THE STAND UP! ACTION ART POSTCARD CAMPAIGN 2016

The library will participate in a Collaboration with the 

Climate Action Coalition of South Florida and Artists for Climate Action
 

This action art campaign will inform South Florida elected representatives at County, State and Federal levels about the strong constituent support for their action on these key issues that are part of the Southeast Florida Regional Climate Action Plan. Member organizations are reaching out for signatures, home and email addresses on the cards. After the November general election, CAC representatives will hand deliver the cards to the new representatives. THANK YOU FOR PARTICIPATING!

This message encourages action on the Southeast Florida Regional Climate Action Plan by County and Municipal elected officials, as the 110 SEFLRCAP recommendations are intended to be acted upon locally. Most of these should be inserted in county and municipality comprehensive plans. See: http://tinyurl.com/SEFLRCAP.

Very specific to Palm Beach County. The “Ag Reserve” is the fertile region between Florida’s Turnpike and the Everglades west of Delray Beach and Boynton Beach. The area is second to California as the prime supplier of winter vegetables. It was set aside years ago to protect wetlands and encourage small farming. This message encourages Palm Beach County Commissioners to reconsider their recent vote to allow more development in this area. Keeping development out will address food security and clean water needs. See: http://tinyurl.com/SAVEAGRESERVE

Protecting our health as climate related diseases increase with more flooding and heat requires improving the level and diversity of our health infrastructure. The Governor and Legislature must acknowledge that climate change is real by taking ACTION in preparation for mounting health problems. Federal representatives’ active support in seeking funding for this purpose is also crucial. This message will go to State and Federal elected representatives. See CAC member group Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Boca Raton’s pilot project Rising Together encouraging communities at most risk to organize and identify resources: http://tinyurl.com/FLRISINGTOGETHER

Studies and experience clearly demonstrate the danger of fracking chemicals to groundwater. Despite this evidence, the Governor and majority in the legislature continue to ignore these risks, and recently have threatened to remove the ability of county and municipality elected officials to ban fracking in their local areas. This message goes to State Senators and Representatives

These are the dates we will be out on campus with a table asking people to sign the postcards. Stop by our table.

Make a Difference (MAD) Monday

Event sponsored by SAVI (Students Advocating Volunteer Involvement)

                 Monday, Aug. 29^th 11 am – 1 pm
                  Location: Dining Hall (Check-In) and various locations on-campus (Service)

Clubfest
Event sponsored by COSO (Council of Student Organizations)

                 Thursday, Sept. 8^th 4-6 pm

                 Location: Rec Field or Burrow Student Union (rain location)

Dispatches from the gulf

The following website is a good resource for the consortia of scientists that are researching the Deepwater Horizon spill in the gulf [Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) research theme and consortia]. 

(excerpted from dispatchesfromthegulf.com)
“Dispatches from the Gulf” is a multi-media initiative that investigates the environmental health of the Gulf of Mexico six years after the Deepwater Horizon blowout on April 20, 2010. That’s when the world’s ninth largest body of water became a place where thousands of communities and millions of citizens were put in jeopardy by a single incident – the biggest oil spill in U.S. history. Today, a global team of scientists from a consortia of academic institutions is working together to protect and restore one of our planet’s most valuable natural resources. Their ultimate goal is to learn how to cope with the challenges of future oil spills.

The initiative consists of a one-hour documentary (narrated by Matt Damon), a series of short videos, podcasts, and additional educational resources related to oceanographic scientists, researchers, and institutions.

• ** The 50 short videos are available on the Dispatches from the Gulf YouTube Channel.
• ** An accompanying PRIMER provides detailed descriptions, links, and cross-references to the corresponding GoMRI research theme and consortia. http://screenscope.com/Short-Videos-Primer-Dispatches-Gulf-2016.pdf 

More info on the film can be found here.

Manatee photo ID survey

Survey field notes: 7/8/2016 

Another manatee photo id survey was conducted at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute @ FAU at 1:45 pm – 2:20pm on July 8, 2016 with clear, sunny skies. One cow/calf pair was spotted in the channel. The pair were traveling along the seawall while nursing. They slowly crossed the channel into the shaded areas over by the submersible garage ramp.

No other animals were observed today. None were needed because there is nothing better than seeing a baby marine mammal. Here are the pictures to prove it! There is also a detail shot of the mother's tale fluke for identification purposes.

Manatee Photo ID survey

The Manatee Research team at FAU’s Harbor Branch campus regularly conducts photo id/surveys on Florida manatee that frequent campus. The Harbor Branch channel plays a vital role as a thermal refuge, with >100 manatees congregated in the basin during recent winter cold fronts. The goal of this research is to develop an integrated system using existing (photo-identification) and new (remote sensing) techniques to continuously monitor manatee behavior and habitat.

For the next two weeks, the library’s staff science guy (or gal) will be conducting these surveys and posting about it here. You can also find the HBOI research team on facebook here. Find them and follow, so you can keep updated on all things manatee!

Survey field notes: 7/6/2016

The survey was conducted on July 6, 2016 from 2:00 pm – 2:30pm. One adult manatee was present in the HBOI channel [located close to the small boat marina at a day dock area]. The manatee was observed surface resting, with very little activity. Breaths were taken every few minutes; with little movement, most of the body of the manatee was submerged. No manatee were spotted in the second survey location.

Here are the photos.

What’s the deal with the algae all over the manatee? Here are some peer reviewed articles on the topic.

Interactions between non-native armored suckermouth catfish (Loricariidae: Pterygoplichthys) and native Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) in artesian springs Leo G. Nico1*, William F. Loftus2 and James P. Reid1 1 U.S. Geological Survey, 7920 NW 71st Street, Gainesville, Florida 32653 USA 2 Aquatic Research & Communication, LLC, 1759 NW 20th St., Homestead, FL 33030 USA E-mail: LNico@usgs.gov (LGN), arc_wfl@bellsouth.net (WFL) * Corresponding author

The tanaid Hexapleomera robusta (Crustacea: Peracarida) from the Caribbean manatee, with comments on other crustacean epibionts. Benjamín Morales-Velaa1, Eduardo Suárez-Moralesa1 c1, Janneth Padilla-Saldívara1 and Richard W. Hearda. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the UK / Volume 88 / Issue 03 / May 2008, pp 591-596

A COMPREHENSIVE SOLUTION TO THE BIOFOULING PROBLEM FOR THE ENDANGERED FLORIDA MANATEE AND OTHER SPECIES BY KATHLEEN D. OPPENHEIMER* AND TODD K. BENDOR. TOJCI.OPPENHEIMER.DOC

Here is some internet stuff on the topic:

The Benefits Of Having Stuff Grow All Over You. Cameron McCormick, 2009.

Vice on HBO. Watch the episode on Climate Change

The Manatee Project at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute

@hboimanatees

Did you know that scientists at the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute @FAU have a program that keeps track of manatees that frequent campus?

Since the 1970's, manatees have been noted in the channel at Harbor Branch Oceanographic, with large number seen in the winter time. Because this is not a warm water spring nor a power plant outflow, it has not been considered a traditional warm water refuge. The nearest warm water refuges where manatee observations continue are at the power plants in Coco Beach and Riviera Beach (Coco is about 60 miles north and Riviera is about 60 mile south). So, Harbor Branch is in the middle of a 120 mile gap in observations. Since 2009, we have conducted a formal photo-identification program to document which manatees are using the Harbor Branch waters, note the behaviors, and share our photos with the Manatee Individual Photo-identification System (MIPS) operated by the USGS in Gainesville, FL.

You can find them on Facebook here  and at their website here.

Gulf of Mexico Interactive coral map

We found this to be very interesting and useful.

Here is a link to the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council's interactive coral map

First click on the link to access the map:
htmlhttp://portal.gulfcouncil.org/coral.html

Then, Click on any of the dots on the map for information on that area’s corals. 
It can be downloaded on most mobile devices.

Here is a static view of the map.