Research Projects
Team Manta Rays
Analyzing Microplastics
Victoria Thompson
Mila Duong
Abbie Brunson
Bryley Lyublanovits
In the past, this project was created and done by Team Betta Buds. We are continuing their research by recording data for microplastics during each season. Our goal is to understand how seasonal changes affect the abundance of microplastics in our coastal waterways. As of right now, we hypothesize that the fall and spring will have more microplastics than the winter due to the amount of rainfall during those seasons.
Team Great White Daddies
Shark Feeding Preferences
Noah Scoggins
Cooper Clark
Joseph Walton
Joshua Bradshaw
William Fairchild
We are studying the habits of sharks and what they prefer to eat over the next couple months. We will be specifically looking for Blacktip sharks in the Gulf of Mexico. This is a new project that we are starting to better understand the apex predators diet.
Team Catfish
Living Shoreline Year 6
Laurel Voeltz
Abigail Wimberly
Elizabeth Hopson
Margaret Freeman
Rachel Parker
Skylar Bell
The last living shorelines project thought a possible solution could be getting the community more involved with this project. They believed that with more help in propagation and installment they could have a greater impact. We hope that this year we can get more people involved and get even more done.
Team Holy Mackerel
Lionfish Prey Selection
Chloe Paterson
Bryson O’Brien
John Reilly
Joseph Turner
Samual Figaro
Our goal for this lionfish prey selection research project is to determine what species of fish the lionfish are eating in the Gulf. With that information, we can determine whether or not we should keep an eye on these prey species in case of possible endangerment due to this invasive species.
Team O’Fish’als
Lionfish Feeding Habits
Zachary Peterson
Graham McWethy
Kobe Hall
Paxton Lamarche
We have discovered through research that lionfish have a tendency to avoid pinfish. In the future we plan to test whether this is a result of preference or genuine avoidance of the species.
Team Bufferfish
Diversity and Abundance in Different Habitats
Carson Sistrunk
Brady Parris
Chase Johnson
James Perz
We have done one trip out to Shoreline to do our procedure and record the amount of fish we found in each habitat. With this research we hope to see which habitats should be better protected.