The Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserves (BBAP), with funding from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), launched a pilot sponge propagation study in the Venetian Basin of Northern Biscayne Bay to explore the viability of using sponges to enhance water quality and ecosystem health.
The Tomoka Marsh Aquatic Preserve (TMAP) recently partnered with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), the University of Central Florida’s Coastal & Estuarine Ecology Lab (CEELAB), DEP's Tomoka State Park, the Marine Discovery Center (MDC) and the Coastal Conservation Association (CCA) Florida to install a living shoreline aimed at restoring and protecting critical coastal habitat within the preserve. The collab
A decade and a half after Franklin Fifth graders first started planting a living shoreline at ANERR. It is exciting to see that the plant formerly known as Spartina alterniflora (smooth chordgrass) is flourishing. The most recent classes to visit and plant Spartina alterniflora dug into the sand and dug into the data with equal enthusiasm.
Rookery Bay Stewardship Coordinator, Jared Franklin, hosted an international group of plant conservation experts for a field visit to Rookery Bay’s Cannon and Keewaydin Islands a few weeks ago. The visiting scientists were in Southwest Florida for a meeting hosted by Naples Botanical Garden as part of the Caribbean and Central American Botanic Gardens Network.
Rookery Bay’s Education Team recently attended the 2026 STEM Fair at JetBlue Park, home to the Boston Red Sox spring training. Almost 1,000 elementary students rotated through hands-on exhibits hosted by eight science, environmental and technology organizations. Rookery Bay was proud to be among them. The undeniable star of the day was Rookery Bay’s new Vusem Interactive Microscope!
Staff of Rainbow Springs Aquatic Preserve recently removed ten sneaky tilapia in the headsprings of the Rainbow River. Two tilapia were observed at the beginning of the year, and it appears a few more had joined the party. It takes patience, stealth, and great eyesight to single out individual tilapia among the submerged and emergent vegetation. Early detection and rapid response is key to preventing invasive species from establishing.
The Southeast Florida Coral Reef Initiative, or SEFCRI, is a collaborative partnership of government agencies, non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, private partners, scientists and reef stakeholders working together to identify and implement priority actions that reduce key threats to southeast Florida’s coral reef ecosystem. SEF
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.
The Coral Protection and Restoration Program (CPR) continues to administer state and federal funding to implement priority reef management and research objectives.