| ONGOING RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES | ||
 Bottlenose dolphin stranding on nearby beach.  Student examining the jaw of a fin whale during the necropsy. |
Marine
Mammal Stranding Network The Marine Mammal Stranding Network is a volunteer organization within the Student Oceanic Society Club, where students work directly with Marine Mammal Biologists at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Volunteers are involved in carcass recovery and transport, performing necropsies, rescue and transport of injured live animals, filing reports, and other opportunities that may arise. Participation in the Networks gives students an extraordinary hands-on opportunity to learn about the marine mammals that utilize Northeast Florida and the basic biology of different types of cetaceans and manatees. In order to gain this valuable experience, students involved in the Network must be dedicated and willing to allocate an appropriate amount of time. |
 JU Students assist during the necropsy of a right whale.  Removal of right whale carcass from the beach. |
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 Live transport of an injured manatee. |
Manatee
Research Under the
coordination of Dr. Quint White, JU students have the
opportunity to participate in a variety of manatee research and
conservation programs.
For more information, visit the MaRCO (Manatee Research Center Online) website. |
 Loading manatee carcass for necropsy. |
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 Brittlestar to receive experimental treatment. |
Energetics
of Brittlestar Arm Regeneration Students work with Dr. Lee Ann Clements on a variety of independent and/or ongoing projects involving research on brittlestars. |
 The size of a typical specimen used for research. |
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 Students counting organisms within a quadrat. |
Nearshore
Reef Monitoring and Research Due to
ongoing research grants received by Dr. Dan McCarthy, students
have the opportunity to participate in a semi-monthly monitoring
program of
nearshore reefs along Florida's Southeast Coast. Students also
work on a variety of independent and/or ongoing projects involving
coastal marine ecology. For more information, visit Dr.
McCarthy's Worm Reef Website.
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 Students collecting data, Bathtub Beach worm reef, Stuart, FL. |
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 Filamentous algae on nearshore rocks in the Florida Keys. |
Biogeography
of Marine Algae Dr. Brian
Teasdale is assisted by students interested in studying the
biogeography of marine algal species.
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 SEM photo of Ulva sp. sporeling on red alga Gracilaria sp. |
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 Otolith removal for age analysis of fish. |
Kingfish
Population Studies Overseen by Dr. Quint White, specimens are donated to JU each year from the Bellsouth Greater Jacksonville Kingfish Tournament. Students assist in the morphological measurements and molecular analysis of the kingfish in order to better understand local kingfish populations and ecology. |
 Taking kingfish measurements. |
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 Bringing shark onto beach for tagging. |
Shark
Tagging Program JU students and staff participate in the St. Simons Island Sharkin' Club, whose members catch and release sharks for research purposes. Sharks are tagged for ongoing studies by the National Marine Fisheries Service. Fin samples and morphological data are collected for Texas Department of Natural Resources/Texas A&M University. |
 10-foot dusky shark tagged and released. |
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