Category Archives: 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.

The “In the Grass” Top 10 of 2010

Dr. Randall Hughes FSU Coastal & Marine Lab In keeping with all of the other end-of-year top 10 lists, I’ll wrap up 2010 with my own observations and highlights from In the Grass – 10. No tarballs – yet?? The … Continue reading

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Winter in the marsh

Dr. Randall Hughes FSU Coastal & Marine Lab It has been COLD the last few times we’ve been out in the field. The first time (described accurately by Rob), we did not have sufficient cold weather field gear – David … Continue reading

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Cold and Wet: Field Research in the Winter

Rob Diaz de Villegas WFSU-TV I was driving to Stump Hole with my production assistant Kevin when we saw these waves crashing on the rocks on the beach side of Cape San Blas.  Like any good production people, we knew … Continue reading

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The many personalities of a grad student

Emily Field FSU Coastal & Marine Lab You’ve heard about research from a lab tech’s perspective from Tanya, and from a Principle Investigator (PI)’s perspective from Randall and David, so I thought I’d give you a graduate student’s insight. Being … Continue reading

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The Real Snowbirds

Whooping cranes are back in the Saint Marks Wildlife Refuge! We take a look back to their first voyage here. Continue reading

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Just one more thing…

Dr. Randall Hughes FSU Coastal & Marine Lab Because of the big focus on oysters over the last month, it may seem as if we haven’t been doing anything “In the grass”. We’ve been busy, though, trying to squeeze in … Continue reading

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This is Science, Too

Rob Diaz de Villegas WFSU-TV After a cold, wet field day in St. Joe Bay with Randall Hughes and her crew, I stopped by the FSU Coastal and Marine Lab to hose off and return some waders they had lent … Continue reading

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Did You Say Mangroves?

Dr. Randall Hughes FSU Coastal & Marine Lab A few weeks ago, Dr. Ed Proffitt from Florida Atlantic University visited FSUCML to give a seminar here and on campus. Ed and I have collaborated on several proposals, so we used … Continue reading

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The search for patterns

Dr. Randall Hughes FSU Coastal & Marine Lab The end of summer is a good time to pause and think about any general patterns that emerge from observations over the course of the last year(s). Sometimes it is easy to … Continue reading

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The Making of a Softshell Crab

Rob Diaz de Villegas WFSU-TV To clarify, we are looking at the biological process through which a blue crab molts its shell, not recipes (feel free though, to share your favorites in the comments area).  I have to admit that … Continue reading

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