Estero Bay Aquatic Preserve (EBAP) staff often find interesting flora and fauna while out in the field. This week was no exception. Commonly known as a lightning whelk, Sinistrofulgur perversum, is a type of mollusk or marine snail that can be found throughout Estero Bay. This snail creates a shell that spirals in the opposite direction of other locally found marine snails. Interestingly, it is one of the few left-handed snail species!
The Central Florida Aquatic Preserve (CFAP) team recently installed the Living Waters collection in the Lyonia Environmental Center gallery, in Deltona, Fl.
Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve (ANERR) research staff successfully completed winter trawl sampling! Trawling is conducted quarterly at nine sites throughout the Apalachicola Bay system. Fish and benthic invertebrates are identified to species level and the first twenty of each species are measured, while all are counted. Organisms are returned to the water as soon as possible after being processed to minimize mortality.
Each of the five aquatic preserves within the Charlotte Harbor Aquatic Preserves offers a unique visit of protected submerged state lands, healthy mangrove shorelines, seagrass beds and oyster bars. Southwest Florida’s subtropical climate is home to a variety of animals as well, in addition to migrating birds.
The Coral Protection and Restoration Program (CPR) continues to administer state and federal funding to implement priority reef management and research objectives.
On Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, a North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) and her calf passed through GTMNERR’s Middle Beach area heading south towards St. Augustine. Many staff ventured out to view this rare event. Each year from November to April, female right whales migrate from their northern feeding grounds to their southern calving areas to give birth and raise their calves.
In December North West Florida Aquatic Preserves staff participated in the annual DEP Northwest District’s Open House.
The 2025 Science Nite Series at Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve ended on a high note… not so much with a bang, but an “Om.” The final evening welcomed Dr. Brent Jackson of Florida Gulf Coast University’s Water School, who guided participants through a thoughtful and engaging exploration of how time in nature can reduce stress, strengthen personal resilience and support overall well-being.
For the past five years, Northwest Florida Aquatic Preserve has been working on a grant funded by Deepwater Horizon Program’s Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) to add additional plantings of native vegetation to the islands at Project GreenShores II, place informational signage, remove invasive species and debris, and conduct monitoring.
The Tuesday before the Thanksgiving break, a local FWC law enforcement captain, lieutenants and officers joined Charlotte Harbor AP staff for a debris and fishing line clean up on one of the established Critical Wildlife Areas in Pine Island Sound.