Augustus (CUR) - Almost to the Finish Line

Sorry for the delay! Between school and the research I've gone a little scattered brained.
Over the past few weeks our little HOBO has been running non stop and collecting precious data. We have offloaded the data twice and have gotten some pretty good looking graphs.

Questions 

J Ogadah from section 101. I have some questions... How would rising sea levels affect human life in Florida? How would it affect animal life? Is there concrete evidence that Florida is sinking and the sea level is rising, or is it mostly a hypothesis at this point? Does global warming cause this? Could rising sea levels have any effect on weather?

Thank you for your questions, I'll answer them in order. Rising Sea Levels would easily affect human life and animal life in a multitude of ways, the most obvious being that we slowly start to lose land as the ocean rises, animals that are native to our coasts are pushed further inland or begin to leave to find new areas to live or breed. As for concrete evidence NASA has our waters rising at 3.2 mm/year as for Florida sinking, since it is on top of porous limestone which easily erodes over time due to water. Climate Change can have an affect on this certainly, as the world heats up ice deposits melt adding more water to the ocean causing it to rise. Rising sea level can absolutely have an affect on weather as well, as the waters get deeper and the world gets warmer it can easily produce more and more powerful storms and hurricanes, we have seen this recently with Irma, Michael and Harvey, 3 catastrophic storms back to back is something we have not experienced before but is becoming a more frequent occurrence.  

Small fibers, Big problems- CUR Allie

Microbeads found in toothpaste

Microbeads

    Many products humans manufacture, and use can be very harmful to the environment. For example, many beauty and health products contain microbeads. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric administration, in 2015 the U.S banned intentionally small designed plastics called microbeads. Identical to microplastic fibers, microbeads also infiltrate the waterways and our oceans. Both tiny micro pieces less than five millimeters long form an indestructible army, forcing aquatic species to adapt to their new environment. The ocean inhabits many forms of species with countless different hunting methods/ feeding habits/ location of food source and more. It would be easy for any animal to receive a mouthful of tiny microplastics and microbeads in attempts to eat, especially with an environment invaded with tiny little balls of inevitable harm.

  The article 'Our Oceans: A Plastic Soup' by Renee Cho, highlights one of Moore's expeditions in which hundreds of fish are investigated for microplastic consumption by conducting necropsies. The ending results were over 1/3 of the fish had ingested polluted plastic fragments. The same study showed a case of a 2.5-inch fish that had been recorded with 84 pieces of plastic in its stomach. That’s a full stomach for a tiny fish! Often the case is once they consume the plastics, they starve because their stomachs are full, and they cannot properly digest, resulting in internal blockages and death. In 1999 Moore’s research in the Central Pacific found six times more plastic than zooplankton in the water. Once the amounts of plastic start outnumbering the species, we have a problem. These are just a few examples of the fairly new studies on the consumption of plastics in aquatic life.

Laysan albatoss decomposed carcass

Photo: Algalita Marine Research Foundation

Laysan albatoss on Kure Atoll, North Pacific. 

Important Figure

Charles Moore: An oceanographer and boat captain. Known for discovery of 'Great Pacific Garbage Patch' an area of the Pacific Ocean overwhelmed with floating plastic debris, (3x the size of Texas). 

• Through continuous research and dedication, Moore has made numerous expeditions and collected important data concerning the increase of pollution in our seas. This relates to my research project because, just like my data- Moore has proven microplastics are affecting the aquatic environment. 
• More details on Moore's expedition's can be found on the  "Algalita Foundation's website".
• As well as this significant article written by Charles Moore, where he personally explains his strategy and discoveries.  

Work Cited:

Moore, Charles. “Trashed Across the Pacific Ocean, Plastics, Plastics, Everywhere.” Natural History Magazine, Nov. 2003, www.naturalhistorymag.com/htmlsite/master.html?http%3A%2F%2Fwww.naturalhistorymag.com%2Fhtmlsite%2F1103%2F1103_feature.html.

“Our Oceans: A Plastic Soup.” State of the Planet, 18 June 2018, blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2011/01/26/our-oceans-a-plastic-soup/.

“When The Mermaids Cry: The Great Plastic Tide.” Plastic Pollution, plastic-pollution.org/.

US Department of Commerce, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “What Are Microplastics?” NOAA's National Ocean Service, 13 Apr. 2016, oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/microplastics.html.

Katie: What's a Blog Without A Video Here and There?

Hey Guys! I am so sorry for the late post but the videos have taken way longer to download onto my computer than I thought it would! But anyways the video does not have sound for some odd reason, so below each video is a brief description on what is happening. I will also put a brief description under the video so you know which tube and plate I am inoculating.




I had some questions from Samantha V. in OCE1001. She asked if the bacteria from the sharks mouths differentiate between different breeds of sharks and the answer to that is yes and no. Just like humans, sharks are all different. So no matter the breed or the age of the shark, all their mouths are different. Just how one snowflake cannot be the same neither can bacteria in different sharks mouths. Yes the may have some of the same bacteria but all the samples I have taken do not look the same. Some pictures are provided around!

Samantha also asked if the bite is more dangerous the bigger the shark is. To be completely honest I haven't been focusing on what the bites do to the person, but I've been focusing more on what bacteria is living in their mouths and identifying it.

Here we are inoculating the plates with Specimen 10. I used a loop which is basically a wire with a loop at the end of it. I stated with the TSA plate just so we can do the oxidase test and catalase test on. Next I clean the loop with a flame and let it cool down. The starch plate I did next and all I do is run a line down the middle of the plate so I can add iodine to it after a couple days. After that we do the Blood Agar Plate which will see if the bacteria needs nutrients to grow. Next will be the EMB plate which I streaked along the plate. Lastly I did the MAC plate which I just ran the loop across it.


This week I post the results for all the tests for you all to see!

Josh Munsey: Answering Questions

Hello everyone, I hope you all have had a good past couple of weeks. I'm hoping to get out fishing soon in the next couple of weeks so hopefully I will have a good update for you then. Anyways today I will be answering some of you guys' questions.
My first question is: Robert M. Section 102 I'm assuming you are using electronic tags on the sharks, what is the effective range of the tags and what is the furthest from the area have you seen them ping? 

Actually we do not use electronic tags as they cost to much and we do nut have the funding to do that. Also, the Scalloped Hammerheads we are trying to catch are of immature size and some of the electronic tags will damage the shark if used on immature sharks. The tags we use really on the shark being recaptured by someone and them reporting the info on the shark.


CJ N. OCE1001 I've known about this "nursing ground" by scalloped hammers myself but have not actually been able to gather information as to why either. Do you think it has to do with the inlet essentially being an estuary where there's a pretty large congregation of fish and these sharks have figured it out and kept coming back?

I think that has a very large role. I think that these Scalloped Hammerheads know that their pups will have plenty to feed on in this area as it is a place where many fish, especially batfish come to congregate and these immature sharks can learn how to hunt in this area. 

Giavanna B Sec 101 If Daytona Beach is a nursing ground for these sharks, what are the steps that would need to be taken to preserve them and their habitat so that they can avoid further depletion of their population?

These sharks are protected in Florida state waters but I think the best thing we can do, if this does turn out to be a nursing ground for these sharks is to get the word out there that this is a special place for these sharks to make sure that no one takes these shark illegally and if you do catch these sharks that you don't do anything to harm them in any extra way.

  J Ogadah from 101. What threats are there to the safety and wellbeing of the sharks?-- hunting, disease, habitat destruction, etc? And what can be done to help them?

These sharks are highly sought after all over the world for their fins, thankfully, however these sharks are protected in Florida so the only threats to them hunting wise are from illegal poachers. One of the bigger threats is from recreationally catching these sharks, Scalloped Hammerheads have been known to have very high stress levels and if left on the fishing line to long or handled the wrong way when caught, these sharks can become very damaged or even die due to the high levels of stress.

Samantha V. OCE 1001 I am really interested in the results of this project. But,

Do they hang around their birth spot for any amount of time before venturing further off into the ocean, and do they usually return to their birth spot as they get older?

This is something we really want to learn from this project. One of the main questions in this project is that if it is a birthing ground is it also a nursery ground for these sharks? We think yes but we still need more research to see whether or not these sharks stay in this area to grow up or if they are just born here and then leave and go somewhere else to grow up.  

Slowly Breaking Away.. CUR: Allie

How Microplastics develop in water

  Since the beginning of the global production and development of a plastic world, the percentage of production each year continues to grow greatly. Simultaneously, the amount of plastics and other artificial materials such as Styrofoam, are improperly discarded at an increasing rate into the native environment. Society has become undeniably reliant and dependent on materials often manufactured for one use only. Without the ability to naturally decompose, the breakdown process is like breaking off little tiny pieces of the substance, then breaking off little tiny pieces from that product and so on. This is called secondary microplastics.

Global plastic production from 1950 to 2016 (in million metric tons)

Trash clutters the shoreline

  The article 'When the mermaids cry: The great plastic tide' by Claire Le Guern addresses how truly toxic plastic is due to its own inherent properties. Properties including, buoyancy, durability and propensity to absorb waterborne pollutants create an incredibly long breakdown. The process of fragmentation into microscopic pieces leaves the sea water contaminated with toxic Bisphenol A (BPA) and other toxins. The disintegration of plastic is gradual. A combination of physical, biological and chemical processes can weaken the debris structure. Typically ensuing a fragmentation of the once whole product. Artificial materials and plastic products are seemingly convenient for humans, but in the long run outlive us with decomposition rates of 500+ years and leave a toxic impact on the environment.

Works Cited

“Global Plastic Production.” Statista, www.statista.com/statistics/282732/global-production-of-plastics-since-1950/.

Le Guern, Claire. “Plastic Pollution.” Coastal Issues / Coastal Care, 2018, coastalcare.org/2009/11/plastic-pollution/.

Katie CUR: I Don't Know About You, But I'm Feeling 22!

22 Results of Biological Tests

I don't know about you, but im feeling 22..biological results that is. Jackson F. in section 31A asked me a question on last weeks blog post and I thought I would focus this blog post on the questions he asked. I have so far caught a total of 11 sharks. Some were caught by Josh Munsey and his dad and some were caught by me. We have a total of 11 samples, but the first 3 samples were contaminated so there are no results for those test. We have gotten samples from Scalloped Hammerheads, Sandbar, and Atlantic Sharpnose. We are trying to get more of a variety of sharks to swab, but fishing is a very tedious activity and with the hurricanes recently the waves have been a little high for my grandfather's boat!

Biological Tests: The Stains

The samples that are gathered are taken back to the Microbiology lab where I run biological tests on them. Soon we will hopefully be able to start classifying the bacteria once we figure out what type of identification test we need from them. I have made 3 tables with all of the biological tests I have ran and what they can tell us about the bacteria that grows on/in them.
I unfortunately lost my Go Pro to the ocean this past week while fishing and I wasn't able to do the virtual tour of me doing the biological tests. But do not worry because today I was able to get another one for my birthday so next week will be the week for the virtual lab tour.

Biological Test: The Plates

Biological Test: The Plates 

With that being said, get familiar with the stains and the plates since this week I will be doing the virtual lab with the plates and stains! If you have any questions leave them in the comments below!
Or feel free to email me at katelyn_digirolomo@daytonastate.edu.

Josh Munsey: How we get the Data!

Hello everyone, I hope all of you have had a good couple of weeks! Today I want to go over my procedures and some of the materials that I use so all of you know a little more about my project.

I typically go shark fishing within a mile and a half offshore of the Ponce Inlet Jetties. First to attract the sharks we use a constant output of chum. We then use a rod and reel setup with a hook, weight or float and line to catch the sharks. For bait, we typically use cut dead Bonita, whole dead Finger Mullet, or live Pinfish.

Bonita

Finger Mullet

Pinfish

Once we catch the shark we take a total length measurement, a fork length measurement, we take identification photos of the full body and the dorsal fin of the shark and we tag the shark depending upon the size. We use a spaghetti style tag to identify different individual sharks so if we or someone else catches the same shark we can gain data on the species.

Spaghetti Shark Tag

I received a question on my last post from Jackie sec. 102. We are collecting the data through the catching, tagging and measuring of the sharks. If we can catch enough Scalloped Hammerheads of juvenile size and maturity in this area then I believe that we have enough to prove that this is at least a nursery area for these sharks and if we get enough of the right data we can conclude that this is a birthing site for these sharks.

The New Food Chain- CUR: Allie

   Fay C. sec. 101. Have you found anything in the birds or fish? Why do they eat plastic?

   The current data collected within the Daytona Beach area, include the findings of positively identified microplastics consumed by 5 fish and 2 birds. These discoveries contain microplastic fibers and Styrofoam bits. Plastic is a foreign substance to the natural environment and unfortunately many animals end up consuming them. The two main reasons for this are succumbing to their surroundings by nature and mistaking microplastics for food. Regardless of how consumed, microplastics are found in the stomachs of many different species and have severe negative effects on the environment and the animal’s habitats that it invades.

Bass fish open wide while feeding 

   As stated in the article ‘How Freshwater Fish Eat: Usually in One Go’ by Max Lepley, it is referenced that many fish use a vacuum method to suck up their food. This occurs by opening their mouths and expanding their buccal cavity. Creating an area of low pressure as water rushes in from the outside, this captivates and traps any prey within their surroundings. Once the fish close their mouths, the food is caught, and the excess water is released through the gills. Generally, the larger the fish the stronger the suction. Tiny floating microparticles of plastic and other materials can easily be accidently accepted for prey or product of the environment. This is how plastic becomes part of the new food chain. 

Click here to watch a video that shows fishes' feeding method in a 3D demonstration.

This week, research continues..

   Recently recovered microplastics and styrofoam particles have been located in 3 local lionfish and 1 whiting fish.

Styrofoam bead found in Whiting fish

Styrofoam takes 500+ years to decompose into the natural environment. This styrofoam particle was found in a local Whitefish.

Microplastic fiber found in Lionfish #1

Lionfish #2

Lionfish #3

3/3 Lionfish after microscopic examination were found to have consumed microplastic fibers. 

   The next question I ask is, to what extent are our local fish/ marine animals influenced by the increase in foreign materials into their natural environment. Thank you for your question, as my research continues I hope you have many more!

Citations

Lepley, Max. “How Freshwater Fish Eat: Usually in One Go.” Infolific, 12 Oct. 2013, infolific.com/pets/fish-in-the-wild/underwater-eating/.

VOA. “Fish Use Whole Bodies When They Eat.” VOA, VOA, 19 July 2015, learningenglish.voanews.com/a/fish-use-whole-bodies-when-they-eat/2856879.html.

Augustus CUR - DEPLOYED!

I am so excited to announce that the data loggers are now deployed! With the help of Dr. Woodall and her husband, Paul, we were able to deploy both of our data loggers this weekend and begin capturing data for this research. Ive included a link to a basic ArcGIS app showing the locations.

A very Simple Web App showing the locations of the Loggers

The still which the logger is housed in is made up of about 2 10' PVC pipes attached together with a 4" locking cap at the top. At the bottom of the housing are holes drilled to allow the water to pass through the PVC, while being covered in copper mesh to keep any organisms from finding their way into the still.

The still at Canaveral Sea Shore

The stills themselves are tied down to the wood columns on the dock using metal straps to stop them from moving up or down and skewing our data and the PVC lays on wooden support blocks drilled into the dock, which I don't know if you've ever tried to drill while floating on water but as a little physics lesson, if you are applying a force in one direction you will generally move in the opposite direction of that force if you have nothing stopping you.

Trying to keep ourselves stationary.....Keyword Trying

Drilling the wood support blocks into the Dock.

We have started collecting the data, which basically gives us a graph inside the software provided by the company, but we can also export it as an excel file so we can create our own graphs with said data.

An example of the data in Excel

I received a question on my last post from Fay C. sec. 101 asking: How will you take sea level measurements and how often? Seems like a lot of work to have to go out everyday to take water level measurements.

Thank you and Good question! Actually the data logger itself records the water level and temperature every 30 minutes on its onboard computer, it will save that data until it runs out of memory, so we plan to download the data about every 2 weeks and create on ongoing graph with that data.

Please keep the questions coming! This is a big project and I want everyone to follow me, so if you have any questions please ask and I'd love to answer them!

Kayla Grubbs--HSR: about me and what I do.

Hello,
My name is Kayla Grubbs. I am 16 years old and a high school student. I am in the marine biology field and I'm not dual enrolled. I am a advanced open water, boat, and nitrox diver. I love the ocean and everything in it. I am working with micro plastics in our water ways and our oceans. I will be presenting my work at the Shores conference in 2018.

I like scuba diving, figure skating, hapkido (martial arts), cooking, weaving, and photography. I have 2 cats, 1 fish, 2 shrimp, 1 guinea pig, 1 hamster, 2 snakes, and 1 red footed tortoise. My goal is to make sure that I can get a point out to people about plastic and what we need to do.

My baby boy tigger.

My baby girl meeka.

Hannah Vu-Bennett CUR - Volusia County Groundwater Quality Study, Continued!

Hello everyone and welcome back to the blog!

For those who are new to the blog, my name is Hannah Vu-Bennett and I'm conducting research on groundwater to determine the health and quality of the aquifer in the Volusia County region. I began my research in the Spring of 2018 and thanks to Dr. Woodall, I'm able to continue my research this Fall semester of 2018. 

Presenting my research poster at the Arts & Sciences Colloquium.

Volusia County, Florida is a coastal county vulnerable to coastal urbanization, saltwater intrusion, over-pumping, leachate from a landfill, treatment plants, and agricultural farms. Many sources of drinking water in Volusia-County communities and private homes come from aquifer-sourced wells. These private well water systems often have private filtration system and are not subjected to water testing regulations as do residential homes, or homes that receive their water through the city, thus allowing contaminates to be easily missed until health conditions from toxins are developed. My goal is to conduct test on water sample taken from various locations with well water throughout Volusia County and determine the quality of our local groundwater. Each water samples will be retrieved from private homes and facilities in Volusia County and tested for nitrate, phosphate, salinity, pH and possibly lead. So far, four sites throughout Volusia County has been tested and analyzed.

Aquifers are a crucial source of drinking water for communities throughout Volusia County. It’s important that the quality of an aquifer system is studied and monitored to not only ensure the safety of locals, but to sustain a delicate natural resource. 

If you have access to a location with well water and would like to support my research, please email me at Hannah_Vu-Bennett@daytonastate.edu or comment below! In the meantime, I cant wait to continue my research and share my finding through this blog. 

Just a glimpse of part my findings!
 Here shows a microscopic point of
view of one my samples containing
salt remnants. This is evidence
of a possible indication of saltwater intrusion.

Josh Munsey CUR- Scalloped Hammerhead Shark Birthing and Nursing site introduction

Me doing field research

Hello everyone, welcome back to Daytona State for this semester! My name is Josh Munsey and I am researching the possibility of a Scalloped Hammerhead Shark birthing and nursing ground right here in Daytona Beach and Ponce Inlet. I want too see if this area is an important place for the Scalloped Hammerhead Shark, an endangered species, to give birth and for those juvenile sharks to grow up. Since these sharks are endangered this is a very important subject because they need to be protected from the start and if our area is a birthing and nursing ground for them we could have a very important role in protecting this species.

I'm excited to share my research and this experience with you! I will be keeping all of you updated every week or so on my progress and my past research on this topic. If you know of any Scalloped Hammerhead sightings in our area please feel free to contact me at joshua_munsey@daytonastate.edu

Thank you and I will talk to you all of you soon!

Augustus CUR - Allow me to Reintroduce Myself

Hey everyone, welcome back to the blog and another semester of discovery!

Presenting my Proposal 

My name is Augustus and I am a student here at Daytona State, Just to give a little refresher on what my project is and is about, Dr. Woodall and myself are deploying data loggers out on the coast of Volusia County to measure changes in sea level. Sea level rise is a very big deal for Florida's coast, more so than other coastal states, because effectively with the foundation Florida is on, the state is sinking while the sea level keeps rising! Of course sea level rise can be contributed to melting glaciers but, we can also see natural increases due to thermal expansion and a very important factor, barometric pressure. Barometric pressure is effectively the weight of air molecules on an area, this can raise or lower the sea level depending on how high or low it is.

We have had some troubles over the summer with technical malfunctions and unforeseen dock renovations but I think we are finally ready to begin and really start collecting some interesting data. The two points we have decided to deploy have been changed to the New Smyrna Marina and the Canaveral National Seashore, this will give us two different areas with a wide array of data for Volusia county.

I am beyond excited to really get going and provide you guys and maybe even the state with some really interesting and eye opening information about our local coast. Feel free to ask any questions that come to mind about the research or anything of that nature, I intend to update the blog weekly with some information and I will answer any questions in those updates!

Allie CUR- 'No Guts, No Glory: Diving Deep into plastic consumption'

   Welcome back or to Daytona state everyone! Here's to a semester driven by motivation and ambition, I hope everyone continues to stay interested and intrigued by learning new and exciting things.  

In the lab searching for plasic

   As a recap, I am investigating the growing problem of plastic ingestion by marine birds and fish.  Unfortunately, not many studies have been conducted locally concerning the relativity of species and ingestion of plastics and, more specifically, addressing the relationship between feeding habits and ingestion quantity. My goal is to discover if local birds/fish are consuming plastics. This research will allow me to collect data through the remains of dead birds and fish which are harvested, identified, measured and dissected. A microscope will be utilized to identify and count plastic fibers and particles while statistical analysis will help to determine any relationship between feeding type and ingested plastic quantity.

   Thank you for reading! Each week I will update my blog with new and interesting discoveries, If you have any interests in my research or questions to ask, feel free to message me. Also, If anyone finds any marine birds / fish in the Daytona Beach area salvageable for donation contact me at @alexsandra_femiano@daytonastate.edu :) 

Katie CUR: Guess Who's Back, Back Again? Shark-Girl's Back Tell A Friend!

Myself with a Scalloped Hammerhead, Male.

Who missed school? I felt like summer went by to quick , but luckily for me over the summer I was able to take a very hands-on Microbiology course which allowed me to be very hands-on with my project. Just a little recap on what I am doing for my project! I am taking a closer look into sharks mouths and seeing what actually lives there. Yes I said LIVE there, because there are a lot of things that are residing in their mouths. Things we cant really see with our naked eye. Bacteria can be as small as a pen point. I am swabbing their mouths to see if they do in fact have everything that lives in their mouths. I want to see which of these bacteria are dangerous to humans.


I am excited to be able to take on this journey with you guys following along! If any of you are interested in ever seeing what I do with the samples feel free to email me at katelyn_digirolomo@daytonastate.edu.

Next week I will be taking you guys through a virtual tour on what I do in the lab with my samples and the biological tests I run!

Ray UR No data, no problem.

This blog that I wrote earlier this semester when I came to a road block in my project, but never got around to publishing.

 I have been waiting to post a blog after I had received some data on my IRP. However, finding surveys and information on the Roseate Spoonbill has proven to be more difficult than expected. 
Since I remember seeing these birds in the Timucuan Ecological Preserve North of Jacksonville, I thought it could look through bird surveys that have been taken in that area.  Bird survey’s are conducted about once every month at multiple locations in the park. Every time a species of bird is spotted a count is taken, its coordinates are recorded on a gps along with a general description of the bird, like if it is a juvenile or adult. Unfortunately, most bird surveys are raw data recorded on a piece of paper, and sometimes never put into an actual database. This is exactly the type of data I was sent when I made my request. 

  First I had to find out what the abbreviation was for the Roseate Spoonbill, and then I had to hand pick my locations. Even though I know the area pretty well it was hard finding the surveys location for the marsh that I had in mind. Plus, I would need to go through years of these kind of surveys. This process is not going to work, not with the amount of time I have to complete my project. I will continuing to try and find a more organized database. I may have to reach out to the professionals.. 

Ray UR What is Next

 At the beginning of my four month semester I struggled to pick a topic for my independent research project. I am a believer in climate change and I thought that it would be best to choose a subject directly related to the issue. Although, throughout my time in the park service I always wanted to take the time and research this one interesting pink bird, the Roseate Spoonbill. When I chose to research the bird for my project it didn't seem nearly as important as my other classmates topics like, sea level rise or micro-plastics. Until I started my research and found that this particular pink bird has only been researched by a handful of other people. Since it was difficult finding information on the mysterious life of this unique bird, I thought it would be best to reach out to the professionals at the Audubon Society. One researcher, Peter Frezza, has also taken particular interest in the Roseate Spoonbill. Peter works down in the everglades, which provides very important nesting habitat for these birds. He agreed that they are making movements north, and even mentioned a friend seeing them as far as South Carolina. Considering that I wanted to see exactly how far north Spoonbills were going in the winter months, he suggested I use the Audubon Society's Christmas Bird Count database. The bird count will tell me how many times my bird has been sited in a particular location each year during the same time of year. However, the surveyors are human, so only the birds that can be seen are recorded. Some years will have missing data, mostly due to the lack of volunteers for that year.

*Graph is based off results in the Audubon Christmas Bird Count database found at; http://netapp.audubon.org/CBCObservation/Historical/ResultsBySpecies.aspx?1

•In the year 2015 a notable amount of Roseate Spoonbills were surveyed north of their historic distribution range during the winter season. 

•The resulting steady presence of Roseate Spoonbills being seen as far as Ace Basin, SC in the winter months surpassed my expectations of their northern dispersal.

 Now that I know that Roseate Spoonbills are dispersing further north in the winter months I would like to know why, and so would many other bird experts. The first hunch that I had, and many people have, is that this is some sort of result from climate change. Roseate Spoonbills are a neo-tropical bird species (Dumas 2000). However, South Carolina has cold winters and nearly had record breaking snowfall this past January. Click here to see news article. That is extremely harsh weather for a Roseate Spoonbill to be tolerating. I would like to know what they are seeking this far north, and why they have returned over the past four years. I am going find information on their foraging requirements and see there is a particular food source that is now being found in marsh habitats further north. I would also like discover if their is any sort of mention of the Roseate Spoonbills abundance in the 18th centaury, before they were hunted to near extinction in the plume-era trade of the late 19th century.  I wonder if their populations are returning to what they were before being hunted, and if this rebound is having an effect on their post nesting season dispersal.

More research to come!

Dumas, J. V.. 2000. Roseate Spoonbill (Platalea ajaja), version 2.0. In The Birds of North America (A. F. Poole and F. B. Gill, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.2173/bna.490