Hurricane Season: Four tips for newcomers
For better or worse, tropical storms are exciting. Besides the energy and tension around the mystery of where a storm will make landfall, the combination of powerful waves coming ashore, intense wind gusts, and driving rain really heighten all the senses. Most...
A Sea of Grass Part 8 Echinoderms
Sea urchins are one of the more commonly encountered creatures when snorkeling in our seagrass beds. At times these little pin cushions can be found in great numbers. In some locations there have been too many and community events have been developed to...
The Evening Bats of the Florida Panhandle
My wife and I like to sit on our back porch and watch the sunset each day. We do not make all of them, but we try to make as many as we can. We often see small bats darting in all directions feeding on bugs. Recently we were enjoying a particularly...
A Sea of Grass; Part 7 The Crustaceans
In terms of diversity and abundance, the Phylum Arthropoda is the most successful in the Animal Kingdom. Between them all, there are over one million species. They can be found in all habitats, from the deepest part of the ocean to the highest places in...
The Emerald Coast Open Lionfish Tournament 2023: Combating an Invasive Species Through Sport
The Emerald Coast Open Lionfish Tournament May 20-21, 2023, at HarborWalk Village in Destin, FL, is gearing up to tackle a pressing ecological challenge while showcasing the power of sport to make a positive impact. This unique tournament, held along the picturesque...
Late Spring is Time to Go Cogongrass Hunting
Donn Shilling and Eldridge Wynn look over a research field of cogongrass, which has become a problem for cattle ranchers. Cogongrass is one of our larger invasive species here in the Panhandle, and spring is a good time to detect and treat it. If you know or suspect...
What You Can Do to Help Enhance Seagrass
Most of us in the Florida panhandle realize how important seagrasses are to the ecology of our estuaries. Not only do they provide habitat for commercially important finfish and shellfish, but they also help trap sediments, remove nitrogen from the system, and...
A Sea of Grass; Part 6 – The Mollusk
In Part 5 of this series, we looked at a group of invertebrates that few people see, and no one is looking for – worms. But in this article, we will be looking at a group that seagrass explorers see frequently and some, like the bay scallop, we are actually...
It’s Time to Remove Invasive Beach Vitex
During the spring and early summer beach vitex is not in seed and this is a good time to remove this invasive plant from your property. This time of year, the leaves have their unique blueish-green coloration, allowing them to stand out from other plants on your...
A Sea of Grass; Part 5 – Worms
When most hear the word worm unpleasant things come to mind. “Gross”, “dirty”, “decaying”, “disease”, “rotten”, are a few. And then there is the whole parasite thing. But then there are those who like them. Gardeners, kids, and fishermen find...