FAU Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute will host a series of special events to celebrate its 50^th anniversary with “Ocean Science for a Better World^®,” beginning on Monday, Nov. 1.

The main highlight of the series is the first public display of the historic, world-renowned Johnson-Sea-Link (JSL)II submersible at the Elliott Museum in Stuart.

“FAU Harbor Branch was founded in the spirit of ocean exploration to unveil the mysteries of the deep,” said Jim Sullivan, Ph.D., executive director of FAU Harbor Branch. "To this day, the institute relentlessly pursues innovative ocean research, while providing top-tier educational programs that will lead us to solve the most pressing issues facing our oceans – we are thrilled to share our incredible story with the public," said Sullivan.

All events are open to the public, with select events running through April 2022. View events.

Sponsors updated as of 10/29/2021. For more information on sponsorship opportunities click here. 

FAU Harbor Branch Plants Partnership with Mang^® to Promote Sustainability, Education and Conservation

FAU Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute recently announced a new partnership with MANG^® as a tribute to the institute’s key research areas. The cause-driven, American-born apparel company based in West Palm Beach will launch a special FAU Harbor Branch apparel collection featuring three exclusive designs honoring ocean and human health; aquaculture innovation and food security; technological innovation and national defense; and marine ecosystem conservation.

As part of this, MANG^® will donate 10 percent of collection sale proceeds to benefit FAU Harbor Branch’s mission: Ocean Science for a Better World^®.

We encourage you to share photos of you and your tribe wearing gear from the Ocean Science collection! Be sure to tag FAU Harbor Branch on social at @HarborBranch and #HBOI50 and MANG^® at @MANGGear!

Check out the collection here!

Scientists from FAU Harbor Branch and Nova Southeastern University teamed up to tackle stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD), carrying out the largest coral disease intervention on record. During the 10-day mission, the team observed, surveyed and treated 6,038 corals in Florida's Dry Tortugas National Park, representing 27 species including numerous species near extinction.

"This expedition demonstrates that targeted concerted intervention efforts, led by champions like Dr. [Karen] Neely, can give us hope for conserving some of Florida’s most impressive coral reef habitats,” said Joshua Voss, Ph.D., associate research professor at FAU Harbor Branch and executive director of the NOAA Cooperative Institute for Ocean Exploration, Research, and Technology (CIOERT). Read more.

The study led by FAU's Harbor Branch aquaculture and stock enhancement research professor, Megan Davis, Ph.D., in partnership with Puerto Rico's Conservación ConCiencia and in collaboration with the Naguabo Commercial Fishing Association, is working to build a hatchery and nursery, operated by fishers in Puerto Rico, for the purpose of Queen conch restoration. This research partnership project landed a featured story on National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)'s Celebrate Aquaculture Week 2021 webpage. The partnership's feature story, highlighted not only for project results and impact, but exemplifying diversity and inclusion wonderfully, can be viewed here.

FAU Harbor Branch Ecology and Water Quality Project research scientist, Rachel Brewton, M.S., has been selected to attend three Uncrewrd Aircraft Systems (UAS) executive education courses offered by the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University. This opportunity is sponsored by NOAA Southeast and Caribbean Regional Team, U.S Integrated Ocean Observing System, and the Southeast Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association (SECOORA).

The education courses will add to Brewton's current project, monitoring large-scale macroalgal blooms of Caulerpa and Sargassum in coastal Florida with drone imagery and advance the technological capabilities of FAU Harbor Branch.

Read more about the award.

Researchers Elizabeth Urban-Gedamke; Megan Conkling; Peter McCarthy, Ph.D.; Paul Wills, Ph.D., and Shirley Pomponi, Ph.D., from FAU Harbor Branch were recently published in the Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI)'s marine drugs special issue journal titled, Marine Sponge Biotechnology. The published article describes research conducted utilizing innovative alternatives to wild harvest, aquaculture, and chemical synthesis to meet the demands of clinical drug development and manufacture. The article highlights the team's successful culturing of sponge cells in 3-D matrices using FibraCel^® disks, thin hydrogel layers, and gel microdroplets (GMDs). Read more.

FAU Harbor Branch researchers from the Cooperative Institute for Ocean Exploration, Research and Technology (CIOERT) have published a research report titled, Characterization of the Mesophotic Coral Reefs in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. This is one of several publications that have resulted from CIOERT's 2019 research cruise aboard on The University of Miami ship R/V F.G. Walton Smith with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Mohawk remotely operated vehicle to explore, observe and collect information used in the publication. Read more.

Matt Ajemian, Ph.D., FAU Harbor Branch Fisheries Ecology & Conservation, is among contributors recently published in an article in Marine Ecology titled, Advances in the Study of the Trophic Niche of Batoids with Distribution in Mexican Waters. The article addresses the unknown cause of declining batoid (rays and skates) populations, occurring worldwide, by analyzing the dietary behavior of batiods located in Mexican waters. A meta-analysis of 54 published stomach content analysis studies was conducted, contributing to furthering the understanding of batoid species and dietary indices, specifically in Mexican waters. Read more.

FAU Harbor Branch Coral Reef & Molecular Ecology team graduate student, Haley Davis, has been selected as the recipient of the 2021-2022 recipient of the Paul Dritenbas Memorial Scholarship by the Sunrise Rotary Club of Vero Beach. Read more about the award and Davis' research by visiting Coral Reef Health and Ecology Lab, led by Joshua Voss, Ph.D.

As a postdoctoral fellow at the FAU Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, Srinivas Kolluru, Ph.D., examines photographs of water to understand more about water quality and to improve the algorithms to obtain water quality parameters from these images.

Kolluru joined FAU Harbor Branch as a postdoctoral fellow in 2021. His work helps scientists learn more about the harmful algal blooms in the Indian River Lagoon. Read more.

FAU's Division of Research recently welcomed three Nigerian research administrators to FAU Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute in part of their IREX University Administration Support Program Fellowship – a program that supports the development of university research management and provides a learning opportunity to promote innovation at their respective institutes. Participants Innocent Inegbe and Funmilayo (Funmi) Temiloluwa Ajagbe from the University of Ibadan, and Bolarinwa (Bola) Ajigboye from the University of Lagos, spent six weeks learning from the different units within the division and how each unit connects to operate within the division.

During the visit to FAU Harbor Branch, the Office of Sponsored Programs met with Innocent, Funmi and Bola were joined by two other via Zoom had the opportunity to explore campus and discuss grants management systems, budget development, proposal submission and award management. Learn more here.

FAU Harbor Branch Ecology and Water Quality research professor, Brian Lapointe, Ph.D., along with the Global Coral Reef Alliance, are working to restore seagrass in the Indian River Lagoon using an innovative method known as "BioRock" technology. Using low voltage electricity, BioRock stimulates growth in different areas of marine life from seagrasses to oyster communities. Read more.

The FAU Harbor Branch Ocean Discovery Visitors Center is gearing up for its reopening on Nov. 2! Hours of operation are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Please note, the Visitors Center is closed on university holidays. Experience our updated exhibits or sign-up online for one of our Campus Immersion Tours. For more information, please visit: FAU Harbor Branch Ocean Discovery Visitors Center.

Lauren Brewster, Ph.D., senior research fellow in the Fisheries Ecology and Conservation Lab at FAU Harbor Branch is set to speak at the Nov. 7 symposium on climate change titled, Climate Change and Its Effect of South Florida. Brewster will be speaking on her experience working in the lab of Matt Ajemian, Ph.D., assistant research professor, FAU Harbor Branch. Specifically, Brewster will discuss her utilization of multi-sensor tags to observe the behavior of juvenile bull sharks (Carcharhinus leucas) in relation to harmful algal blooms in the Indian River Lagoon – a project funded by Save Our Seas Foundation and the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute Foundation.

For more information on the symposium, visit here.

Through FAU Harbor Branch Speakers Bureau, community organizations may request a virtual presentation on a specific research topic or a general overview of FAU Harbor Branch. This program provides an excellent opportunity to learn about the institute’s most recent discoveries and connect with marine science experts. There is no charge for scheduling a speaker, however an honorarium or donation is encouraged.

If you would like to request a virtual speaker for your group/event, please fill out FAU Harbor Branch Speakers Bureau request form.

Bring Ocean Science for A Better World^® right into your home with virtual resources from FAU Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute! Online offerings include lectures, interviews with marine scientists, activities for children and much more! Visit our virtual resources page to learn about these great opportunities for teachers, students and ocean lovers of all ages!... Learn more

Check out our online gift shop!

On Saturday, Sept. 25, staff from FAU Harbor Branch Stranding and Population Assessment team was notified by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) of two live whales re-beaching themselves near Jaycee Park in Vero Beach. While on scene at around 9:30 p.m., the team located one fully stranded Kogia sima (dwarf sperm whale), that was later euthanized following a physical examination by FAU Harbor Branch clinical veterinarian, Annie Page-Karjian, Ph.D. (per the direction of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration -National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA-NMFS), and transported to FAU Harbor Branch where a necropsy was performed on Sunday afternoon. Results are still pending.

FAU Harbor Branch is a member of the NOAA-NMFS Southeastern Regional Marine Mammal Stranding Network and holds a stranding agreement with NOAA-NMFS that authorizes us to serve as first responders to stranded cetaceans within a coverage area of approximately 72 miles of coastline between Sebastian Inlet and Jupiter Inlet.

Thanks to all the agencies involved in helping our Florida marine mammals!

Stranding response conduct occurs under a Stranding Agreement between NMFS and FAU Harbor Branch under the authority of the MMPA.

If you ever see an injured, entangled, or stranded manatee, dolphin or whale in Florida, please call the FWC hotline at 1-888-404-3922.

Read more about the operation here.

By celebrating and supporting our 50th Anniversary, your organization will become a part of the legacy that has long informed ocean science research and global conservation efforts. Your unique position as a sponsor of our milestone celebration will provide your organization with exposure to a community that so deeply cares about the most pressing environmental issues of our time.

Benefactors Society members enable FAU Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute to continue expanding our core initiatives to make a significant and timely impact on critical ocean issues. Our work depends on strong partnerships with our supporters. We can only make a difference together.

FAU Funder, FAU’s crowdfunding platform, features several of FAU Harbor Branch’s research projects. You can help save the queen conch, support plastic pollution studies in local waters, fund beluga whale research in the Arctic or help researchers as they use deep sea molecules for potential life-saving medicines. Please visit FAU Funder for detailed information on each project. Your contributions can make a difference!