Tag Archives: crown conch

The Apalachicola Bay Situation Report: A Quick Take

The Apalachicola Oyster Crisis: How fast will the bay recover? Was the bay overfished? Has the BP spill tainted oysters? The Oyster Task Force answers. Continue reading

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Crown Conchs- Friend or Foe?

The crown conch is the Jekyll and Hyde of coastal ecosystems. Dr. Randall Hughes clarifies why the predatory snail might be a friend or foe to the salt marsh. Continue reading

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Notes From the Field: Hermit Crab/Crown Conch Cage Match

To get a handle on the oyster mortality problem south of St. Augustine, Hanna Garland staged “cage matches” between the oyster-eating crown conch and one of its predators, the thinstripe hermit crab. Continue reading

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Predatory Snails Overrunning Florida Oyster Reefs

Dr. David Kimbro is starting to see a pattern across Florida oyster reefs affected by loss of freshwater input. Is the prevalence of oyster eating snails the cause or merely a symptom of oyster reef decline? Continue reading

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Switching gears: from kayak to office cubicle

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. Continue reading

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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. Continue reading

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In the Grass, On the Reef, Over the Airwaves

In the Grass, On the Reef June 29, 2011 at 7:30 PM/ ET WFSU-TV Rob Diaz de Villegas WFSU-TV A little over a year ago, when the FSU Coastal & Marine Laboratory and WFSU-TV – a TV station – started … Continue reading

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Crown Conchs Overrun Saint Augustine Reefs

Dr. David Kimbro’s St. Augustine research site oyster reefs were once commercially viable but have been failing, and there is an overabundance of a particular oyster predator- the crown conch. David and his lab look into the causes for this sharp decline. Read more this week on In the Grass, On the Reef. Continue reading

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Coastal Critters and More at the FSUCML Open House

Rob Diaz de Villegas WFSU-TV When I heard it was supposed to rain on Saturday, I was a little bummed. I was planning on taking the family to the FSU Coastal and Marine Lab Open House followed by the FSU … Continue reading

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Seagrass Awareness Month

A listing of the animals seen in the slideshow is at the end of this post. March is Seagrass Awareness Month, so it seems a fitting time to share some photos we took last fall.  Seagrass beds are an under-appreciated … Continue reading

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