When David Kimbro looks through his trick-or-treat bag, he doesn’t see candy, he sees oyster shells and periwinkle snails. Can predators trick periwinkles into not destroying marsh cordgrass? Or will they serve as tasty treats for blue crabs? David shares his data.
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Florida State University
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Randall and David continue unraveling the mysteries of how predators affect their prey through fear. In this experiment, they look at how many oysters get eaten by mud crabs when the mud crabs think their predators are lurking around and eating their neighbors.
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Hanna Garland spent her summer on oyster reefs north of the Matanzas Inlet, looking for the cause to an extremely localized crown conch infestation that is decimating the oyster population. Now she’s back in Tallahassee, getting used to desk work and pouring over the data she collected.
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FSU Coastal & Marine Lab technician Tanya Rogers describes the building of what she calls “ecological art.” She is referring to the Kimbro lab’s summer experiment, for which several artificial oyster reefs with different combinations of animals was built near St. Augustine, FL.
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Plants- From Wildflowers to Longleaf PineSalt Marsh Ecology | In the Grass
Are two friends better than one?
by Randallby RandallFiddler crabs benefit salt marshes. Ribbed mussels benefit salt marshes. But together, is their effect even greater, or do they cancel each other out? Dr. Randall Hughes of the FSU Coastal & Marine Lab looks to find out.
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Oyster Reef Ecology | On the Reef
Growing Pains (bigger is definitely not always better)
by Davidby DavidImagine you have to set up an experiment from which you have to be able to obtain consistent results that form a definable pattern. Now imagine that you have to set this experiment up in the great muddy, salty outdoors. Dr. David Kimbro walks you through a large scale experiment that had him battling stone crabs and Mother Nature.
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Dr. Randall Hughes has just concluded a biodiversity experiment in Saint Joseph Bay. She was looking at periwinkle effects on marsh cordgrass, and whether it was better or worse when the grass was found alongside needlerush. The answer could be important in marsh recovery and restoration efforts.
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Seagrasses and Sand FlatsWildlife in North Florida- Critters Big and Small
Horse Conchs Rule the Seagrass Bed
In this preview video for the new “in the Grass, On the Reef” documentary, we get to know the largest predatory snail in Florida waters, the horse conch. Encrusted in barnacles and other fouling organisms and as large as a football, the horse conch has a bright orange body and is really a pretty impressive creature.
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Dr. Randall Hughes talks to the WFSU SciGirls about how she got started in Marine Ecology, and about the ecosystems she studies.
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Longleaf Pine & Fire EcologySalt Marsh Ecology | In the Grass
In the (wire)grass
by Randallby RandallThis May, Randall took a break from field work to teach what looked like a very fun class. Over three weeks they went oyster tonging, met a troublesome bear, and got to know some seven day old woodpeckers.