Bioaccumulation of Toxins in Shellfish and the Consequences for Human Health
By James Keegan, RJD Intern Toxic shellfish and toxic seafood in general are not modern phenomena. Human practices and records indicate that shellfish poisoning has been around for hundreds if not thousands of years. Many believe that diet restrictions dictated by the Bible demonstrate a wariness of shellfish poisoning. Moreover, Native Americans would keep watch […]
Modeling for Management: Predicting Ideal Conditions for Seagrass Habitat
By Emily Rose Nelson, RJD Intern Seagrasses are an essential part of the marine ecosystem. They provide food, habitat, and safe nursery areas to a wide range of species. Seagrasses help to stabilize the sea floor during intense currents and storms, filter nutrients coming from land-based runoff, increase water clarity by trapping sediments, generate oxygen, […]
Competitive Interactions Between South American Sea Lions and Fishermen in Southern Brazil
By James Keegan, RJD Intern Often, humans and top predatory carnivores compete for the same resources, even in the marine environment. This conflict occurs where fishing operations of humans and feeding areas of the predators overlap. In South America, fishermen complain of adverse competition from South American sea lions, which interact with all types of […]
Masked, diluted and drowned out: how global seafood trade weakens signals from marine ecosystems
By Jake Jerome, RJD Graduate Student It has been shown that global seafood trade inherently drives seafood production, negatively impacting marine ecosystems worldwide. While it is well known that these ecosystems are deteriorating, most research has been focused on global stock assessments, catch trends, or fisheries dynamics, with little attention given to researching the ways […]
Shark Tagging With Steve Brodie Charter
By Alison Enchelmaier, RJD Intern Friday morning couldn’t come fast enough. It felt like forever since I had been on a tagging trip and I was chomping at the bit to get started. The crew arrived an hour early to load gear and everyone seemed to be in a genial mood as we hauled drumlines […]
Shark Tagging with Riviera High
By Rachel Skubel, RJD Intern Last Sunday we had a fin-tastic trip with Riviera High, wherein we were fortunate enough to come across three unique species of sharks just a couple miles off of South Miami Beach – including a breathtaking 4-meter great hammerhead. This was our first secondary-school trip of fall 2015, and we […]