Happy Holidays!
📸 Brandon McHenry, M.S., outreach scientist and aquarist at FAU Harbor Branch
December 2019

Researchers from Florida Atlantic University’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute and collaborators conducted a study to assess mercury concentrations in the hair of pregnant women living in coastal Florida and to determine the relationships between hair total mercury concentrations, fish consumption, sources of seafood, knowledge of the risks of mercury exposure, and seafood consumption during pregnancy. Results of the study, were published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health... Read more

Florida Atlantic University Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute Epidemiologist Adam Schaefer, MPH and FAU's Christine E Lynn College of Nursing investigative team are participated in research on the potential long-term health impacts of harmful algal bloom exposure. The Department of Health awarded $650,000 to four Florida universities, including Florida Atlantic University. This funding will support our researchers in their efforts to improve the understanding of the potential long-term human-health impacts of harmful algal blooms like blue-green algae and red tide. The team recently collected human biological samples from residents living in Stuart at the Volunteers in Medicine Clinic. They will also collect samples from residents in Clewiston, and Fort Myers... Read more

Florida Atlantic University’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute in Fort Pierce will kick off the 2020 John & Barbara Ferrara Ocean Science Lecture Series on Jan. 8, 2020, at 4 and 7 p.m. 

FAU Harbor Branch Ocean Explorer and Marine Biologist, Shirley Pomponi, Ph.D., will open the series by sharing details about her 9-day underwater mission with international NASA Astronauts.

FAU Harbor Branch researchers and distinguished guest lecturers, including 4Ocean and Changing Seas, will present weekly lectures each Wednesday through March 18, 2020, at 4 and 7 p.m., in FAU Harbor Branch's Johnson Education Center Auditorium, 5600 U.S. 1 North, in Fort Pierce.

Lectures are free and open to the public; to register for a 2020 season pass to facilitate admission, please visit www.fau.edu/hboi/community/osls.php.
In the News

Nikon Instruments Inc. announced the winners of the ninth annual Nikon Small World in Motion Photomicrography Competition. Hunter N. Hines, a recent Ph.D. graduate of FAU Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute received fourth place for his move of Two freshwater tardigrades feeding on another tardigrade. The video was captured using differential interference contrast microscopy.

FAU Harbor Branch Offshore Cetacean Citizen Science Project in action! Thank you to Captain Jimmy Nelson for sending in this video of a Sperm whale swimming 41 miles offshore of Ft. Pierce, FL last week. The video and GPS data is beneficial. Please remember to follow all NMFS marine mammal viewing rules.

🐳We partnered with the The International SeaKeepers Society on an Offshore Cetacean Citizen Science project to document Florida’s oceanic dolphins and whales!

How can you help?
1. Collect dates and times of sightings
2. Collect GPS coordinates of sightings
3. Take photos of dolphins and whales you sight
4. Email this information to sburto10@fau.edu
"Citizen Scientist" spots a sperm whale off coast of...

FAU Harbor Branch is asking for your help documenting marine life. Scientists are now collecting data on certain animal species but need more data on dolphins and whales specifically, so they're enlisting the public by asking "citizen...

Read more
cbs12.com
Faculty Spotlight
Sea-thru Brings Clarity to Underwater Photos

FAU Harbor Branch Researcher Derya Akkaynak is a 2019 Blavatnik Regional Awards Finalist. Scientific American featured her innovative work on algorithms to improve underwater photography in their Dec. 2019 issue.

Read more
www.scientificamerican.com
Mission: Ocean Discovery
The Ocean Discovery Visitors Center will close for the holidays on Sat., December 21, and reopen on Tues., January 7, 2020. We look forward to seeing you at FAU Harbor Branch in 2020!
Nearly 30 members of the Palm Beach North Chamber of Commerce recently toured FAU Harbor Branch, visited the Ocean Discovery Visitors Center and learned about our research from Executive Director Jim Sullivan, Ph.D.
Events

Mark your calendars! On Wednesday, Jan. 8, FAU Harbor Branch Researcher Shirley Pomponi, Ph.D., will kick-off the John and Barbara Ferrera Ocean Science Lecture Series with, "NEEMO 23: Simulating Space Exploration in a Real-life Undersea Environment" at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. in the Johnson Education Center. For more information, or to watch the weekly Ocean Science Lectures online, visit fau.edu/hboi/community/osls.php.


On Thursday, Jan. 16, 2020 at noon, Megan Davis, Ph.D., a research professor in the aquaculture and stock enhancement program at FAU Harbor Branch will present “Ocean Entreés: Eat Your Sea Vegetables!”

This one-time lecture will provide information about the value of sea vegetables and a cooking demonstration will be a part of the presentation... Register

The 2020 Indian River Lagoon Symposium "Reassessing IRL Biodiversity" will be held on February 13 and 14. For more information or to register, visit  here. Please note, registration is required to attend.
About Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute: 
Founded in 1971, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute at Florida Atlantic University is a research community of marine scientists, engineers, educators and other professionals focused on Ocean Science for a Better World. The institute drives innovation in ocean engineering, at-sea operations, drug discovery and biotechnology from the oceans, coastal ecology and conservation, marine mammal research and conservation, aquaculture, ocean observing systems and marine education.