Marine Creatures of the Northern Gulf of Mexico – Flagellated Protozoans
You may ask – “what are protozoans?” It’s a good question. The breakdown of the word includes “proto” which means “before”, and “zoan” which refers to animals. These are the “before animals” – meaning animal-like creatures BEFORE there were true animals. They are...
Recent Catch of a Bocourt Swimming Crab in Apalachicola Bay
In early November a local crabber, Kevin Martina, brought an interesting catch to the Franklin County Extension office in Apalachicola. Kevin and his brother Kenneth Martina fish for blue crabs in Apalachicola Bay and they came across what appeared at first glance to...
More Information on Establishing Cool Season Wildlife Food Plots in the Panhandle
Recently Jennifer Bearden, our Agriculture & Natural Resource Agent in Okaloosa County wrote a great article on “Common Wildlife Food Plot Mistakes”. The following information is a mere supplement in establishing food plots. Planting wildlife forages has become a...
Marine Creatures of the Northern Gulf of Mexico – Dinoflagellates
Much of the phytoplankton found in the waters for the northern Gulf of Mexico are diatoms and dinoflagellates. We wrote about diatoms in our last article, here we will meet the dinoflagellates. Like diatoms, dinoflagellates are microscopic phytoplankton drifting in...
Common Wildlife Food Plot Mistakes
Hunting season is underway here in Northwest Florida. With it comes hunters putting in food plots. It’s been dry here but it looks like we are getting some relief. So, now is a good time to talk a little about common mistakes wildlife enthusiasts make when planting...
Marine Creatures of the Northern Gulf of Mexico – Diatoms
Remaining in the world of the microscopic, in this article we look at small plant-like creatures called diatoms. Diatoms are single celled algae that float in the surface waters of the Gulf of Mexico in the billions. Being plant-like, they possess chlorophyll for...
The Tale of the Atlantic Tripletail
The Atlantic Tripletail (Lobotes surinamensis) is a very prized sportfish along the Florida Panhandle. Typically caught as a “bonus” fish found along floating debris, the tripletail is a hard fighting fish and excellent table fare. Just as the name implies, this fish...
Marine Creatures of the Northern Gulf of Mexico – Bacteria
In the first article of this series, we discussed whether viruses were truly living organisms. Well, bacteria truly are. They possess all eight characteristics of life but differ from other forms of life in that they lack a true nucleus. Their genetic material just...
Damselfly Love
One thing about nature that you can be sure of is, nobody can say that they have “seen it all.” Just around the next corner is something that you have never seen before in your life. It doesn’t matter if you are the most seasoned, highly educated naturalist on the...
Workshop on Private Well and Septic System Basics
UF/IFAS Extension and Mississippi State University are offering a workshop about the fundamentals of private well and onsite wastewater systems (septic systems) on October 24, 2024 from 6-8:30 pm CST. Join us virtually or in-person at the UF/IFAS Walton County...