mote and others. Likewise, receivers deployed by other organizations, such as the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, will detect fishes tagged by Mote, creating a collaborative, data-sharing network. In addition to adult tarpon Mote has tagged in the lower harbor, late juvenile-stage tarpon have also been tagged during summer 2015 in the Peace River, where receivers have detected their presence and movement patterns.

Three juvenile tarpon tagged by Mote appear to remain in the Peace River as of Dec. 9. Mote scientists aim to verify and expand upon this finding to better understand the life history of this important sport fish. Future goals include following acoustic-tagged tarpon for years, into maturity, in hopes of tracking their movements to spawning sites and along migration routes. The more data gathered about this important sport fish, the better resources managers can protect its populations.

Mote educator appointed to lead statewide STEM group

In June Mote announced that Brad Tanner, the Lab’s senior school programs coordinator, was appointed executive director of the Florida Association of Science Teachers (FAST).
 
FAST, the largest non-profit organization for science teachers in Florida, is dedicated to improving science education at all levels, from preschool through college. Tanner has been involved with FAST for nearly 10 years, serving about nine years on its Board of Directors.

June press release.

Mom and baby manatee get second chance at life in the wild

Mother manatee Cola and calf Fizz are ready to return to the wild after a team rescue and rehabilitation effort. (Credit Mote Marine Laboratory)

A manatee mother and her dependent calf – nicknamed Cola and Fizz – received a second chance at life in the wild after rehabilitation at the David A. Straz, Jr. Manatee Hospital at Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo. The pair was returned to Florida waters in June by animal care staff from the Zoo and rescuers from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and Mote.
 
Cola and Fizz were rescued May 1 from a canal along Lido Key in Sarasota County by FWC and Mote, after the calf was reported to be in distress.

During the release in June, scientists from Mote’s Manatee Research Program took photos of the calf’s markings, which can be used to identify the calf if he is seen again. Mote’s photo ID surveys help scientists learn about manatee behavior and ecology, habitat use, life history and other factors necessary to understand and conserve manatees.

June press release.

July

Landmark research and conservation efforts advance in Cuba

A Mote scientist swims among sharks in Cuban waters during a February 2015 research expedition. Results of the expedition were released and featured on Discovery Channel in July 2015. (Credit Mote Marine Laboratory)

Mote’s shark and coral researchers released results of a landmark expedition in Cuba — an international team effort — just before the expedition was featured on July 7 during Discovery Channel’s Shark Week.
 
The expedition allowed U.S. and Cuban scientists to place the first satellite transmitter tags on sharks in Cuban waters, conduct the first coral transplant experiment on a Cuban reef and more. Fieldwork took place in February 2015 and the satellite transmitters generated data afterward. The underwater action was featured in Discovery’s “Tiburones: The Sharks of Cuba.”

July press release.

Updates:

A rare longfin mako shark tagged during February’s expedition off Cuba “phoned home” near the U.S. coast in July, and Mote published a map of its journey in August. Full story.
On Oct. 21, Cuba released its National Plan of Action for Sharks, with the goals of conservation and sustainable management of these ecologically and economically important fishes. Mote scientists participated in the plan’s development and praised this major, collaborative step forward for shark and ray conservation in Cuban waters — a major area of focus for Mote’s Center for Shark Research. Full story.
On Nov. 18, U.S. and Cuban government agencies announced an agreement facilitating ocean science and stewardship focused on Marine Protected Areas. Mote President & CEO said: “This is a win-win-win: It’s a win for each country and a win for our oceans.”
Full story.
Mote’s research efforts in Cuba will continue growing. As of December 2015, the Lab is currently forging relationships with four science-focused organizations or agencies in Cuba, and more details are expected in 2016.

Mote hosts its first lionfish derby

A lionfish caught during the 2015 Lionfish Derby hosted by Mote Marine Laboratory and partners at Mote's City Island campus. (Credit Mote Marine Laboratory)

Divers and snorkelers removed 456 invasive lionfish from the Gulf of Mexico during the second annual Sarasota Lionfish Derby — the first ever at Mote — which culminated on July 12.
 
The Derby was hosted by Mote, a world-class marine science institution, in cooperation with Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF), which helps study and address the lionfish invasion and sanctions official Lionfish Derbies, and ZooKeeper, the Sarasota-based manufacturer of the leading lionfish containment unit used throughout invaded areas. The Derby was presented by Capt. Eddie’s Seafood.

July press release.

Update:

The next Sarasota Lionfish Derby will take place from July 10-12, 2016. Watch Mote’s web site and social media pages for details.

Mote's aquaponic fish & veggies debut on dinner tables

The aquaponics greenhouse at Mote Aquaculture Park. (Credit Mote Marine Laboratory)

Sea vegetables and red drum (redfish) grown at Mote Aquaculture Park using marine aquaponics – raising seafood while using the wastewater to fertilize salt-loving crops – are making their way into southwest Florida’s eco-friendly food scene.

Mote announced in July that its red drum were being sold to restaurants from Sarasota to Tampa and its sea purslane and saltwort, edible sea vegetables, were being served in certain local restaurants and sold at the Sarasota Farmers Market.

July press release.

Coral restoration mission with veterans a success

Combat-wounded veteran Billy Costello shakes hands with Mote President & CEO Dr. Michael P. Crosby during a summer 2015 coral restoration effort. (Credit Joe Berg/Way Down Video)

On July 20, Mote joined forces with members of the Combat Wounded Veteran Challenge (CWVC) and SCUBAnauts International in an underwater mission to restore Florida’s reef. In all, more than 50 divers planted some 250 fragments of staghorn coral in Mote’s special restoration site near Looe Key.
 
This marked the fourth year that these groups have worked together to plant coral fragments that were grown in Mote’s underwater coral nursery in the restoration area. Mote established the nursery more than eight years ago to grow colonies of the threatened staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis) for replanting on decimated or damaged sections of reef within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

July press release.

Mote named 5th best U.S. Aquarium by TripAdvisor

In July, TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Awards named Mote Aquarium one of the top five aquariums in the nation.
 
Mote claimed the 5th-place spot in the U.S. this year, up from 10th last year. This year, Mote was also named the 15th best Aquarium in the world.

July press release.

Update:

Mote is recognized nationally and internationally – and now locals have a chance to show some love. Vote for Mote in the Best of Sarasota by Jan. 15. Learn how.

August

Dolphin treated and released by Mote seen in wild with new calf

Ginger, a Sarasota Bay resident bottlenose dolphin rehabilitated and released by Mote Marine Lab, swims with a calf that appears to be her first baby on Aug. 6 in Sarasota Bay. The "2" on her dorsal fin is an identification marking - much like a medical ID bracelet - placed by the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program, which has monitored Ginger since birth and documented that she has been thriving after rehabilitation. (Credit: Sarasota Dolphin Research Program. Photo taken under NMFS Permit No. 15543.)

“Ginger,” a bottlenose dolphin rehabilitated at Mote, was observed with a calf that appears to be her first baby on Aug. 6 in Sarasota Bay by the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program (SDRP), which has monitored Ginger since her birth to a well-known resident Sarasota Bay dolphin, including the period since her successful return to the wild in 2009.

The sight of Ginger with a new calf drove home that she has been thriving after rehabilitation, continuing her life as a member of the resident dolphin community in Sarasota Bay.

August press release.
 
Update:

SDRP scientists observed Ginger and her calf with Nellie, another resident dolphin of Sarasota Bay, on Dec. 4. All were doing fine.

Mote and FWC release snook for fisheries enhancement study

In August, scientists from Mote and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) placed hatchery-reared juvenile snook into acclimation enclosures in Sarasota Bay and then released the fish from the enclosures into the wild as part of an ongoing research project focused on finding the most effective methods to replenish and enhance wild snook populations.

This snook release study — the latest of Mote and FWC’s fisheries enhancement research over decades — involves tagging about 400 juvenile common snook born and raised at Mote Aquaculture Park with passive integrated transponders (PIT tags), transporting the fish to acclimation enclosures located in a creek in Sarasota Bay and then releasing the fish into the wild. The PIT tags provide a “barcode” for each individual fish to help scientists accurately track and recover data from the fish. The study investigates whether certain methods of raising the snook increase their odds of surviving after release.

August press release.
 
Update:

Save the date: On April 8 and 9, 2016, Mote will host its snook tournament for science: the Snook Shindig. This catch, sample and release tournament will help Mote scientists find out how snook fare after being raised and released into the wild by Mote and FWC staff. www.mote.org/snookshindig

September

Mote and partners spotlight ocean acidification with statewide roundtable and international workshop

Ocean acidification — a threat to Florida's marine resources and a hot topic for science — took the spotlight in September during an international research workshop and a statewide roundtable discussion led by Mote and partners.

Participants noted that the “invisible” threat of ocean acidification has already begun to harm Florida’s marine resources — but the Sunshine State has unique strengths and opportunities to respond. A major strength is Mote’s research facility in the Florida Keys, which works to study and restore vital coral reefs and hosts researchers from around the world.

September press releases on international workshop and statewide roundtable.

Update:

Read the report produced by the Ocean Acidification Roundtable. The report points out: “Although the Florida ocean science community has been studying ocean acidification (OA) for several years, public conversation and concern about OA are still just beginning.” This report informs that conversation by providing vital updates on how OA is affecting Florida waters and how scientists and others can respond.

Mote wins Best of Show from VISIT FLORIDA

Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium's redesigned web site, www.mote.org, won Best of Show for its budget class in September during VISIT FLORIDA’s 48th Annual Florida Governor's Conference on Tourism in Tampa.

The Best of Show award honored www.mote.org as the top choice among many different kinds of projects in its class: tourism marketing budgets under $500,000. In the web site category for any budget, it won a Bronze Award. The web site was redesigned through a team effort among Mote, a Sarasota-based marine Lab and public Aquarium, and its St. Petersburg-based marketing and web contractors Paradise Advertising & Marketing and Big Sea, Inc.

Red tide returns to Florida's Gulf Coast, sparking research and response efforts at Mote

Mote scientists and others along Florida's Gulf Coast have been monitoring blooms of Florida red tide algae in southwest and northwest Florida since elevated counts of the algae cells were confirmed in September.

Karenia brevis, the single-celled, harmful algae that causes Florida red tide, occurs naturally in background concentrations in the Gulf. When K. brevis algae cells accumulate in elevated concentrations, their toxins may affect marine life and people. These toxins can enter the air and cause respiratory irritation among beachgoers, such as coughing, sneezing or a scratchy throat. These symptoms are temporary and often considered an annoyance, but people with asthma, COPD or other chronic respiratory conditions should avoid areas with red tide algae, since the toxins can trigger their symptoms.

Updates:

From September through mid-December, Mote scientists have conducted seven research sampling trips by boat and analyzed more than 500 water samples to study and monitor the K. brevis concentrations in southwest Florida waters.
They have also deployed an underwater robotic glider on two missions to gather data on ocean conditions related to Florida red tide (read more in the November section).
As of Dec. 11, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has provided the following statewide red tide update, including data from Mote and many other partners: Blooms of K. brevis, the Florida red tide organism, persist along Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Bay and Gulf counties in northwest Florida and Pinellas, Manatee, Sarasota and Charlotte counties in southwest Florida. Very low concentrations were also confirmed in Lee County. Details and updated reports are available at: www.myfwc.com/redtidestatus
In December, Mote scientists announced exciting upgrades to their real-time beach monitoring tool — giving visitors and residents improved resources to plan a safe and fun day at the beach, whether or not Florida red tide is present. Mote’s Beach Conditions Reporting System (BCRS) provides twice-daily, online updates about conditions at 27 of Florida’s Gulf Coast beaches. Now, using public survey results gathered in June and July 2015, Mote has rolled out a more user-friendly BCRS web site that is mobile responsive (better for smartphone viewing) and adds several new types of information. Check it out: www.visitbeaches.org

October

Research paper describes coral restoration breakthrough

Nursery-grown coral fragments at Mote's lab on Summerland Key, Fla.

In October Mote scientists and colleagues published the peer-reviewed scientific paper “Growing coral larger and faster: micro-colony-fusion as a strategy for accelerating coral cover” in the journal PeerJ. This study demonstrates that an innovative technique pioneered by Mote scientists — the micro fragmentation and fusion method — can be used to rapidly cover a variety of substrates with coral tissue, meaning the technique is ideal to use and continue refining to restore reefs. 

Study authors from Mote, the Division of Aquatic Resources in Hawaii and the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology reported that after 139 days, they were able to increase star coral in size by as much as 329 percent and brain coral by 129 percent in their land-based nursery. While some reef building corals in the wild might grow 1 centimeter or less in diameter or length per year, the corals raised in this study grew at several times the rate of their wild kin.

Mote is using techniques discussed in this paper to begin re-skinning large, dead skeletons of brain, boulder and star coral on natural reefs in the Florida Keys.

Read the journal article.

Mote President & CEO becomes Board member of SCUBAnauts International and Keys History and Discovery Foundation

In October, Mote President & CEO Dr. Michael P. Crosby joined the Boards of SCUBAnauts International and Keys History and Discovery Foundation.

SCUBAnauts International is dedicated to guiding young men and women, ages 12 through 18, along an exciting pathway for personal development by involving them in marine science through underwater research activities such as environmental and undersea conservation projects that build character, promote active citizenship and foster effective leadership skills.

The Florida Keys History and Discovery Foundation is a not-for-profit organization that formed in 2013 to develop and operate the Florida Keys History & Discovery Center. The foundation aims to share the stories that define the rich character and culture of the Keys community and encompass its past, present and future. Their goal is to foster appreciation for Keys people and places, contributing to the community culturally, civically, environmentally and economically.

Read October articles about the SCUBAnauts and Keys History & Discovery Foundation developments.

Happy 45th Anniversary to world's longest-running study of a wild dolphin population

In October 2015, the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program (SDRP) celebrated its 45th anniversary as the world’s longest-running study of a wild dolphin population.
 
SDRP, which started in 1970, leads pioneering research efforts focused on the community of resident bottlenose dolphins in Sarasota Bay, which currently includes about 165 dolphins, with up to five concurrent generations, including individuals up to 65 years of age.

October press release.

Entangled dolphin calf rescued near Clearwater

A dolphin calf entangled in fishing line and plastic debris is being freed by rescuers. (Credit: National Marine Fisheries Service. Photos taken under NOAA Permit #18786.)

A bottlenose dolphin calf was freed from life-threatening plastic debris and fishing lines caught around her body on Oct. 15 near Clearwater, Fla.
 
The calf was first reported by a boat captain to National Marine Fisheries Service’s (NMFS) partner Clearwater Marine Aquarium (CMA), and NMFS organized a rescue team led by the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program and including collaborating biologists and veterinarians from Mote Marine Laboratory, CMA, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the University of Florida, SeaWorld Orlando and NMFS, and an experienced net fisherman.

October press release.

Two well-studied dolphins die in Sarasota Bay

Two of Sarasota Bay's most-recognizable, long-term resident bottlenose dolphins were recovered deceased in October by Mote staff, who have been investigating the causes of their deaths.

The two dolphins — one easily recognized for his dorsal fin sliced and bent by a boat propeller, and one known to be the Bay's second-oldest male resident dolphin — were first identified and then monitored for decades by the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program (SDRP).
 
The lives and deaths of these well-known dolphins highlight the natural and human-made challenges faced by wild dolphin populations.
 
Read about:
 
Riptorn, known for his fin sliced and bent by a boat propeller.

FB28, the second-oldest male resident dolphin in Sarasota Bay.

Mote announces critical campaign updates at Oceanic Evening

Ms. Judy Graham, Mote’s 60th Anniversary Chair, and Dr. Michael P. Crosby, Mote President and CEO. (Credit Chris Fitzgibbons/ChurchWalls Studio)

Mote celebrated its 60th year – its Diamond Anniversary – on Oct. 31, during the Lab's most spectacular Oceanic Evening to date.

There, Mote leaders and Board members announced exciting updates to the Lab-wide fundraising campaign Oceans of Opportunity. They introduced the Mote Leadership Circle, a special group of community members who understand the urgent threats facing the oceans and are providing critical financial support of $1 million or more to Oceans of Opportunity to help address these problems.

Press release.
 
Update:

The Mote Leadership Circle has grown from seven individual donors, donor-families or foundations in October to nine in December. The current members include:
Carol and Barney Barnett
James D. and Pati Ericson
Elizabeth Moore
Robert and Anne Essner
Maurice and Carolyn Cunniffe
Rick and Nancy Moskovitz Foundation
Three anonymous donors

November

Sustainable seafood project wins Gulf Coast Innovation Challenge

Dr. Kevan Main of Mote Marine Laboratory is partnering in the sustainable seafood project that won the Gulf Coast Innovation Challenge. (Credit Mote Marine Laboratory)

A southwest Florida innovators’ competition liked to the XPRIZE concluded Nov. 16 — and Mote scientists are on the winning team.
 
The team project “Healthy Earth-Gulf Coast: Sustainable Seafood System”  won the Gulf Coast Innovation Challenge’s grand prize — grant funds that will total up to $375,000 — said challenge organizers at Gulf Coast Community Foundation. The winning project, led by Healthy Earth, aims to build a thriving, local seafood industry, especially by enhancing the sustainability and economic impact of the heritage fishery for grey striped mullet based in Cortez, Fla.
 
As partners in this project, Mote scientists are planning a sustainable fish-farming study, and they will continue to work with their investor and business partners on three other projects that advanced significantly as Innovation Challenge finalists: seeking new sources of medicines from the sea and advancing innovative, water-filtration technology.

November press release.

Mote announces upcoming exhibit "Otters & Their Waters"

North American river otter. (Credit Anatoliy Lukich)

November brought the exciting news that “Otters & Their Waters,” a special new Mote Aquarium exhibit, will open in 2016. #MoteOtters
 
The exhibit will feature North American river otters and provide an otter’s-eye view of their watershed homes. Watersheds — lands that drain water toward rivers, estuaries and the sea — are important to people and myriad wildlife, including river otters, their prey and many animals from land to the coastal oceans where Mote Marine Laboratory scientists carry out their research.
 
Visitors will see otters that were orphaned too young to survive alone and were raised by wildlife rehabilitators. Mote’s animal care specialists will work with the otters and educate guests during narrated training sessions.

Watch for exciting announcements in early 2016, including details about the individual otters and the exhibit’s opening date.

November press release.

Underwater robot named by school kids deployed to monitor red tide and more

Mote scientists test-launch underwater robotic glider "Genie" prior to the start of Genie's mission in November. (Credit Mote Marine Laboratory)

Mote’s newest robotic glider — nicknamed “Genie” by Manatee County 5th-graders who won Mote’s naming contest — started its first underwater mission in November. Genie gathers data useful for many kinds of ocean observing and research, including studies of the ongoing Florida red tide.
 
The glider’s name honors Dr. Eugenie Clark, the world-renowned “Shark Lady” who founded Mote in 1955 and died in 2015. The name was chosen by 5th-grade science students at Annie Lucy Williams Elementary School in Parrish during Mote’s naming contest among nine classes from five Sarasota-Manatee schools.

November press release.

Updates:

The glider’s first mission lasted a few days — until a remora (a fish with a sucking disk on its head) attached itself to the glider and impeded its movement. As of Dec. 11, Genie completed a second mission lasting 10 days. The data she collected are now being analyzed and will be made available so that multiple researchers can benefit from them.

Mote scientist reports back from major shark research expedition

Joseph the tiger shark is released after tagging during a team shark research expedition aboard the M/V OCEARCH. Mote scientist Dr. Heather Marshall joined the expedition to collect and study shark blood samples. (Credit OCEARCH)

Mote Postdoctoral Research Fellow Dr. Heather Marshall recently returned from November’s shark-research expedition aboard the internationally known M/V OCEARCH in the Gulf of Mexico. She collected shark blood samples in this team effort to gather previously unattainable data on these important top predators.

Partners in the expedition — led by OCEARCH with scientific leaders from Texas A&M University — tagged sharks of multiple species to track their migrations.
Read the last update, including a daily log of Marshall’s adventures.

November press release.
 
Update:

Follow tagged sharks from the expedition at www.ocearch.org. Look for “Joseph” the 10-foot 6-inch tiger shark, “Buddy” the 7-foot, 10-inch hammerhead, “Reveille” the 8-foot scalloped hammerhead and “Finley” the 10-foot tiger shark.

December

Sea turtle nesting breaks record on Longboat Key through Venice

Green sea turtle hatchling. (Credit Marc Ellis/H2O Pictures)

Sea turtle nesting broke records on Mote-monitored beaches from Longboat Key through Venice, Mote scientists announced in December after a thorough review of data following the conclusion of nesting season in October.
 
Mote's Sea Turtle Conservation and Research Program has coordinated conservation of endangered sea turtles along 35 miles of Sarasota County beaches for the past 34 years.
Following a thorough review of data from this year’s nesting season (May through October), Mote scientists confirmed that Longboat Key through Venice hosted 2,475 total nests in 2015, which beats the 2012 record by six nests.
 
Of this year’s nests, 340 were laid on the Manatee County side of Longboat Key, beating that area’s previous record of 327 nests in 2013; 698 nests were laid along the entirety of Longboat Key, beating record of 643 in 2013; 408 nests were laid along Siesta Key, beating its record of 343 in 1995; and a total of 36 green sea turtle nests were laid along the 35-mile stretch of all Mote-monitored beaches, breaking Mote’s previous record of 30 green turtle nests in 2013.
 
Mote’s multi-decade monitoring efforts provide data that resource managers can use to understand and protect sea turtle populations. Long-term data are particularly important because sea turtles are long-lived species. It takes about 30 years for hatchlings born on our beaches to return to nest as adults.

December press release.
 
Update:

Mote’s 30th annual Run for the Turtles — a family-friendly run to raise awareness and funds for Mote's Sea Turtle Conservation and Research Program — will take place on April 2, 2016.

During and before this year’s run, young people can do even more to support sea turtles thanks to a fundraising partnership program between Mote, Positive Tracks and Gulf Coast Community Foundation. Through this partnership, dollars raised by Mote supporters ages 23 and under will be matched up to $40,000 in 2016.

Youths can participate in the run and organize their own special fundraisers. To get involved, please contact Mote’s Positive Tracks Coordinator, Chris Pfahler, at chris@chrispfahler.com.

Press release.

Two exciting donations for construction of Keys research and education facility

Digital rendering of the facility Mote Marine Laboratory plans to construct at its existing property on Summerland Key, Fla.

Philanthropic donations for Mote’s new research and education facility in the Florida Keys surpassed the $3 million mark in December with help from two generous, new donations: $2 million from the Rick and Nancy Moskovitz Foundation and $325,000 from the Charles and Margery Barancik Foundation.

These gifts have generated exciting momentum to start the construction process for the new building during early 2016 at Mote’s existing property on Summerland Key, Fla.

In late January 2016, two residential and office buildings on the property will be demolished, leaving the current science building and working lab fully operational throughout construction. Construction will ramp up during summer 2016, with the goal of opening the facility in early 2017. Once the new project is complete and fully operational, the old lab building will be demolished.

The new building will more than double Mote’s research and education space in the Keys, allowing the Lab to expand programs focused on studying and restoring damaged coral reefs and on finding new ways to address global threats to reefs — particularly climate change and ocean acidification.

Press releases:
Donation from the Charles and Margery Barancik Foundation
Donation from the Rick and Nancy Moskovitz Foundation