by Rick O'Connor | Oct 21, 2025
Many who have snorkeled or dove in the Florida Keys have most likely encountered nurse sharks there – they are quite common. But here in the northern Gulf – though present – encounters are not as frequent. In the Keys you can don a mask, swim along a seawall, bridge piling, or over limestone bottom in shallow water and found one – maybe several. In the northern Gulf encounters are more offshore by SCUBA alone, and I would say – still not that common.
All this to say that one was seen off a dock recently in Escambia County inside the bay. It was swimming along the edge of the dock in a seagrass bed searching for something to eat. Again, this would not be abnormal if in south Florida, but a cool event in our area.
Nurse sharks are docile fish recognized by their brownish copper coloration, two large dorsal fins set back on their dorsal side, and barbels extending from their upper jaw similar to catfish. These barbels indicate they are more bottom feeders, and they spend a lot of time lying on the bottom. Though they can reach lengths of 14 feet, nurse sharks are not considered a threat – unless you mess with them – and exciting to see.
They are considered a tropical species – hence the lower number of encounters in our area. They prefer hardbottom – such as coral reefs and limestone shelves – higher salinities, dissolved oxygen levels, and clear water. Over this summer local water temperatures have increased, and the lack of rain has increased salinities across the area. The lower amount of rain has reduced stormwater runoff from land and allowed the water to become clearer. Everything that a nurse shark would want.
As mentioned, encounters with this species are not considered threatening and a very cool memory. We do not know how long the current conditions will last but maybe you too will see one. It would be pretty exciting.
Nurse shark inside bay in Escambia County.
Photo: Angela Guttman
by Rick O'Connor | Oct 21, 2025
Geothermal is one source of energy that has been explored, and utilized, in recent decades. It is heat which is stored beneath the earth – either in the soil, rocks, or the fluid portion of the mantle. It has been used primarily in heating our homes and producing electricity. The amount of geothermal energy within the crust leads to it having great potential for us.
How Geothermal Energy Works – EPA
Many around the world are using a geothermal heat pump system where pipes in a closed system filled with water, or another antifreeze type fluid, buried between 10-20 feet in the yard can move heat from the ground into the home during winter, and reverse the process during summer. If the house is insulated properly, the US EPA considers this method the most efficient one for heating and cooling your home.
Iceland is famous for their use of geothermal energy. Drilling pipes beneath the earth, they are using hot steam and water to heat buildings, provide hot water, grow vegetables in greenhouses, raise fish in aquaculture ponds, and spin turbines to produce electricity. The island is, of course, an active volcano – and that helps.
In 2011 over 40 countries had developed geothermal districts which were producing about 1% of the world’s electricity. The amount of electricity generated was equal to 104 nuclear power plants. In 2022 the United States had 3,965 geothermal plants in operation – the most in the world. The majority of these are in California, Nevada, Utah, and Hawaii.
In general, geothermal has less environmental impact than fossil fuels. If located near a good source, the cost is much lower to produce. However, there are two main problems. One, the cost of tapping into the system from locations far from the sources is high. Second, we could actually remove the dry or wet steam faster than the earth can replace them. Below are additional pros and cons.
| Advantages |
Disadvantages |
| Very high efficiency |
Scarcity of suitable sites |
| Moderate net energy at suitable sites |
CO2 emissions |
| Lower CO2 emissions than fossil fuels |
Moderate to high local air pollution |
| Low cost at favorable sites |
Noise and odors (hydrogen sulfide gas) |
| Low land use and disturbance |
High cost except at suitable sites |
There is one more source of energy to look at – hydrogen – and we will explore that one in the next article.
References
Geothermal Energy Fact Sheet. The Center for Sustainable Systems. University of Michigan. https://css.umich.edu/publications/factsheets/energy/geothermal-energy-factsheet.
Miller, G.T., Spoolman, S.E. 2011. Living in the Environment. Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning. Belmont CA. pp. 674.
by Rick O'Connor | Oct 6, 2025
This option for providing power has not been discussed as much recently as it was a decade ago. At that time many were looking at using corn waste, used cooking oil, and animal manure as a source of energy. Some universities devoted a lot of their research dollars towards the topic. But not as much today.
You might remember that our first source of energy for heating and cooking was wood. A decade ago, some communities were considering returning to this source. However, the problems that existed hundreds of years ago still exist today – mainly, is there enough wood. It is a renewable resource, but it does not grow as fast as we use it.
One of the biofuels that did get a lot of attention a decade ago, and is still popular in some countries, is ethanol and biodiesel. This has really caught on in Brazil and, to some extent, in the United States. There are several advantages to this form of energy. (1) Countries can supply their own source of fuel and are not dependent on importing from nations who have fossil fuels. (2) If managed correctly – not removing plants faster than they can replenish themselves – there would be no increase in carbon dioxide emissions. (3) They are available now, are easy to store and transport, can be distributed through existing fuel networks, and used in existing vehicles.
However, there are some problems…
Converting farmland to biofuel farms would decrease food production and overall biodiversity. Here are some advantages and disadvantages of solid biomass.
| Advantages |
Disadvantages |
| Large potential supply in some areas |
Nonrenewable if harvested unsustainably |
| Moderate costs |
Moderate to high environmental impact |
| No net CO2 increase if harvested, and replanted sustainably |
Soil erosion, water pollution, and loss of wildlife habitat |
| Can make use of agricultural, timber, and urban waste |
Farms could compete with food crops |
Biodiesel
| Advantages |
Disadvantages |
| Reduce CO2 emissions |
Increased NO2 emissions and smog |
| Reduced CO emissions |
Higher cost than regular diesel |
| High net energy for oil palm crops |
Low net energy for soybean crops |
| Better gas mileage |
May compete with food crops and raise food prices |
| Potentially renewable |
Can make engines hard to start in cold weather |
Ethanol
| Advantages |
Disadvantages |
| High octane |
Lower driving range |
| Some reduction in CO2 emissions |
Lower net energy |
| Potentially renewable |
Higher cost |
|
Competing with food crops |
|
Higher NO2 emissions and more smog |
|
Corrosive |
|
Can make engines hard to start in cold weather |
The potential of using biofuels is still here. There are definitely some pros and cons to this form of energy for us to think about. In our next article we will look at another that has been discussed a lot – geothermal.
References
Miller, G.T., Spoolman, S.E. 2011. Living in the Environment. Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning. Belmont CA. pp. 674.
by Rick O'Connor | Sep 22, 2025
Introduction
The diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) is the only resident turtle within brackish water and estuarine systems in the United States (Fig. 1). They prefer coastal estuarine wetlands – living in salt marshes, mangroves, and seagrass communities. The literature suggests they have strong site fidelity – meaning they do not move far from where they live. Within their habitat they feed on shellfish, mollusk and crustaceans mostly. In early spring they will breed. Gravid females will venture along the shores of the bay seeking a high-dry sandy beach where they will lay a clutch of about 10 eggs. She will typically return to lay more than one clutch each season. Nesting will continue through the summer. Hatching begins mid-summer and will extend into the fall. Hatchings that occur in late fall may overwinter within the nest and emerge the following spring. They live 20-25 years.
Fig. 1. The diamondback terrapin.
Photo: Molly O’Connor
Terrapins range from Massachusetts to Texas and within this range there are currently seven subspecies recognized – five of these live in Florida, and three are only found in Florida (Fig. 2). However, prior to 2005 their existence in the Florida panhandle was undocumented. The Panhandle Terrapin Project (PTP) was initially created to determine if terrapins did exist here.
Fig. 2. Terrapins of Florida.
Image provided by FWC
The Scope of the Project
Phase 1
The project began in 2005 using trained volunteers to survey suitable habitat for presence/absence. Presence is determined by locating potential nesting beaches and searching for evidence of nesting. Nesting begins in April and ends in September – with peak nesting occurring in this area during May and June. The volunteers are trained in March and survey potential beaches from April through July. They search for tracks of nesting females, eggshells of nests that were depredated by predators, and live terrapins – either on the beach or the heads in the water. Often volunteers will conduct 30-minute head counts to determine relative abundance. Between 2005 and 2010 the team was able to verify at least one record in each of the panhandle counties.
Phase 2
The next phase is to determine their status – how many nesting beaches does each county have, and how many terrapins are using them? A suitability map was developed by Dr. Barry Bitters as a Florida Master Naturalist project to locate suitable nesting beaches. Volunteers would visit these during the spring to determine whether nesting was occurring, and the relative abundance was determined using what we called the “Mann Method” – developed by Tom Mann of the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, along with the 30-minute head counts. The Mann Method involved counting the number of tracks and depredated nests within a 16-day window. The assumption to this method was that nesting females would lay multiple clutches each season – but they did not lay more than one every 16 days. Going on another assumption, that the sex ratio within the population was 1:1, each track and depredated nest within a 16-day window was a different female and doubling this number would give the relative abundance of adults in this population. Between 2007 and 2023 we were able to determine the number of nesting beaches in each county and relative abundance in three of those counties (see results below).
Phase 3
Partnering with the U.S. Geological Survey, we were able to move to Phase 3 – which involves trapping and tagging terrapins. Doing this gives the team a better idea of where the terrapins are going and how they are using the habitat. To trap the terrapins, we use modified crab traps (modified so that the terrapins had access to air to breath), seine nets, fyke nets, dip nets, and by hand – the most effective has been modified crab traps (Fig. 3). These traps are placed in terrapin habitat over a 3-day period, being checked daily. Any captured terrapins are measured, weighed, sexed, marked using the notch method, and given a Passive Intergraded Transponder (PIT) tag. Some of the terrapins are given a satellite tag where movement could be tracked by GPS (Fig. 4). We are now bringing on acoustic tagging for some counties. This involves placing acoustic receivers on the bottom of the bay which will detect any terrapin (with an acoustic tag) that swims nearby. Results are below.
Fig. 3. Modified crab traps is one method used to capture adults.
Photo: Molly O’Connor
Fig. 4. This tag with an antenna can be detected by a satellite and tracked real time.
Photo: USGS
Phase 4
This phase involves collecting tissue samples for genetic analysis. Currently it is believed that the Ornate terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin macrospilota) ranges from Key West to Choctawhatchee Bay, and the Mississippi terrapin (M.t. pileata) ranges from Choctawhatchee Bay to the Louisiana/Texas border. The two subspecies look morphologically different (Fig. 5) and the team believes terrapins resembling the ornate terrapin have been found in Pensacola Bay. Researchers in Alabama have also reported terrapins they believe to be ornate terrapins in their waters as well. The project is now working with a graduate student from the University of West Florida who is genetically analyzing tissue samples from trapped terrapins to determine which subspecies they are and what the correct range of these subspecies. This phase began in 2025, and we do not have any results at this time.
Fig. 5. The Mississippi terrapin found in Pensacola Bay is darker in color than the Ornate terrapin found in other bays of the panhandle.
Photo: Rick O’Connor
Ornate Diamondback Terrapins Depend on Coastal Marshes and Sea Grass Habitats
Photo: Erik Lovestrand.
2025 UPDATE AND RESULTS
In 2025 we trained 188 volunteers across each county – including state park rangers and members of the Florida Oyster Corps. 47 (25%) participated in at least one survey.
We logged 345 nesting surveys and 17 trap days.
No seining or fyke nets were conducted in 2025.
Phase 1 – Presence/Absence Update
| County |
Presence |
Notes |
| Baldwin |
Yes |
A single deceased terrapin was found in western Baldwin County |
| Escambia |
Yes |
Team encountered nesting again this year |
| Santa Rosa |
Yes |
Two new locations were identified this year |
| Okaloosa |
Yes |
Encounters were lower this year |
| Walton |
Yes |
FIRST EVIDENCE OF NESTING IN WALTON COUNTY VERIFIED THIS YEAR |
| Bay |
Yes |
FIRST EVIDENCE OF NESTING IN BAY COUNTY VERIFIED THIS YEAR |
| Gulf |
Yes |
Team encountered nesting again this year |
| Franklin |
ND |
ND |
Phase 2 Nesting Survey – Update
| County |
# of primary beaches1 |
# of secondary beaches2 |
# of surveys |
# of encounters |
FOE3 |
| Baldwin |
0 |
TBD |
14 |
04 |
.00 |
| Escambia |
2 |
35 |
99 |
7 |
.07 |
| Santa Rosa |
3 |
45 |
137 |
25 |
.18 |
| Okaloosa |
4 |
3 |
20 |
1 |
.05 |
| Walton |
1 |
4 |
28 |
2 |
.07 |
| Bay |
3 |
3 |
47 |
14 |
.30 |
| TOTAL |
13 |
17 |
345 |
49 |
.14 |
1 primary beaches are defined as those where nesting is known to occur.
2 secondary beaches are defined as those where potential nesting is high but has not been confirmed.
3 FOE (Frequency of Encounters) is the number of terrapin encounters / the number of surveys conducted.
4 There was one deceased terrapin found by a tour guide in Baldwin County but was not part of the project.
5 There are potential nesting sites on Pensacola Beach that are technically in Escambia County but covered by the Santa Rosa team. The Escambia team focused on the Perdido Key area.
Phase 3 Trapping/Tagging Update
We currently have 8 years of data.
Terrapins have been tagged in 7 of the 8 panhandle counties.
1483 captures, 1061 individuals.
2025 Capture Effort
| Method |
County |
Number |
Description |
Condition |
| Hand capture |
Escambia |
1 |
1 adult male |
Deceased |
| Hand capture |
Santa Rosa |
5 |
4 adult females
1 unknown |
Released, deceased |
| Hand capture |
Okaloosa |
1 |
1 adult female |
Released |
| Dip Net |
Santa Rosa |
1 |
1 adult male |
Released |
| Crab Traps |
Santa Rosa |
34 |
4 juvenile females
5 adult females
25 adult males |
Released |
|
Okaloosa |
4 |
1 juvenile female
3 adult males |
Released |
| TOTAL |
|
46 |
5 juvenile females
10 adult females
30 adult males
1 unknown |
|
Preliminary information subject to revision. Not for citation or distribution.
Satellite Tagging Information
Due to the size of the tags – only large females are satellite tagged at this time.
Big Momma – tracked for 188 days – averaged 0.16 miles.
Big Bertha – tracked for 137 days – averaged 35.83 miles.
2025 Tracking Effort
| County |
Tagging Effort |
| Santa Rosa |
2 satellite tagged
6 acoustically tagged |
| Okaloosa |
1 satellite tagged |
| TOTAL |
8 tagged for tracking |
Phase 4 Update
This phase began in 2025 and there are no results at this time.
Summary
2025
17 trainings were given in 7 of the 8 counties of the Florida panhandle (including Baldwin County AL).
188 were trained; 47 (25%) conducted at least one survey.
345 surveys were logged; terrapins (or terrapin sign) were encountered 49 (14%) of those surveys.
Every county had at least one encounter during a nesting survey.
17 trapping days were conducted; 46 terrapins were captured; 37 (83%) were captured in modified crab traps; 7 were captured by hand; 1 was captured in a dip net.
8 terrapins were tagged for tracking; 6 acoustically; 2 with satellite tags.
Since 2007
511 have been trained.
1449 surveys have been logged; 347 encounters have occurred; Frequency of Encounters is 24% of the surveys.
Discussion
Phase 1
We have shown that diamondback terrapins do exist in the Florida panhandle and in Baldwin County AL.
Phase 2
We currently have 13 primary nesting beaches we are surveying weekly during nesting season across the panhandle. There were 17 secondary nesting beaches surveyed and most likely there are many more to visit. Nesting seems to be more common in late spring, but the Frequency of Encounters has been declining since 2023. This could be due to less terrapin activity but could also be due to evidence being difficult to find. We will continue to monitor to see how this trend continues.
Phase 3
The team has captured 1483 terrapins, the majority of which were from the eastern panhandle. Satellite tagged females suggest more than one has traveled over 30 miles from where they were tagged. This goes against the idea that terrapins have strong site fidelity. However, all the terrapins tagged were large females (due to size of the tags) so we are looking at the movements of only the larger females – not the population as a whole. The movements of these females also suggest they may use seagrass beds as much as the salt marshes.
Training for volunteers occurs in March of each year. If you are interested in participating, contact Rick O’Connor – roc1@ufl.edu.
by Rick O'Connor | Sep 22, 2025
Wind power has become more popular across the planet. Though some regions of the Earth get more wind than others – it blows basically everywhere. The concept behind wind energy is the same as hydroelectric power. In hydroelectric moving water turns the turbines to generate electricity – with wind power it is moving air.
photo: Sam Ho 2022
One study conducted at Stanford by C.I. Archer and M.Z. Jacobsen in 2004 mapped the global potential for wind energy. Their data suggested that capturing only 20% of this potential energy from the world’s best sites could generate seven times more energy than was being developed in 2011 and thus could help phase out coal and nuclear power sources. Offshore wind production looks promising as well. Out there – the wind can be stronger and steadier than winds over land. Many countries have already developed offshore wind farms. Over land within the U.S., areas near the Rocky Mountains show the best promise – and many of these areas have already developed wind farms. In 2011 scientists estimated that wind farms in North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, and Texas alone could generate three times more energy than all of the power plants operating at that time. This looks like a promising option for fossil fuels, but there are challenges.
- Areas where wind energy is most promising have few people – the energy would have to transported to more urban sites.
- Winds do die down and a backup source will be needed in many locations.
- Studies have found that rotating wind turbines kill as many as 40,000 birds and bats each year in the U.S. alone.
- Many urban and coastal communities resist them because they are unsightly and noisy.
Others
| Advantages |
Disadvantages |
| Moderate to high energy yield |
Steady winds needed |
| High energy efficiency |
Backup systems needed during low wind events |
| Moderate capital costs |
High land use required |
| Low electricity costs |
“Visual” pollution |
| Very low environmental impact |
Noise when located near populated areas |
| No carbon dioxide emissions |
Can kill birds and bats |
| Can be located at sea |
|
| Land below turbines can be used for agriculture |
|
In the next article we will look at using biomass as an energy source.
Reference
Miller, G.T., Spoolman, S.E. 2011. Living in the Environment. Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning. Belmont CA. pp. 674.
