The WFSU Ecology Blog
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    • Classic WFSU Ecology Documentaries
  • Habitats
    • Estuaries
      • Oyster Reef
        • The Effects of Predators and Fear on Oyster Reefs
        • Apalachicola Oyster Research
        • Animal Species in a North Florida Intertidal Oyster Reef
        • Oyster Reef Ecology | On the Reef
      • Salt Marsh
        • In the Grass- Salt Marsh Biodiversity Study
        • Plants and Animals of a North Florida Salt Marsh
        • Salt Marsh Ecology | In the Grass
      • Seagrass Bed
        • Predatory Snails, and Prey, of the Bay Mouth Bar Seagrass Beds
      • In the Grass, On the Reef Glossary
    • Waterways Big and Small
      • Aucilla/ Wacissa Watershed
      • Apalachicola Basin
        • Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines | Virtual Field Trip
        • The Age of Nature Screening & Discussion | The Future of the Apalachicola
        • Apalachicola River and Bay
        • Apalachicola RiverTrek | Kayaking, Camping, & Hiking the River Basin
    • Longleaf Pine & Fire Ecology
  • Backyard Habitat
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      • Bees of North Florida and South Georgia
      • The Seasonality of Bees (and Bee Plants) in North Florida
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      • Flies of North Florida are More Diverse than You’d Think
      • The Case for Weeds, Our Unsung Florida Native Plants
      • Devil’s Walkingstick: Your New Favorite Thorny Pollinator Plant?
      • Florida Native Milkweed | Tips for Growing Your Monarch Friendly Garden
      • Mistletoe | A Parasite for the Holidays (But Maybe We Like it Anyway?)
    • Florida Friendly Seasonal Planting Guide
    • Pollinator and Gardening Posts
    • Gardening Web Resources
Kayak and Canoe Adventures
RiverTrek 2021: Five Days on the Apalachicola River
Lower Lake Lafayette: Kayak Tallahassee’s Hidden Swamp
Chipola River Paddling Trail | The Ovens and...
Kayaking Bald Point | Adventure on a Living...
Wacissa Springs Adventure | Kayaking a Wild Florida...
A Geologist’s View of the Apalachicola River |...
Upper Chipola River Kayak Adventure | Ghosts &...
Tate’s Hell & the Apalachicola River Delta |...
Kayak Scouting Mission on the Ochlockonee Water Trail
Merritt’s Mill Pond | Kayaking and Spring Caves

The WFSU Ecology Blog

  • Home
    • About
    • EcoAdventures
      • Kayak and Canoe Adventures
      • Hiking
      • Wildlife Watching
    • Observations From the Field
      • White Pelicans Visit Dr. Charles L. Evans Pond in Tallahassee
      • An April Walk at Ochlockonee River WMA
      • Nesting Raptors at Honeymoon Island State Park
    • WFSU Public Media Home
  • Documentaries
    • In Their Words: Black Legacy Communities in North Florida
    • EcoCitizen Show | Seasons in South Tallahassee
    • Red Wolf Family Celebrates First Year at the Tallahassee Museum
    • Roaming the Red Hills
    • Oyster Doctors
    • Testing the Ecology of Fear
    • EcoShakespeare
    • Stories from the Apalachicola
    • Classic WFSU Ecology Documentaries
  • Habitats
    • Estuaries
      • Oyster Reef
        • The Effects of Predators and Fear on Oyster Reefs
        • Apalachicola Oyster Research
        • Animal Species in a North Florida Intertidal Oyster Reef
        • Oyster Reef Ecology | On the Reef
      • Salt Marsh
        • In the Grass- Salt Marsh Biodiversity Study
        • Plants and Animals of a North Florida Salt Marsh
        • Salt Marsh Ecology | In the Grass
      • Seagrass Bed
        • Predatory Snails, and Prey, of the Bay Mouth Bar Seagrass Beds
      • In the Grass, On the Reef Glossary
    • Waterways Big and Small
      • Aucilla/ Wacissa Watershed
      • Apalachicola Basin
        • Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines | Virtual Field Trip
        • The Age of Nature Screening & Discussion | The Future of the Apalachicola
        • Apalachicola River and Bay
        • Apalachicola RiverTrek | Kayaking, Camping, & Hiking the River Basin
    • Longleaf Pine & Fire Ecology
  • Backyard Habitat
    • Backyard Blog
      • My Year in Bugs: the 2022 Backyard Blog
      • Backyard Ecology Blog | 2021
      • Backyard Blog November/ December 2020
      • Backyard Blog September/ October 2020
      • July and August 2020 Backyard Blog
      • Backyard Blog June 2020
      • Backyard Blog May 2020
      • Backyard Blog April 2020
      • Backyard Blog February and March 2020
      • Backyard Blog January 2020
      • Backyard Blog October through December 2019
      • Backyard Blog September 2019
      • Backyard Blog August 2019
      • Backyard Blog July 2019
      • Backyard Blog June 2019
      • Backyard Blog May 2019
      • Backyard Blog April 2019
      • Backyard Blog March 2019
      • Backyard Blog February 2019
      • Backyard Blog January 2019
      • The Backyard Bug Blog 2018
    • Backyard Flora and Fauna
      • Bees of North Florida and South Georgia
      • The Seasonality of Bees (and Bee Plants) in North Florida
      • Woody Vines of North Florida
      • Flies of North Florida are More Diverse than You’d Think
      • The Case for Weeds, Our Unsung Florida Native Plants
      • Devil’s Walkingstick: Your New Favorite Thorny Pollinator Plant?
      • Florida Native Milkweed | Tips for Growing Your Monarch Friendly Garden
      • Mistletoe | A Parasite for the Holidays (But Maybe We Like it Anyway?)
    • Florida Friendly Seasonal Planting Guide
    • Pollinator and Gardening Posts
    • Gardening Web Resources
Category:

Salt Marsh Ecology | In the Grass

Dr. Randall Hughes, among other things, studies biodiversity in salt marshes, and how it affects the habitat’s ability to cope with disturbances.  Does having a greater variety of plant species benefit a salt marsh?  Does having more genetic individuals of smooth cordgrass help when environmental or man made catastrophes strike?  Randall is looking at several factors, from the animals that eat the cordgrass (the foundation species of the marsh), to which combinations of plants work best together, or how seagrass wrack affects the health of a marsh.

Most of her study is centered on St. Joseph Bay, on Florida’s Gulf coast.  On this blog you will also see some of her side projects looking at black mangroves are starting to become more prevalent in Gulf salt marshes and why seagrass beds around the world are dying off.

Meet the animals of a coastal salt marsh.

  • Salt Marsh Ecology | In the GrassWildlife in North Florida- Critters Big and Small

    Gulf Specimen Marine Lab Recovers After Hurricane Michael

    by Rob Diaz de Villegas October 14, 2018
    by Rob Diaz de Villegas October 14, 2018

    In Panacea, Florida, the Gulf Specimen Marine Lab recovers after Hurricane Michael. Its life support systems need repair, and its research dock is wrecked.

  • EcoAdventuresFlorida's CoastsKayak and Canoe AdventuresOyster Reef Ecology | On the ReefSalt Marsh Ecology | In the Grass

    Kayaking Bald Point | Adventure on a Living Coastline

    by Rob Diaz de Villegas January 18, 2018
    by Rob Diaz de Villegas January 18, 2018

    At Bald Point State State Park, we kayak by fishermen, oystermen, migratory ducks, and monarch butterflies- some of the best of natural north Florida.

  • Oyster Reef Ecology | On the ReefSalt Marsh Ecology | In the GrassSeagrasses and Sand FlatsStumbling on ScienceWildlife in North Florida- Critters Big and Small

    Crown Conchs, Parenting, and Walks Along the Gulf Coast

    by Jessie Mutz June 24, 2015
    by Jessie Mutz June 24, 2015

    New Ecology Blogger Jessie Mutz takes us back to the oyster reefs and seagrass beds of the Forgotten Coast with one of FSU’s newest biology faculty members.

  • Plants- From Wildflowers to Longleaf PineSalt Marsh Ecology | In the Grass

    Does Diversity Matter in the Salt Marsh? A Look Back

    by Randall August 19, 2014
    by Randall August 19, 2014

    Randall Hughes has wrapped her Saint Joseph Bay salt marsh research. What has she learned about diversity and the health and productivity of the ecosystem?

  • Oyster Reef Ecology | On the ReefSalt Marsh Ecology | In the Grass

    Oyster Doctors now online & the new look Ecology Blog

    by Rob Diaz de Villegas March 28, 2014
    by Rob Diaz de Villegas March 28, 2014

    The WFSU Ecology blog gets a new look and the latest In the Grass, On the Reef documentary is now online.

  • Plants- From Wildflowers to Longleaf PineSalt Marsh Ecology | In the Grass

    VIDEO- Mangroves and Cold, & Oyster Doctors Airs on WFSU

    by Rob Diaz de Villegas March 18, 2014
    by Rob Diaz de Villegas March 18, 2014

    A colder north Florida winter allows Dr. Randall Hughes a new glimpse into how mangroves survive northern Gulf marshes. And, Oyster Doctors airs on WFSU!

  • EcoAdventuresOyster Reef Ecology | On the ReefSalt Marsh Ecology | In the Grass

    Free Events Across Forgotten Coast Celebrate New WFSU Documentary

    by Rob Diaz de Villegas February 10, 2014
    by Rob Diaz de Villegas February 10, 2014

    Kayak, Boat and Walking trips let viewers experience coastal ecosystems firsthand as we premiere our documentary: In the Grass, On the Reef: Oyster Doctors.

  • Oyster Reef Ecology | On the ReefSalt Marsh Ecology | In the GrassWildlife in North Florida- Critters Big and Small

    Video: Turtles, Octopus, & Crabs at the Gulf Specimen Lab

    by Rob Diaz de Villegas December 5, 2013
    by Rob Diaz de Villegas December 5, 2013

    Octopi battle for food and a sea turtle tries to eat our camera at the Gulf Specimen Marine Lab, where coastal critters entertain and educate the public.

  • Plants- From Wildflowers to Longleaf PineSalt Marsh Ecology | In the Grass

    Seagrass Wrack in the Salt Marsh – Blessing or Curse?

    by Randall August 22, 2013
    by Randall August 22, 2013

    Can some disturbances be beneficial? So is Seagrass wrack in the salt marsh a destroyer, or provider of nutrients and habitat?

  • Plants- From Wildflowers to Longleaf PineSalt Marsh Ecology | In the Grass

    Black Mangroves: Strangers in a St. Joe Bay Marsh

    by Randall August 8, 2013
    by Randall August 8, 2013

    Could marshes in St. Joseph Bay be changing? Dr. Randall Hughes investigates the increasing black mangrove population of the SJB salt marsh.

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iNaturalist

iNaturalist became a part of the WFSU Ecology Blog during the EcoCitizen Project in 2019.  Since then, we’ve used it to help identify the many plants and animals we see on our shoots.  And on the Backyard Blog, we show how it can be used to identify weeds and garden insects, to help figure out what’s beneficial or a possible pest.  Below is the iNaturalist profile belonging to WFSU Ecology producer Rob Diaz de Villegas.

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