Research

Research activities using SHKML facilities include undergraduate projects, masters and doctoral theses, and faculty research connected to many departments and disciplines, including but not limited to Zoology, Botany, Fisheries, Environmental Engineering, Veterinary Medicine, Entomology, Journalism, and Geology. Visiting scientists are welcome at Seahorse Key.

Current research projects at Seahorse Key include:

1. Population ecology of horseshoe crabs
2. Larval sea urchin development
3. Habitat, predator-prey interactions, and sustainable production of gag grouper in the eastern Gulf of Mexico
4. Facultative feeding by planktotrophic larvae of echinoids
5. Extra-renal ion regulation in elasmobranchs
6. Eutrophication and algae dynamics
7. Relationship between toxic dinoflagellates and fibropapillomatosis in green turtles
8. Mechanisms of acid-base regulation in elasmobranchs
9. Fish distribution in the Straits of Florida
10. Physiological and behavioral ecology of cottonmouth snakes at Seahorse Key
11. Reproductive behavior of paper wasps
12. Classification of Chaetopterids
13. A survey of faunal communities associated with shallow-water sponges
14. Mangrove recovery and expansion in salt marsh
15. Natural history of bryozoans
16. Taxonomic guide to marine invertebrates of the Cedar Keys

Public Environmental Education

Seahorse Key also is used heavily for public environmental education, and the SHKML hosts many groups whose members engage in nature study, short courses or workshops. During a recent 4-year period, nearly 5000 visits were made to the island, involving 492 groups.

Teaching Programs

The SHKML does not have its own faculty or teaching staff, but many courses originating on the University of Florida campus in Gainesville utilize the SHKML facilities. Numerous and diverse *courses* are taught with components involving field trips or laboratory activities at Seahorse Key during both fall and spring terms. The Department of Zoology and SHKML offer a summer course program for college juniors and seniors who may apply from any college or university. The course features field and laboratory work while students reside at Seahorse Key. In addition to University of Florida courses, classes are periodically conducted at the SHKML by staff from other universities or educational groups.

The SHKML offers a summer course program for college juniors and seniors who may apply from any college or university. The course features field and laboratory work while students reside at Seahorse Key. Nineteen other University of Florida courses periodically conduct field trips to Seahorse Key during the fall and spring terms. 

University of Florida courses that utilize Seahorse Key

Animal Behavior (ZOO 3513)
This is a rigorous course that examines patterns, mechanisms and evolution of animal behavior. Students conduct field experiments and observe aspects of animal behaviors during field trips to Seahorse Key.

Aquatic Animal Medicine (VEM 5810)
Each April a field trip is conducted to Cedar Key/Seahorse Key to show veterinary students marine habitats and representative organisms as part of their senior clerkship.  Most of the students in this special cooperative program are from the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine. About 12-15 students and 4 faculty attend this field trip each year.

Avian Biology (ZOO 4473)
The laboratory component of this course introduces students to Florida birds.  Seahorse Key in the spring is one of the best places in the state to accomplish this goal because: a) it intercepts migrant species heading north along the coast; b) it is an island; and c) birds crossing the Gulf  of Mexico can be blown eastward by weather fronts, thereby accumulating on the western Gulf coast.  During the spring and under certain weather conditions, the birding at Seahorse Key can be spectacular.

Biophotography (PGY 5246)
Students sometimes utilize subject matter at Seahorse Key for instruction in photography of plants, wildlife and landscapes.

Environmental Meteorology and Oceanography (EES 6145)
Field trips associated with this course utilize the R/V Discovery for working cruises on which students are instructed in making various oceanographic measurements.

Environmental Science and Humanity (EES 3000)
This course deals with patterns and processes of the atmosphere, oceans, earth, material cycles, resources, energy, ecosystems, economics, populations, and how they relate to global futures. The course addresses the need for developing a mutually beneficial system of humanity and nature as a means for solving present day environmental problems and preventing environmental deterioration.  This course conducts a field trip where students explore the different ecosystems found at Seahorse Key and learn about their function, principal components, structure, and habitats.  Students identify habitats and ecological processes at Seahorse Key and discuss methods of environmental analysis, including rapid bioassessments and possible methods for environmental impact assessments.

Estuarine Systems (EES 6356)
Students in this course conduct an ecological assessment of Seahorse Key by major habitat, including seagrass beds, oyster reefs, maritime forest, beach face, intertidal mudlfats and intertidal marshes/mangroves.  They estimate the total biomass of each habitat (to one significant digit), make a species list, identify evidence of human activities, and look for connections with the other habitats (through vagile animals, wind, etc).  Each group reports their findings to the rest of the class by giving them a tour of their habitat.  From this information, all students develop a system diagram that connects together the different habitats by some plausible means.  The biomass numbers are combined with literature estimates of production, and the habitat accounting for the most production on SHK is identified.

Field Problems in Marine Biology (ZOO 4403)
In this course students conduct independent and group research projects utilizing the facilities and resources of the Seahorse Key Marine Laboratory.

General Ecology (ZOO 4044)
Field trips to Seahorse Key expose students to marine and island habitats where they engage in sampling and other field activities.

Honors Oceanography (OCE 2005)
This class conducts a field tour of the saltmarsh and mangrove habitats of Seahorse Key.  The students also measure beach profiles and describe sedimentary profiles on this Gulf coastal island.

Ichthyology (ZOO 6456)
In this course, marine fishes are collected and identified during field trips to waters surrounding the Cedar Keys.

Individual Studies in Zoology (ZOO 4905)
Students utilize the Marine Laboratory and its facilities to conduct field studies at or near Seahorse Key, or to collect organisms that are part of research projects carried out on the University of Florida Gainesville campus.

Invertebrate Zoology (ZOO 2203)
This course undertakes four field trips to Seahorse Key during the Fall term and three field trips during the Spring term.  Students are given a brief orientation that includes historical information and natural history of the area.  Field activities include dredging, plankton tows, and intertidal work to illustrate the natural habitats and lives of animals that are studied previously in the laboratory.

Marine Communities and Oceanographic Practicum (ZOO 6927)
Each Fall semester the Marine Laboratory facilities might be used for research projects by graduate students whose projects in the Florida Keys were cancelled because of poor weather conditions. This past fall three such projects were done under these circumstances.

Marine Nematology (NEM 6934)
Nematodes are the second most prevalent biotic fauna in our oceans. This course schedules a field trip to Seahorse Key for purpose of collecting and identifying nematode specimens. Representative nematodes are processed for permanent preservation on slides.

Seaweeds and Algae of Florida (BTY 4935; 6935)
This course is offered on Saturdays of the last half of the Fall semester.  Students sample the marine flora in the grass flats adjacent to Seahorse Key, the shallow water at the mouth of Crystal River, and many sites in the Florida Keys. Collected specimens are identified, mounted on herbarium paper, and labeled. Lecture and discussions include taxonomic, physiological and ecological aspects of marine and freshwater algae of the warm waters of Florida.

Wetlands Ecology (EES 6308)
During field trips to Seahorse Key and its environs, students are shown wetland habitats and conduct sampling and analytical activities related to function of these ecosystems.

Wetland Wildlife Resources (WIS 4934)
This course conducts a field trip where students learn the characteristics of coastal marsh and hammock, and they explore some basic wetland sampling techniques.  There is also some emphasis on seabird breeding ecology.