Sites We Like

By
Blogs and Social Media

Everglades Links
  • Odyssey Earth: Encounters in Excellence   http://www.odysseyearth.com/
    • The Encounters in Excellence program consists of a series of film lectures on natural history topics. Based in Miami, Florida, much of the focus is on the incredible biodiversity of Biscayne Bay, the Everglades and the surrounding environments. The action-packed films are projected in school auditoriums using digital projectors and are narrated in person by the filmmakers. Students are encouraged to interact with the filmmaker after the program with a question and answer period. There is no other series like it in the United States

 Professional Organizations

Popular posts from this blog

What is Peat and Why is it Collapsing?

By
Image
Written by Benjamin J. Wilson For a background refresher on the impacts of sea level rise in South Florida, see my previous blog post. Figure 1. Feedbacks that lead to the creation of wetland peat soil. Peat soil is the backbone of many wetlands. It is full of organic-rich carbon that is formed when plants perform photosynthesis: they suck up carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) from the atmosphere and use it to make roots. These roots go into the soil, and because decomposition is slow in wetlands, these carbon-rich roots are stored in the soil for very long periods of time, allowing the marsh to grow in elevation (Fig. 1). Under freshwater conditions, this carbon can be stored in the soils for thousands of years. This leads to a landscape full of pristine marshes that provide habitat for wildlife and are very efficient at filtering contaminants out of water (Fig. 2a). However, in some brackish marshes, especially in the Everglades, an exciting feature appears. From above, you can
Read more

Hungry for outreach? Try a Data Nugget!

By
Image
The title of our Data Nugget. If you are passionate about the broader impact of your data, you should consider incorporating it into a Data Nugget.  Data Nugget s are an opportunity for scientists to bring their data into the K-12 classroom. A Data Nugget is an activity, developed by scientists and teachers, that use real scientific data. Using real data in the classroom gives students experience working with "messy ecological data." Two summers ago I worked with my advisor , a Research Experience for Undergraduate student, and a Research Experience for Teachers intern ( RET ) to complete a study investigating how gradients of salt and phosphorus influence soil microbes. Our RET, Ms. Casal, was fantastic! Ms. Casal's background is in chemistry and she teaches at Felix Varela . Ms. Casal went into the field with us to collect samples, helped run analyses on samples in the lab, and co-designed our Data Nugget. Our RET, Ms. Casal, helping process samples in the l
Read more

Do you know the history of your field site?

By
Image
Author: Cody Eggenberger From nukes to murder to drug smuggling, the Everglades have had an interesting history to say the least. Since moving to south Florida, apart from the deep love I’ve developed for the recreational fish species I am lucky enough to research, I’ve developed a fascination with the history of the Everglades. Unfortunately, very few places still exist in the US that are able to give you the feeling that you’ve time traveled to a prehistoric, untouched past, where reptilian dinosaurs larger than boats and monstrous schools of fish larger than humans lurk beneath the water’s surface. Anyone who knows anything about the terrible ideas us  Homo SAPIENS  have  had in the past regarding the Everglades knows that the ecosystem has been drastically altered and much of the beauty we see today is a mere shadow of what it once was. From experience and communication, the trials and tribulations that always seem to coincide with field research often causes graduate student
Read more