See a whale shark in the Gulf? Call Mote immediately!

June 7, 2018 mote

Mote Marine Laboratory received a report of five whale sharks — Earth’s largest fish species — about 40 miles off Anna Maria Island last weekend, and Mote scientists are asking members of the public to report new sightings off Florida’s Gulf Coast immediately.

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Coral disease ‘firebreak’ works in short term. Next goal: Making it last

May 16, 2018 Hayley Rutger

The progression of Caribbean yellow-band disease — a widespread killer of reef-building corals — can be significantly impeded by chiseling a “firebreak” around the diseased coral tissue, but more research is needed to maintain the firebreak long-term, reports a peer-reviewed research paper published this week in the journal PeerJ.

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Stormwater system can support snook, bass and more, says Sarasota study

December 13, 2017 Hayley Rutger

Dozens of fish species — including common snook and largemouth bass — use certain parts of the upper Phillippi Creek system, according to the first fish survey of this urbanized network of canals, retention ponds and wetlands in Sarasota County, Florida. The survey — led by Mote Marine Laboratory and funded by Sarasota Bay Estuary Program (SBEP) — found the highest numbers and diversity of fishes around upper creek areas mimicking natural habitat: curving canals or ponds with wetland vegetation and sections of slower-moving water. Less naturalistic canals, with shorelines straightened for optimum drainage, generally hosted fewer fish of fewer species.

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Children 3-5 can discover ocean science with Mote and The Out-of-Door Academy

October 24, 2017 Hayley Rutger

Children ages 3-5 and their families are invited to three exciting, marine science outreach programs led by Mote Marine Laboratory and The Out-of-Door Academy (ODA) in Sarasota County. Through these free educational programs from 10-11 a.m. on Nov. 4, 2017, Feb. 3 and April 14, 2018, participants will learn about marine animals’ survival strategies, about keeping the environment clean, and about how the ocean connects people everywhere.

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Mote to announce the election of 2017-19 officers and new trustees

August 15, 2017 mote

Mote Marine Laboratory’s Board of Trustees is pleased to announce the election of Robert A. Essner as Chairman of the Board, James D. Ericson as Vice-Chairman, and Nigel Mould as Secretary, as well as new Trustees Charles R. Smith and Sandra Stuart. Retired LTG Howard G. Crowell, a Trustee since 2005 serving on Executive and Governance Committees and as Chair of the Finance Committee, has been re-elected as Treasurer. Dr. Michael P. Crosby will continue in his Officer position as President & CEO and G. Lowe Morrison will continue his Trustee service, now as Immediate Past-Chairman.

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