Who is the Creature That Causes Red Tide: Information on Karenia brevis
When I was in high school we were required to take a semester of communism during our senior year - the idea was to "know the enemy". That is what we plan to do here... But, the enemy is a microscopic plant. Its name is Karenia brevis. It is one of about 10...
A Look at Some of Our Colorful and Intriguing Native Bees
Beekeeping is thriving in Panhandle Florida and the importance of honeybee health and pollination is frequently in the news. As much as 1/3 of our food supply depends on the pollinating activities of honeybees, and because of this fact, pollinator protection was...
Mast Producing Crops for Wildlife
It’s that time of year when landowners, hunters, and other wildlife enthusiasts begin to plan and prepare fall and winter food plots to attract wildlife like the nice buck in the photo. Annual food plots are expensive and labor intensive to plant every year and with...
Nature Notes – The Blue Crab
Most kids who grew up on the Gulf Coast grew up catching blue crabs. These animals are common along our shorelines, relatively easy to catch, and adventurous because they may bite you. I caught my first one in 1965 and we proudly displayed the boiled shell over the...
Now is the Time to Start Preparing for Cool-Season Food Plots
I know it feels too hot outside to talk about hunting season or cool-season food plots, but planting time will be here before you know it and now’s the time to start preparing. The recommended planting date for practically all cool-season forage crops in Northwest...
Our “Seahawk”; the Osprey
As a kid growing up here along the Gulf Coast, I had never heard of an osprey. Now, there is at least one mating pair on almost every body of water in the Pensacola Bay area. Where did this once unknown bird come from? How has it successfully colonized our coastal...
Florida’s Water Quality Woes
Being in the panhandle of Florida you may, or may not, have heard about the water quality issues hindering the southern part of the state. Water discharged from Lake Okeechobee is full of nutrients. These nutrients are coming from agriculture, unmaintained septic...
After Shark Week; What Visitors Should Know About Sharks
In recent weeks, the country has heard about shark attacks off the Carolina coast and great whites off the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico – then of course, we just completed “Shark Week”. This sometimes makes visitors to our beaches a bit unnerved about...
Restoring the Health of Pensacola Bay, What Can You Do to Help? – Fecal Bacteria
Of all the issues facing our local estuaries, high levels of fecal bacteria is the one that hinders commercial and recreational use the most. When bacteria levels increase and health advisories are issued, people become leery of swimming, paddling, or consuming...
Researchers Test Traps for Controlling Deepwater Invasive Lionfish
Written By: Laura Tiu, Holden Harris, and Alexander Fogg It’s early morning as Dreadknot Charters speeds out of Destin Harbor towards the offshore reefs in the Gulf of Mexico. Researchers Holden Harris (Graduate Research Fellow, University of Florida), Alex Fogg,...