Amber, UR- Manatees, Dolphins, and Fish Oh My!

Messing around at The Florida Aquarium

Picture I took of a manatee in Three Sisters Springs

 

From a very young age, I was introduced to the ocean, the beach, boating, swimming with the many organisms that call the oceans and waterways home, and visiting aquariums and science centers during the summer months every year from the age of 4. Throughout my educational years, I've always had a strong passion for science, especially Biology and the Marine Sciences. When my classes would visit the local aquarium I would always be the child lagging behind everyone else taking my time to inspect and marvel at each organism in every tank. During my high school years, as I mentioned in my introduction blog last week, I was one of roughly 89 students in my county selected to attend the Academy of Environmental Science in Crystal River. This is where my love for science not only blossomed into something more than just something I loved, but where I planted the roots for my future career and began thinking about spending the rest of my life getting paid to do what I love. Every day that my classmates and I went out on the river and into the Gulf of Mexico, I was not only in love with going to school, but I was in love with everything that surrounded me, the seagulls calling from above, the sounds of waves crashing into oyster beds and shores nearby, the pain of paddling about 4 miles to our destination and 4 miles back to school, and the daily sights of dolphins, bonnet head sharks, and gators. I knew instantly what I wanted to build my career upon after creating and maintaining my first marine aquarium during my sophomore year of high school. I was instantly bewildered by building my own habitat in our classroom and doing everything in my power to make sure it was properly cared for and maintained throughout the school year. We would visit a local Native American "dumping ground" island and wade about 1,500 feet off its shore to dip net for all sorts of fascinating creatures like pipefish, seahorses, and small crustaceans to fill the tank with. I would always watch the T.V. show "Tanked" on Animal Planet every night after school and spent every waking hour learning everything I could and making myself fall more in love with aquarium maintenance and building. I loved building aquariums, maintaining them, and caring for all of their residents whom call the tank their home. After moving to Daytona, I had the privilege of meeting Brett and Wayde from Tanked and I couldn't be more inspired to keep on track with my dream career of being an aquarist. I aspire to be either owning a business or working for a business that builds aquariums, or to be working at SeaWorld, Disney, or an aquarium maintaining and caring for the many marine animals who call these places their home. I believe that I'm going to take some sort of aquarium maintenance approach to my IRP whether it be interviewing and learning from current aquarists or volunteering my time to an aquarium or business to learn even more about my future career than i currently know now.

Brett and Wayde from Tanked

Carly, UR - Art is I; Science is we.

Brother(left) and I (right) in front of the lake we grew
up on.

When I was around five years old I remember being in our family SUV and we had just arrived to SeaWorld Orlando, that's when I threw up.  Luckily, my mom is amazing and brought some extra clothes for me, so we continued what was my first of many visits to SeaWorld.

Fast forward to sophomore year of high school, 16 years old, avid artist, but I need to take some elective courses so I chose a Marine Biology class.  I absolutely adored the class, every aspect from odd deep sea invertebrates to marine mammals.

These were just a couple of the many factors that have led me to where I am today.  As I said in my previous post, I have been working at Marineland Dolphin Adventure for almost two years.  Working there basically rekindled my love for marine life and helped me realize where I really need to be.  The first coworkers I befriended weren't those of my own department (guest services), it was the aquarists.  These kind-hearted, hard-working folks that take care of our gallery of aquariums from sand tiger sharks to hogfish.  I constantly asked them questions about why they did this or that, what the lifespan of something was, etc.
After a year, a couple of aquarist positions opened up and I figured I would apply; however the interview was a total disaster, I had no idea what I was talking about, other than some random facts about dolphins, sharks, and sea turtles.  I didn't know how our life support systems worked and didn't understand the position.  The head aquarist from our parent company talked to me a couple days after and commended me on my positivity, but I didn't have the knowledge or experience needed.

A year later, I'm now in this course, with almost a year of volunteering with the aquarists under my belt and continuing my education for my second Bachelor's degree.

Our common ocotopus taking apart a Mr. Potato Head.  One of her
many EEDs (Environmental Enrichment Device).

Every chance I get to volunteer grows my love for the zoology field, especially the variety it brings.  It involves the creative problem solving hands-on approach I enjoy from art (and video games), with a biological science.  It's the best of all the worlds I've come to know and love growing up.

One of our 12 sand tiger sharks, Female 4. 

My specific interests between the animals continues to change every week (this week it's our new cuban hogfish!), my first and still over-arcing love is our sand tiger sharks.  For my independent research project, I'm still not confident in my direction.  I would enjoy studying some new aspects of our sand tiger sharks or one of the other animals I work with.  There are also gaps in my knowledge on things like water quality that I would like to learn more about as well, so that is another route I could take.

Best fishes, Carly Magnus

Lyle UR

People always ask me, why are you getting your degree in environmental studies? Well, I want to keep my options open for when I graduate. The field I would love to be in would be the coastal waters conservation or even the conservation of the oceans. There is so much wrong with the Indian River Lagoon (IRL) system right now and it infuriates me. How is it gonna be in 10-20 years from now when my sons want to go out and fish or

(Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)micro plastics

kayak out there? The way things are going, it will suck tremendously.  With me getting into environmental science it will give me a chance to do something about it on a bigger scale that just being self conscious about what I do out there. The even bigger fear I have is what about in the ocean? The amount of trash that we have put out there is completely insane. There is a trash vortex in the Pacific that is twice the size of Texas and that's not the only one out there, each ocean has a trash vortex. It's now getting into our fish and according to a article that Dr. Woodall emailed me, it has infiltrated into the coastal fish and shellfish. As residents of a peninsula, Florida, a lot of our revenue comes from the water that we are surrounded by.
 If you couldn't tell by how passionate I seem talking about this, my Independent Research Project (IRP) will be on micro plastics in fish and shellfish, and if the weather would cooperate I would be able to get out there and start getting some research started. I want to see how much of the plastic dump in the Atlantic has effected our little piece of paradise.

Melody, UR - Inspiration All Around

Every chance I have, I set up camp in a hammock by the river or the beach. I use the natural specimens around me for inspiration in my art. A breath of fresh air, a crisp breeze off the glistening water, and a blue sky above me are the simple factors that make a perfect day for me. Environmental

Taking a break from paddling at Piddler Island. 

Science feels like an obvious field for me to study. I am driven by how much I enjoy the natural world and I want to help keep the environment in tact for future generations. Seeing the destruction of the environment right before my eyes motivates me to pursue a career in conserving the beauty and wonder in the environment. I have been witnessing environmental genocide in politics and it only drives me to work harder to understand the world around me to better utilize my voice in democracy. I care about preserving every ecosystem--large or small--from the vast expanse of Florida's very own Everglades to the small lakes and creeks around town. My Independent Research Project might be about the destruction of the Everglades and the repercussions that it may have on Florida's inhabitants. The Everglades have been exploited for decades.

The sunrise in Daytona Beach, a common inspiration for my art. 

The Southeast Museum of Photography has an inspiring exhibit on the Everglades through February 4, 2017. Adam Nadel, the artist who created Getting the Water Right: The Culture and Politics of Water in the Everglades stated "the development of South Florida's coastal communities and agriculture has reduced the Everglades in size by half. Now, the ecosystem is at risk, threatening the region's water supply..." A link to the exhibit's information can be found here. I am still searching for my perfect role as an environmental scientist, the only thing I know for sure is that I am passionate about this field. A healthy environment means a clean, crisp place to paint. To picnic. To kayak. To swim. To share with our loved ones now, and our future generations later. More importantly, it means the difference between ecological collapse and sustaining Earth's populations.

Christian Vinciquerra UR, Basically A Pirate

        Why did I choose this field? Well if you were fortunate to read my first post introducing myself, I mentioned my aunt and uncle that live in the Florida Keys. Growing up near the numerous water sources of different varieties, I was always attracted to the water. I knew right after my summer in the Florida Keys in 2013 that I wanted to work on, for, and with the water. My uncle at NOAA and my aunt as a marine biologist for the county, I was destined to be a scientist. 

Tomoka Basin 

         Also in my first post I mentioned Seacamp Association in Big Pine Key. My first marine science based job. Having so many colleagues that were scientists and full of knowledge was truly a blessing. Being surrounded by like-minded individuals for the first time in my life inspired me to push myself to graduate and enter the professional work force. Seacamp was the catalyst in my academic career. If I didn’t enjoy myself and all the science I would’ve probably changed my major when I returned home to start the semester, however that didn’t happen. I was introduced to  captaining vessels and learned the rules of the road in greater depth than just obtaining a boating license. Something about being in charge on the ocean makes you feel like a pirate. In charge of where you go and what everyone on board is doing. As of right now I’m looking into maritime academies to possibly further my education later this year. I still would like to acquire a marine science degree but focus my attention mainly on ships.

Coral heads trash clean up

         The ocean is hypnotic and so rhythmic. True beauty on the surface and beneath. As much as I love boating, i love protecting the environment. An avid fisherman, fishing line pollution is a major risk for marine organisms. Recycling used line and picking up trash can make a huge difference in your own environment.  Seagrass beds full of scars makes me want to help make boaters aware of how protect the environment as well as themselves. I believe there is a correlation between aware boat handlers and environmental destruction.  Maybe I can do my IRP on something that is related to pollution effects on the local environment.   

Stephanie Guyotte,UR-Tree Hugger for Life...or as Long as There are Trees

Me in a Tree

As a child it was not my dream to be an Environmental Scientist but instead a Veterinarian because I just loved every animal and wanted to safe them all. Then when I came to the realization that I would have to preform surgeries and put animals down that dream did not look so appealing any longer but my love for animals has not wavered. Growing up I was lucky enough to have the freedom to be able to explore the vast wilderness of my own backyard, with boulders to scale, streams to hop, rivers to ride, hills to roll down, and trees to climb I was a very curious kid. I remember asking my father how did all those boulders get in our back yard, to which he replied I don't know look it up in the Encyclopedia, so I did. After learning that those very boulders where left behind by glacier movement thousands of years ago I just had even more questions. I have always had respect for nature and all that it supplies me with be it the basic necessities for life or something more like a secrete hideaway or peaceful escapes or views that makes you feel smaller than an ant, but I never thought about turning that into a career.


This Beautiful Jacaranda down the road from my house was lost
in the last hurricane

     About four years ago I was awoken to the sound of a chain saw which was not too uncommon in my neighborhood so I did not think too much about it, but then I walk out my door and the tree guys are cutting down this massive oak tree in the middle of my front yard. I walk up to them and asked with some choice words what they where doing cutting down the tree. He said it got hit by lighting and died so they had to cut it down so it did not fall into the house, you don't want the tree to fall into your house do you? I then told him that this tree was here long before the house and if the tree fell on the house it would be the houses problem and walked away all huffy and puffy like. My aunt looked at the trees guys and then at me and back at the tree guys and said you will have to excuse my niece she's a tree hugger. It was right then that I decided I needed to do something with my passion for the environment and started down this path towards becoming an Environmental scientist.
      Narrowing down just one field of study for me is a difficult choice, after all there are seals to save, oceans to clean, ozone to repair, glaciers to cool, and trees to hug who can just pick one? I do really like geology so I might do something with fracking seeing as we are in Florida and this is a important issue for the area.      





Alex (UR) OBSESSED with our oceans!!

                                                          

Cabo San Lucas

Hello all,

  The ocean is my happy place, I can't tell you many times I get out on a boat that I don't get all warm and fuzzy inside and almost start to laugh because I'm SO darn excited when I'm out there, honestly can't explain it much more than that. Every year I would go to Cabo and go out deep sea fishing (LOVE deep sea fishing) I sit at the front of the boat the entire ride out and in, its my favorite place to be when I'm out there, I just get lost in my own little world. :)

It all started in 6th grade when I lived in Arizona, I took a class trip to the Catalina Islands off the coast of California, called CIMI (Catalina Island Marine Institute). I became fascinated by the ocean so I then went on the Orca trip in 8th grade as well which then continued to feed me interest. Ive dreamt of the ocean ever since then and decided it was time to move somewhere that made more sense....I've watched many documentaries on our oceans, fished all over the place, learned to dive(soon to have my certification), gone to tons of aquariums, & stopped loving Seaworld along the way. Now is the time that I'm finally starting to follow my dreams and do something that I truly love. 

        

I'm quite the dolphin whisperer

 When you are growing up, everyone around you is always saying "follow your dreams", "do what you love" until you say something like "I want to be a marine biologist." Its always either that blank stare followed by "you'll never make any money doing that?!" or the " WOW, that's so cool! I love seaward." I usually just laugh and tell them I wasn't interested in the money part of it and I was also told that when you're doing what you love and the money will follow. I can honestly say that I would rather be giving it my best shot and saying I tried than be sitting in an office cubicle day dreaming about the ocean all day. I love learning new things everyday about the ocean and all the life within it.  I'm still trying to find out what my niche will be in this field but I know that I'm interested in shark tagging, saving sea turtles, coral reef restoration, and the Global warming effects on our oceans. One of these topics will be what my IRP will be based on as well. I am so excited to be apart of this class and can't wait to see if it will guide me in the right direction of where I want to be in this field.

Garth UR - Never to old to quit dreaming.

Ever since I was a boy I have spent as many waking hours as I could in the woods. It was just something about it. Some strange compelling unseen tether forever keeping my young soul bound to the great outdoors. Personally, I find it hard to point a finger at the moment I decided that forestry conservation was the career for me. I mean after all, forever is an awful long time.  If, however I were to spend a lifetime as a guardian for something I loved, seeing, doing and simply being who and what I wished to be I suppose this moment or clairvoyance has been headed this direction since I was a boy. If anything, I have chosen this field because no matter the strife, hardship or struggles life has thrown at me, I have always found myself headed back outdoors.

Unlike you or I, the trees, birds, ecology and geology of a forest have no voice. Without the power of speech, how can we be heard. I wish to give our forests a voice and a chance. As humans, we may bite the hands that feeds us, but without consideration of where our resources come from it will not be long before we find ourselves without.

So, that’s a good question. What do I want my IRP to be about? I want to find that ever present link, between land and sea. What is it that so intimately connects them? Without one we cannot have the other. Now I imagine there are plenty of people out there who could tell me exactly what it is I am looking for and the answers after all are probably only a moment from my fingertips. So, with my time in this class I wish to find this link.

Kelly-Ann, UR - A lost woman finding herself

     Unlike many of my classmates, I am not an environmental science major.  I am here because I want to be an Earth/space science teacher.  I wish I could say I was one of those dedicated future teachers that always knew what their calling was, but that would be a lie.  I was lost on what I wanted to do with my life for a long time after high school.  I came to Daytona State thinking I would go into the culinary program.  By a twist of fate, I couldn't get into the program my first semester.  Desperate not to wait any longer, I decided to take general AA classes until I could get into the program.  I never tried again.

     After my first semester, I realized the only reason I had hastily chosen to go into the culinary certificate program was because I did not think I was capable of getting a degree.  I didn't believe I was smart enough, however my grades proved me wrong.  I did well and continued to do so.  My future became a lot less narrow.

Daytona State Intro to Professional Teaching Class Fall 2016

     I was still lost, taking a variety of electives trying to find what would make me happy.  One of those happened to be a prerequisite to the education program, which required me to spend time in a K-12 classroom.  On my third day in the field classroom I knew I had found my calling.  Just watching the students get involved and seeing the light in their eye when they mastered a new concept moved me.

     Soon I found myself part of a team of amazing and passionate students and professors that have helped me along my journey.  The more classes I take and spend time in field classrooms teaching students, the more I am happy with my decision.  I chose to major in secondary Earth/space science because it is a field I have always enjoyed.  Since I am passionate about the subject, it is easy for me to channel that energy into my lessons to make them engaging and entertaining for my students.

Dead fish in an algae bloom
 https://assets.rbl.ms/6781323/980x.jpg

     For my independent research project I would like to track the amount of nitrogen in the St. Johns river near Ed Stone Park and Lake George.  High levels in nitrogen in freshwater can cause algae blooms, which creates an anaerobic environment, causing local marine organism to suffocate.  There has been several algae blooms on the St. Johns river in the past.  

     The St. Johns river is a popular fishing location and one of the waterways that manatees use during their yearly migration.  It is also one of the rare rivers that flow north.  I get to experience the beauty of the St. Johns river on a daily basis, I don't want to see it ruined for future generations. 

Lyle, UR I am who I am

Hey there everyone. My name is Lyle, and I'm in my second semester here at Daytona State Collage. I'm currently on track of getting my A.A. in Environmental Science. I am originally from Michigan but moved down to Florida in 1998. After completing high school I held a lot of jobs from working on cars to road construction. In early 2009 I became a father to an amazing little boy who now is at times smarter than I am.

Me doing what I love

I enlisted in the Marine Corps and went to boot camp in late 2009. After graduating boot camp I went on and became an ammunition technician. I was stationed in Camp Lejuene, North Carolina for my entire enlistment. People say I was one of the lucky ones that didn't get deployed overseas but I didn't join the Marines just to sit back and look pretty. After my Active duty contract was up in late 2013 I moved back down to Florida and started to pursue a career in fire fighting and the ems fields but after completing schooling my body couldn't handle the physical aspect of the job anymore. Then I took a little while to try and figure out what I want to do. I thought long and hard and finally realized after seeing how bad the Indian River Lagoon is getting. I wanted to make sure there was going to still be a lagoon for my son when he grows up and that is why I am working towards my degree.

My little family

Casie (UR) Bug lover and Ecologist

Snow melt off , Lander Wyoming  

I have always loved being outside and exploring, to me that is what life should be. It was no surprise to my family that I would go into one of the many Environmental Sciences, it was just a matter of choosing one. It wasn't until last semester when taking an Environmental Science class that I discovered my love for Ecology. My professor had one of her degrees in Ecology and she really expressed to me the importance of a balanced ecosystem. I have always been in pursuit of some type of science degree, it was just very hard to pinpoint what I wanted to do. Now I can't see myself doing anything else.
I have always known the importance of having clean water and air but as we enter into an age where we are more environmentally aware there should be more people who are advocates to the whole ecosystem.  The trees and bugs can't speak for themselves and I want to make sure that they have a voice. I think that a lot of people take for granted the Earth and want to use up our vital resources regardless of how much habitat that we may lose or animal life that may go extinct in the process.
The first day of class we were instructed to think about what we might do for our Independent Research Project and the first thing that peeked my interest was invasive species in our coastal water ways. I have not yet decided if I want to do a species of fish or some type of plant life. Whatever I choose I know it will be very fascinating.

Lake Couer D'Alene Idaho

Pam, UR - Septic, sewage, sludge, oh my!

Seagrass has my great respect as protector and sustainer of life in the underwater world. But it's in great peril with life in a delicate balance. With this comes die-offs of huge meadows, homeless fish, and both starving predator and prey.


I'm sure you're not wandering too far from the title of this post to see where I'm going. Melbourne Beach, Fl. is a wonderful small coastal town to grow up in, as I was blessed to be a part of from the time my parents moved there 50 years ago. Our street was and still is as of this writing one of septic tanks. The newer development behind our house is hooked up to a water treatment facility/sewer system. This is not a new story. There are many, many older homes still on septic tanks.

Septic tank installation

Algae blooms, fed by an abundance of nutrients from various sources kill pretty much everything in its wake. They are believed to be directly responsible for seagrass die off. I feel very strongly and support all measures to eliminate septic tanks, which leach indirectly into our waterways.  I can only hope with fingers crossed some of the Amendment 1 money will go to remedy this problem, which is why I voted for it.

Monica Barrick (UR) My Journey to Becoming an Environmentalist

My Favorite Quote

Since the beginning, I was always fascinated by science. I took a Marine Biology course in high school which in turn made me want to become a Marine biologist. As time pasted, I was unsure of what I really wanted to do. In my first semester in the EST program I was going to transfer to go into a Marine Biologist BA at a different college. I decided not to because I became very interested in the health of our environment and the ocean. A couple semesters ago I took a class called Energy and its Effects on the Environment. This course opened my mind to a whole new world. I had no idea that energy could impact the environment so much. I decided I wanted to make a difference in the future on how we use energy. How would I make a difference? Its very simple actually (at least the thought) we need to stop using fossil fuels in order to save us and the planet. The ocean is taking on a lot of this pollution and this also inspired me to get into renewable energy.  Also, throughout my blog I would like to talk about trash pollution in our oceans and how I am personally trying to become more environmental friendly.

It's not that hard!

As I learned more deeply about renewable energy, solar was by far my favorite. 

I hope to do my independent research project on something to do with solar energy. I am not sure what to do yet but I am so excited and intrigued to learn more about solar energy. There are so many benefits to renewable energy and I aspire to get my peers interested in the future of energy. There are many environmental problems that I want to solve but I believe this will be the best path for me.

Dylan Radford, UR My path to the Oceanography Lab

Oceanography made me rethink my major!

     When I was asked what field I chose and what motivates me or inspires me about that field I was very unsure of what to answer. I have very little Environmental Science experience so I was pretty intimidated by that question. After being calmed down by Dr. Woodall I decided to reflect on what led me to this point and what has made me want to be apart of an Oceanography lab. I was a criminology major and was not liking it at all. I was looking at classes to take and saw the oceanography lecture course, so I decided to take it because I surf and have been around the ocean my whole life. I ended up really enjoying the course and was interested every day that I came to class.  This is the only experience that I have had in Environmental Science, but it was enough for me to know that this is something I think I could really make an impact in.

     After the Oceanography lecture course I was pretty lost when it came to what I should take next to find my direction in this field. My Professor told me that the best course to take when you are new to this field is the Oceanography Lab because it will help you find where your interests lie in the world of Environmental Science. Now that I'm am in the lab, I have identified a few things I might be interested in and a few things I know that I am not interested in. I am interested in the preservation and behavior of our environment. This encompasses a mixture of Natural Sciences. One thing that I am not interested in but I know I will need to improve on is graphing my data because its really confusing. I am excited that I joined the lab because I know I will find the field that suits my interests or I might find a field that is completely different from what I was originally going to choose. I am also open to my classmates providing me with information on their field and how it may be something I would be open to explore.

Steve Cofone, UR-End of a 12,000 year old ice age or severe human impact? Place your bet.....

 Hello, Steve Again,
As I have lead to in my last post, I have been involved in scouting since a very young age. This gave me an innate culture of caring for and being amazed by nature and wildlife. As well as being from Rhode Island, as we all know as the "Ocean State" These two factors have driven my life and my interests. Wildlife and nature as well as a love of the ocean and aquatics.

This has become my life's motto

Scouting was a great opportunity to lead, work as a team, develop independent skills and develop a desire to learn."Being prepared" is something I have carried into my life till this day.
Camping and survival were a large part of my scouting experiences.
One thing I always remember and I will never forget, we were taught to always leave an area we used looking better than it did when we arrived. To this day I do that whether it be in nature, in a park, camping or someones house. Its a great concept to live by.

The EST program gives me the skills and knowledge to secure a position in the environmental field. Wether it be wildlife, aquatics or somewhere in between. As my interests are as varied as my knowledge.
The motivation for me comes from the evolution of living things, it amazes me how we and many other species will and can adapt to our surroundings and overcome most any obstacle.
My motivations come from living in the country and nature as a child and young adult as I grow older to want to go back to that lifestyle, self sustainability is very attractive to me.

We need bees!!

 I care about bees, sharks, phytoplankton, our forests, our oceans, our beaches, sea turtles, raptors, gopher tortoises..... I guess my point is I care about it all and as I work with or on these subjects my passion takes over and I become deeply involved.
Having to absolutely pick one, the bees are very important to me. As a gardener and someone who grows food for sustainability, I understand and am concerned about the possibility of our bees depleting in numbers.

Surf Fishing in Flagler

As of right now I am interested in researching if micro beaded plastics and micro fibers are being found in the intestinal track and stomach contents of fish (primarily bottom feeding) in Flagler county waterways. Subject to change, but this is where I'm leaning to. Thanks again for reading this week's blog! Steve Cofone