Southeast Ecological Science Center

Current Interest

Science in Support of Sturgeon Recovery

The Suwannee River is home to Florida’s largest population of Gulf sturgeon, a large federally threatened fish that can be seen jumping in the river during summer months. USGS biologists are working on a population census with support from NOAA. Sturgeon are being tagged, measured, and weighed to determine mortality and reproduction rates as part of the Gulf sturgeon population recovery plan. MyFWC YouTube Video

Lophelia corals - credit Cheryl Morrison

National Ocean Partnership Program - Award!

On Monday, October 15, USGS scientists Drs. Amanda Demopoulos, Christina Kellogg, Cheryl Morrison, and Nancy Prouty will be among those honored by the National Oceanographic Partnership Program (NOPP) for its Excellence in Partnering Award. The winning research expedition, "Rigs, Reefs, and Wrecks" was led by Dr. Charles Fisher of Penn State University, a BOEM contractor who works with the Lophelia II research program (http://fl.biology.usgs.gov/DISCOVRE/gom.html), a partnership among USGS, NOAA, BOEM, and others. The annual award is bestowed upon the expedition for their "exceptionally diverse partnerships, which include scientists, graduate students, technicians, public outreach professionals, and industry specialists from a very broad spectrum of ocean sciences ranging from Federal regulating agency scientists to academic scientists to industry partners." The expedition's scientific accomplishments included the first visit to actively producing oil platforms to study deep sea organisms and ecosystems found there and the discovery of Lophelia coral at greater depths than previously documented in the Gulf of Mexico. USGS studies focused on animal communities living in and around the sea floor, genetic diversity, and coral-associated microbes within both natural deep-sea coral habitats and those on artificial structures.

USGS Multimedia Gallery - Lionfish - click for larger images

Lionfish in the Florida Keys

For the first time since lionfish were spotted in the Florida Keys, scientists are now able to determine how many and how quickly this invasive species is taking over. In an article out today in the Bulletin of Marine Science, NOAA and USGS scientists worked together to document the abundance and rapid spread of lionfish throughout the Keys. This latest research and information from the public will help fishery managers make important decisions relating to protecting native fish and the ecosystem from this invasive species. Journal Article

Weather Resources

Recent Publications

Micheal S. Allen, Mark W. Rogers, Matthew J. Catalano, Daniel C. Gwinn, and Stephen J. Walsh. 2013. Assessing the Potential for the Angling of Nesting Males to Influence Largemouth Bass Recruitment Should Consider the Quality of Nesting Individuals: Response to Comment by J.J. Parkos III, D.H. Wahl, and D.P. Philipp. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 142(2):419-421. [Journal Abstract]

Tucker, K.P., M.E. Hunter, R.K. Bonde, J.D. Austin, A.M. Clark, C.A. Beck, P.M. McGuire and M.K. Oli. 2012. Low genetic diversity and minimal population substructure in the endangered Florida manatee: implications for conservation. Journal of Mammalogy 93(6):1504-1511.

Mazzotti FJ, Cherkiss MS, Brandt LA, Fujisaki I, Hart KM, Jeffery B, McMurry ST, Platt SG, Rainwater TR (2012) Body Condition of Morelet's Crocodiles (Crocodylus moreletii) from Northern Belize. Journal of Herpetology 46(3): 356–362, DOI: 10.1670/11-188.

Poulos, H.M., D. Butman, and P. Fuller. 2012. Mapping the potential distribution of the invasive Red Shiner, Cyprinella lutrensis (Teleostei: Cyprinidae) across waterways of the conterminous United States. Aquatic Invasions 7(3):377-385. [Journal Article]

Bossart, G.D., A.A. Mignucci-Giannoni, A.L. Rivera-Guzman, N.M. Jimenez-Marrero, A. Camus, R.K. Bonde, J.P. Dubey and J.S. Reif. 2012. Disseminated toxoplasmosis in Antillean manatees (Trichechus manatus manatus) from Puerto Rico. Diseases of Aquatic Organisms 101:139-144. [Journal Abstract]

Bargar, T. A. (2012). The relationship between total cholinesterase activity and mortality in four butterfly species. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 31: 2124–2129. doi: 10.1002/etc.1927.

Watling, James I., Stephanie S. Romañach, David N. Bucklin, Carolina Speroterra, Laura A. Brandt, Leonard G. Pearlstine, Frank J. Mazzotti, Do bioclimate variables improve performance of climate envelope models?, Ecological Modelling, Volume 246, 10 November 2012, Pages 79-85.

Pawlitz, R.J., and David, K.D., 2012, The National Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Program: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2012–3100, 4 p. (Also available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2012/3100.)

Hunter, M.E. and Pawlitz, R.J., 2012, Using genetic research to inform imperiled and invasive species management: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2012-3017, 4 p., available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2012/3017/.

Hunter, M.E., A.A. Mignucci-Giannoni, K.P. Tucker, T.L. King, R.K. Bonde, B.A. Gray and P.M. McGuire. 2012. Puerto Rico and Florida manatees represent genetically distinct groups. Conservation Genetics 13 (6):1623-1635. DOI: 10.1007/s10592-012-0141-2. [USGS News Release] [Journal Abstract]

Barr, J.G., Engel, V., Smith, T.J. and Fuentes, J.D. 2012. Hurricane disturbance and recovery of energy balance, CO2 fluxes and canopy structure in a mangrove forest of the Florida Everglades. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 153: 54-66.

Dorcas, Michael E., John D. Willson, Robert N. Reed, Ray W. Snow, Michael R. Rochford, Melissa A. Miller, Walter E. Meshaka, Jr., Paul T. Andreadis, Frank J. Mazzotti, Christina M. Romagosa, and Kristen M. Hart. 2012. Severe mammal declines coincide with proliferation of invasive Burmese pythons in Everglades National Park. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 109 (7), 2418-2422.

Full Publications List ...

PRESS RELEASES

EXPLORE OUR SCIENCE

CENTER INFORMATION