by Rick O'Connor | Jun 6, 2025
Let’s begin with crops. In 2011 it was reported that 77% of the world’s food was coming from grains being grown on 11% of the worlds land. Rice, wheat, and corn were/are the big players. We mentioned in Part 8 of this series that industrial farming of these crops was putting a heavy toll on the nutrients in the soil needed to sustain the next crop. Response… commercially produced inorganic chemical fertilizers – we will make these nutrients in a factory and spread them over the fields. Massive irrigation systems were developed to water these large fields and allow us to use land that would otherwise not be able to support these crops. Commercially produced pesticides to reduce the enormous numbers of insect pests – whose populations were also increasing with the increase in food sources. Reducing pests equals higher yield. High-yield grain varieties – science had been able to develop new strains of grains that could produce quicker and even produce their own defenses against insects. But with this success there has been a cost.
This is a common method used to irrigate crops across the U.S.
Photo: UF IFAS
There was a statement in the textbook I used when I taught this class saying – “according to many analysts, agriculture has a greater harmful environmental impact than any other human activity and these environmental effects may limit future food production”. Let’s look at some of these negative impacts.
Soil. Topsoil erosion is a serious problem in many parts of the world. Naturally the overlying vegetation holds the soil, retains water, and exchanges nutrients. When the native vegetation is removed for agriculture, the soil blows/washes away, it becomes drier, and the nutrients are not replenished. In 2011 it was estimated that 33% of the world’s cropland was losing soil faster than it was being replaced. In some locations this has been so extreme that the land has actually been converted into a desert – a process called desertification. Water used in irrigation has small traces of salt. When sprayed over a field in more arid areas – it evaporates quickly leaving behind the salt, which can kill the crops – a process called salinization. In some areas the water from irrigation causes the natural water table to rise, soaking the crops and killing them – a process called waterlogging.
Genetically Modified Food. The advances in genetically modified food have had both positives and negative results. One the positive side – many of these crops do not require fertilizers – need less water – more resistant to insects, disease, frost, and drought – they grow faster and at higher yields. The negatives include – irreversible and unpredictable genetic and ecological effects to the neighboring environment – possible harmful toxins produced by mutations of these GM plants – new allergens – lower nutrition – an increase in pesticide resistant insects and weeds – and can harm beneficial insects.
Industrialized Meat Production. Advantages include – increased meat production – less land use – reduced overgrazing – and reduced soil erosion. Negatives include – large inputs of grain, water, and energy – higher greenhouse gas emissions (methane) – high concentrations of animal waste that pollutes – and antibiotics increases genetic resistance to microbes in humans.
Pesticides. Advantages include – increased food supply. Disadvantages include – promoting genetic resistance – kills beneficial insects – can harm wildlife and humans – expensive. Studies have shown that when pesticides are used about 95% of the targeted pests are killed. However, the 5% of insects who were naturally immune to the pesticide reproduce rapidly to fill the decrease in the population. Within five or so years, most of the pests are now immune to the pesticide. So, they need to “beef up the formula”. This again kills 95% of those pests. But, again, 5% are immune – and the cycle begins again, during each round the pesticides become stronger and stronger – this process is called the pesticide treadmill. And we all have heard of the DDT story. This was a “one time spray to kill all your insect pests” – and it did. The bad insects, but the good insects, birds, and many other forms of wildlife suffered from this.
Aquaculture. Many feel the future of seafood production is in “fish farming”. They do not believe that wild harvest is sustainable with the growing population. The advantages to aquaculture include – high efficiency and high yield to small volume of water used. The disadvantages would include – requires large inputs of land, feed, and water – large waste outputs – reduces natural ecosystems – uses grain to feed some species – dense populations are vulnerable to diseases.
In Part 10 we will learn about attempts to correct some of the disadvantages – we still need food.
Reference
Miller, G.T., Spoolman, S.E. 2011. Living in the Environment. Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning. Belmont CA. pp. 674.
by Rick O'Connor | May 16, 2025
As far as familiarity goes – everyone knows about worms. As far as seeing them – these are rarely, if ever seen by visitors to the northern Gulf. Most know worms as creatures that live beneath the sand – out of sight and doing what worms do. We imagine – scanning the landscape of the Gulf – millions of worms buried beneath the sediment. For some this may be quite unnerving. Worms are sometimes “gross” and associated with an unhealthy situation. You might say to your kids “don’t dig in the sand – you might get worms”. Or even “don’t drink the water – you might get worms”. But the reality of it all is that there are many kinds of worms in the northern Gulf, and many are very beneficial to the system. We will look at a few.
The common earthworm.
Photo: University of Wisconsin Madison
Flatworms are the most primitive of the group. As the name implies, they are flat. There is a head end, often with small eyespots that can detect light, but the mouth is in the middle of the body and, like the jellyfish, is the only opening for eating and going to the restroom. There are numerous species of flatworms that crawl over the ocean floor feeding on decayed detritus, many are brightly colored to advertise the fact they are poisonous – or pretending to be poisonous. And then there are species that actually swim – undulating through the water in a pattern similar to what we do with our hand when we stick it out the window driving at high speed.
But there are parasitic flatworms as well. Worms such as the tapeworm and the flukes are more well known than the free-swimming flatworms just described. These are the worms people become concerned about when they hear “there are worms out there”. And yes – they do exist in the northern Gulf. But what some people may not realize is that these internal parasites are adapted for the internal environment of their selected host and cannot survive in other creatures. There are human tapeworms and flukes, but they are not found in the sands of the Gulf.
The human liver fluke. One of the trematode flatworms that are parasitic.
Photo: University of Pennsylvania
As the name implies, roundworms are round – but they differ from earthworms in that their bodies are smooth and not segmented as earthworms are. One group of roundworms is well known in the agriculture and horticulture world – nematodes. Some nematodes are also known for being human parasites – again, creating some concern. These include the hookworm and pinworm. Roundworms can be found in the sediments by the thousands – sometimes in the millions. The abundance of some species are used as an indicator of the health of the system – the more of these particular type of roundworms, the more unhealthy the system – again, a cause of concern for some when they see any worm in the sand.
The round body of a microscopic nematode.
Photo: University of Nebraska at Lincoln
We will end with the segmented worms – the annelids. This is the group in which the familiar earthworm belongs. Though earthworms do not exist in the northern Gulf, their cousins – the polychaetae worms – are very common. Polychaetas are much larger, easier to see, and differ from earthworms in that they have extended legs from each segment called parapodia. Some polychaetas produce tubes in which they live. They will extend their antenna out to collect food. Many of these tubeworms have their tubes beneath the sand and we only see them (rarely) when their tentacles are extended – or when they extend a gelatinous mass from their tubes to collect food. But there is a type of tubeworm – the sepurlid worms – that produce small skinny calcium carbonate tubes on the sides of rocks on rock jetties, pier pilings, and even marine debris left in the water. This is also the group that the leech belongs to. Though leeches are more associated with freshwater, there are marine leeches. These are rarely encountered and do not attach to humans as their freshwater cousins do.
Diopatra are segmented worms similar to earthworms who build tubes to live in. These tubes are often found washed up on the beach.
Though we may be “creeped-out” about the presence of worms in the northern Gulf of Mexico, they are none threatening to us and are an important member of the marine community cleaning decaying creatures and waste material from the environment. We know they are there, and glad they are there.
by Rick O'Connor | May 12, 2025
With 8 billion humans on this planet there is a need for a lot of space and resources. In this modern world we can get lost in which resources we really NEED and those that we really WANT. We all need a space to live, but we do not necessarily need a 5000 ft2 home, with a pool and manicured lawn – those are wants. But we do need food – and lot of it.
The most popular seafood species – Shrimp.
Thousands of years ago humans fed themselves through hunting and gathering. We hunted, as many do today, for a food source but killed only what they needed – they had no means to store/preserve food in a mobile society such as they had. Groups of humans began to settle into one general location and moved towards and different lifestyle – early agriculture. They would plant seeds and keep livestock to feed on through the course of the year. Many would grow crops but continued to hunt for their meat. They developed methods of smoking and salting meat to preserve it longer. They created large bins where crops could be stored, but most were still growing and gathering the food for their families alone.
As these small sessile communities became larger (growing population) the fields became larger and fed not just their family, but all of the families. Residents would take their livestock to the community “commons” where they could graze – since space to do so at your home was not available.
Those who lived on the coast could utilize another resource – marine resources – shell and finfish as well as seaweeds. As with farming, most fishermen began by harvesting for their families, but as the population grew, they began to harvest for others. In both cases – as populations grew, the number of farmers and fishermen grew, and the space and resource needed to sustain the growing communities grew as well.
Early fishing.
Image: University of Florida
During the industrial revolution of the 19th century humans begin to develop technologies and methods that could expand farming and fishing to harvest more, more efficiently, and at a faster rate. The world was experiencing a growth in the production of all sorts of products, growth in food production increased as well. With mechanized farming and fishing, we could feed more, the human population could sustain more, and so the population grew. The exponential growth in the human population – what many refer to as the “J” curve – is closely associated with the industrial revolution – which could provide more resources to sustain this growth.
Industrial Revolution.
Image: Encyclopedia of Philadelphia.
The agriculture world began what has been called the “green revolution”. Large expansive fields, growing large amounts of crops, utilizing new machines that could keep up the work. Rice and wheat were staples – grown all over the world. Corn followed. Large expanses in land were cleared to grow these crops as well as graze cattle to help with the demand for meat. Large farms needed mechanized equipment to harvest, process, and transport these food products to markets far away from the farms themselves. Commercial fishing fleets were provided technologies that aided them with locating their target species faster, removing large amounts of fish into larger vessels quicker, and keeping them cold longer at sea to increase harvest yield. They too would need processing plants and transportation to get their products to markets far away from the sea.
Tractors planting rows of eucalyptus trees. Biomass crops, biofuel, sustainability. UF/IFAS Photo by Tyler Jones.
We began a system to feed a growing human population, and we were very successful. And as the human population continued to grow, the need for better technologies was needed – and delivered. According to the textbook I used when I was teaching this course, we were producing enough food to feed the human population, but there were three problems… (1) we were removing these resources faster than they could replace themselves. (2) when you consume resources you produce waste – this is true even in photosynthesis. As we produced more food, we were also producing more waste. And (3) one in every six people in the developing countries were still not getting enough to eat.
With agriculture they had moved to large area farms where they could plant large numbers of crops, which were harvested as frequently as possible. The stress on the soil became a problem by removing the nutrients at faster rates than mother nature could replace them. To add to the problem most fields grew the same crops, thus removing specific nutrients at a faster rate – compounding the problem. Farmers were literally working the fields to death.
Livestock moved to larger factory farms with large processing plants for larger numbers of cattle, chicken, and pigs. There was not enough space to free range cattle as they had done prior to the green revolution. So, now they were commercially fed, and this could be done in a smaller space with large numbers of animals in such. Crowding creatures like this can enhance the spread of disease and produces large amounts of waste that must be managed.
In the commercial fishing world, they were removing fish faster than nature could replace them. Many fishing grounds went “silent” as the fish populations declined forcing fleets to find new waters or new target species to harvest. We began to overfish the oceans.
Purse seining in the Pacific Ocean.
Photo: NOAA
Man’s ingenuity had developed a mechanized system for feeding their population – and it worked well. But it developed some problems both for the system and food production and for the environment as well. In the next few articles, we will look at how we are trying to resolve those problems.
by Rick O'Connor | May 12, 2025
When I began working with terrapins 20 years ago, very few people in the Florida panhandle knew what they were – unless they had moved here from the Mid-Atlantic states. Since we initiated the Panhandle Terrapin Project in 2005 many more now have heard of this brackish water turtle.
Ornate Diamondback Terrapin (photo: Dr. John Himes)
Diamondback terrapins are relatively small (10 inch) turtles that inhabit brackish environments such as salt marshes along our bays, bayous, and lagoons. They have light colored skin, often white, and raised concentric rings on the scales of their shells which give them a “diamond-backed” appearance. Some of them have dark shells, others will have orange spots on their shells.
The first objective for the project was to determine whether terrapins existed here, there was no scientific literature that suggested they did. We found our first terrapin in 2007, and this was in Santa Rosa County. We have since had at least one verified record in every panhandle county – diamondback terrapins do exist here.
The second objective was to locate their nesting beaches. Terrapins live in coastal wetlands but need high-dry sandy beaches to lay their eggs. Volunteers began searching for such and have been able to locate nesting beaches in Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Bay, and Gulf counties. We continue to search in the other counties, and for additional ones in the counties mentioned above. Once a nesting beach has been identified, volunteers conduct weekly nesting surveys, providing data which can help calculate the relative abundance of terrapins in the area.
Tracks of a diamondback terrapin.
Photo: Terry Taylor
The third objective is to tag captured terrapins to determine their population, where they move and how they use habitat. We initially captured terrapins using modified traps and marking them using a file notching system. We then partnered with a research team from the U.S. Geological Survey and now include passive integrated transponder tags (PIT tags) that help identify individuals, satellite tags that can be detected from satellites and track their movements, and recently acoustic tags which can also track movement.
The fourth objective is to collect tissue samples for genetic studies. This information will be used to help determine which subspecies of terrapins are living in the Florida panhandle.
As we move into the summer season, more people will be recreating in our bays and coastal waterways. If you happen to see a terrapin, or maybe small turtle tracks on the beach, we would like you to contact us and let us know. You can contact me at roc1@ufl.edu. Terrapins are protected in Florida and Alabama, so you are not allowed to keep them. If you are interested in joining our volunteer team, contact me at the email address provided.
by Rick O'Connor | May 2, 2025
Many of the creatures we have written about in this series to this point are ones that very few people have ever heard of. But that is not the case with jellyfish. Everyone knows about jellyfish – and for the most part, we do not like them. These are the gelatinous blobs with trailing tentacles filled with stinging cells that cause pain and trigger the posting of the purple warning flags at the beach. They are creatures that many place in the same class as mosquitos and venomous snakes – why do such creatures even exist. But exist they do and there are plenty in the northern Gulf – more than you might be aware of.
Jellyfish are common on both sides of the island. This one has washed ashore on Santa Rosa Sound.
The ones we are familiar with are those that are gelatinous blobs with trailing tentacles – called medusa jellyfish. These include the common sea nettle (Chrysaora). Sea nettles have bells about 4-8 inches in diameter (though they are larger offshore). The bell has extended triangle markings that appear red and tentacles that can extend several feet beneath/behind the bell. The tentacles are armed with nematocyst – cells that contain a coiled “harpoon” which has a drop of venom at the tip. They use these nematocyst to kill their prey – which include small fish, zooplankton, and comb jellies. But they are also triggered when humans bump into them producing a painful sting. Their prey is digested in a sack-like stomach called the gastrovascular cavity and waste is expelled through their mouth, because they lack an anus. Though these animals can undulate their bells and swim, they are not strong enough to swim against currents and tides – and thus are more planktonic in nature.
Another familiar jellyfish is the moon jelly (Aurelia). These are the larger, saucer shaped jellyfish that resemble a pizza with a clover leaf looking structure in the middle. They can reach 24 inches in diameter across the bell which is often seen undulating trying to swim against the current and tide. Their tentacles are very short – extending from the rim of the bell – but there are four large oral arms that are quite noticeable. The oral arms also possess nematocyst for killing prey. Their prey includes mostly zooplankton and other jellyfish. Like their cousins the sea nettles, moon jellies are planktonic in nature and are often found washed ashore during high energy days. Some say the pain from this jellyfish is minimal, others feel a lot of pain.
The remnants of moon jellyfish near a ghost crab hole.
Photo: Rick O’Connor
Though there are many others, our final familiar jellyfish would be the Portuguese man-of-war (Physalia). If you have never seen one, you most likely have heard of them. These are easy to identify. They produce a bluish colored gas filled balloon like sack that floats on the surface and extends above water to act as a “sail”. This gas filled sack is called a pneumatophore and helps move the animal across the Gulf. Extending down from this pneumatophore are numerous purple to blue to clear colored tentacles. You would think the pneumatophore would be the bell of the jellyfish and the tentacles of similar design as to the ones we mentioned above – but that would be incorrect. The tentacles are actually a colony of small polyp jellyfish connected together – it is not a true jellyfish (as we think of them). The stomachs of these individual polyps are connected and as one kills and feeds, the food passes throughout the colony to nourish all. In order to feed the whole colony, you need larger prey. To kill larger prey, you need a more toxic venom, and PMOW do have a very strong toxin. The sting from this animal is quite painful – though rare, it has even killed people. This jellyfish should be avoided. As with other jellyfish, they often wash ashore, and their stinging cells can still be triggered. Do not pick them up.
There is another form of jellyfish found here that is not as well known. They may be known by name, but not as jellyfish. They are called polyp jellyfish and instead of having an undulating bell with tentacles drifting behind, they are attached to the seafloor (or some other structure) and extend their tentacles upward. They look more like flowers and do not move much. Examples of such jellyfish include the tiny hydra, sea anemones, and corals. As with their medusa cousins, they do have nematocysts in their tentacles and can provide a painful sting, though some produce a mild toxin, and the sting is not as painful as other jellyfish. Many of these polyp jellyfish are associated with coral reefs. Though coral reefs are common in tropical waters, they do occur to a lesser extent in the northern Gulf.
The polyp known as Hydra.
Photo: Harvard University.
We will complete this article with a group of jellyfish that do not have nematocysts and, thus, do not sting – the comb jellies. Though many species of comb jellies have trailing tentacles, the local species do not. When I was young, we called them “football jellyfish” because of their shape – and the fact that you could pick them up and throw them to your friends. I have also heard them called “sea walnuts” because of their shape. A close look at this jellyfish you will see eight grooves running down its body. These grooves are filled with a row of cilia, small hairlike structures that can be moved to generate swimming. The cilia move in a way that they resemble the bristles of a comb we use for combing our hair. You have probably taken your thumb and run it down your comb to see the bristles bend down and back into position – sort of like watching the New York Rockettes high kick from one end of their line to the other – this is what the cilia look like when they are moving within these grooves – and give the animal its common name “comb jelly”. Since they do not have nematocysts, they are in a different phylum than the common jellyfish. They feed on plankton and each other and can produce light – bioluminescence – at night.
Though not loved by swimmers in the northern Gulf, jellyfish are interesting creatures and beautiful to watch in public aquaria. They have their bright side.
Comb jellies do not sting and they produce a beautiful light show at night.
References
Atlantic Sea Nettle. Aquarium of the Pacific. https://www.aquariumofpacific.org/onlinelearningcenter/species/atlantic_sea_nettle1.
Moon Jellyfish. Animal Diversity Web. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology. https://www.aquariumofpacific.org/onlinelearningcenter/species/atlantic_sea_nettle1.
