Spring 2004 • Volume XVIII, Number 2

Nova Southeastern UniversityOceanographic Center

The Straits of Florida—the arc-shapedbody of water that separates Florida, theBahamas, and Cuba—lies right outside thedoor of the Nova Southeastern UniversityOceanographic Center and represents anoceanic crossroads. Waters from the Gulf ofMexico, North Atlantic, Caribbean Sea,and South Atlantic combine here to formthe powerful Florida Current, the headwaterof the Gulf Stream. Here, the vast limestoneplatforms of the Florida Peninsula andBahama Banks abut the tectonically activeAntillean Arc. The combination of hydro-dynamics and geology generate a complexenvironment that represents the biological-ly richest area of the Western AtlanticOcean. The straits are a zoogeographicalGrand Central Station. In shallow waters,coral reefs find their northernmost reachalong the United States east coast. In deep-er water, marine species characteristic ofNew England and Virginia slopes reachtheir southern terminus. The PourtalèsTerrace, a great triangular limestone shelfthat extends out from the Florida Keyshalfway to the Bahamas, supports a faunafound nowhere else.

This is the environment that Deep-water Ecology of the Straits of Florida(OCMB-6325/MEVS-5010), a new addi-tion to the NSUOC course listing, set out toexplore. Taught by Professors CharlesMessing and Richard Spieler, the coursebegan with a weekend of lectures on the his-tory, geology, physical oceanography, andecology of the straits. But, that was justpreparation. On the evening of April 20,Spieler and Messing and half the class

boarded the Florida Institute ofOceanography’s R/V Bellows, convenientlymoored for the purpose next door at theU.S. Navy’s brand-new deepwater seawalldock, thanks to Bill Venezia. They wereabout to spend a few days dredging andtrawling the deep floor and midwaters of thestraits to discover directly the reportedlyrich fauna of the depths.

Their equipment included a variety ofgear suited for sampling different environ-ments: a 30-foot otter trawl for sandy andmuddy seafloors; a heavy iron Cape Towndredge for rocky bottoms, and an Isaacs-

Kidd Midwater Trawl (IKMT) for collect-ing, as its name suggests, organisms betweenthe surface and sea floor. While the first twodevices are common and widespread piecesof oceanographic equipment, the third isless well known. It consists of a long slendercone of netting that looks like a great greenwind sock about 40 feet long, ending in awhite finger of plankton net. The mouth,about six feet across, is held open by a steelbar across the top and a steel V-shaped vaneacross the bottom. Before the advent ofelectronically controlled nets (which couldbe deployed closed, opened at a signal from

Searching the Depths: Deep-Water Ecology Class Returnsfrom Successful Expedition, by Charles Messing, Ph.D.

Jeffrey Mackin, Tony Crease (behind Mackin), and Kevin Lasagna launch the Cape Town dredge.

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Second leg crew: (L-R front): Kevin Lasagna, Sandra McClung, Stacy Prekel, Melody Fischer, Eileen Kelly,Marissa Magrino, and Tony Crease. (L-R back): Danica Walcutt, Charles Messing, and Jeffry Mackin.

Professors Spieler and Messing celebrate new additionsto the NSUOC teaching collection: a grenadier (orrattail fish) and a stalked crinoid (or sea lily).

the ship when they reached the desireddepth, and closed again on ascent), marinebiologists often could not tell at what depthin midwater they had caught the differentanimals that blundered into their nets. TheIKMT was a step toward solving this prob-lem. The steel vane’s design permittedthose on deck to compute the depth of thenet from the speed of the ship, the length ofcable laid out, and the angle of the cable asit entered the water. If you left the netdown for, say, an hour and a half at 500meters, and took only 20 minutes each todeploy it and retrieve it, you would knowthat most of the catch came from 500meters. When you repeated this at, say, 400meters, most of what you caught might bethe same as those few things collected onthe way up during the previous deepertrawl. But the organisms resident at 500meters would be missing from theshallower collection.

The R/V Bellows steamed southovernight to reach a broad swathe of sandybottom off the northern end of the FloridaKeys. In the morning, the otter trawl wasput over the side in about 345 meters anddragged the bottom for 40 minutes. Itsreturn to the surface provoked great excite-ment on deck because the cod (closed) endof the trawl was bulging with a rich haul.As the cod end knot—a series of interlac-ing slipknots—was released, a great mass oflife poured into a large tub on the deck.Everyone gathered around and began sort-ing (after being admonished to use tongsinstead of hands in case the catch included

scorpion fishes, electric rays, sea urchins,and other potentially unpleasant organ-isms). The catch proved enormously richand included more than a dozen species ofcrustaceans and another dozen species offishes, most of which, to Spieler’s greatdelight, were new additions to theNSUOC fish collection: spider crabs,armored shrimps, squat lobsters, jonahcrabs and langostinos, grenadiers, hakes,beardfishes, cat sharks, duckbill flatheads,sea toads, and round batfishes. Messingrealized that the catch also included morethan 20 specimens of a stalked crinoid, orsea lily—Democrinus conifer—a delicate,little, yellow palm tree of an animal relatedto sea stars that represent his particularresearch subject. He acknowledged that heknew they lived in this area, but getting somany in such excellent condition was agreat surprise.

Rough weather reduced the amount ofwork that could be done, and the nexttrawl retrieved little more than a corrodedaluminum ship’s gangplank, although a fewinteresting mollusks and anemones werefound clinging to it. Although the CapeTown dredge came up empty, the IKMT,deployed in about 250 meters, broughtback a diverse collection of plankton,numerous thimble jellies, and a few smallmidwater fishes, including gonostomatidbristlemouths—also new additions to thecollection.

The first leg of the cruise ended onApril 23, and the other half of the classboarded with great excitement when they

heard about the success of the first leg. Thistime, the ship steamed north to comparethe habitats off northern Broward and PalmBeach counties with those sampled to thesouth. The bottom hauls were not as richthis time out, but still retrieved some of thesame crustaceans and fishes, as well as agood collection of sea stars. The most inter-esting catch on this leg was that broughtaboard by the IKMT after more than anhour in 400 meters of water. This time, thecod end produced large purple Periphyllamedusae, elephant-trunked and tube-eyedheteropods (elongated, carnivorous, shell-less snails), giant red copepods, krill, opos-sum shrimps, fat arrow worms, and a host ofother gelatinous plankton. A handful ofbeautiful but odd hatchetfishes also spilledout of the net. They were accompanied bymore bristlemouths—slender and sardine-shaped, but far more delicate and with greatgaping V-shaped mouths and rows of light

Marissa Magraino shows off two specimens recoveredfrom the otter trawl: a large jonah crab (Canderborealis) and a smaller deepwater swimming crab(Bathynectes longispina).

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organs along their flanks. Bristlemouthsare the most abundant vertebrate animalson earth, surpassing in numbers everyspecies of fish, bird, amphibian, reptile,and mammal.

More rough weather, including a feweight-foot swells taken on the beam,forced an early departure for FortLauderdale on the morning of April 25,but Captain Tom Worley and First MateLarry Braun handled the ship with expertcare. The following weekend, the classmet at NSUOC to go through the collec-tions, and Spieler and Messing introducedthem to the arcana of taxonomy.Attempting to identify any organism tospecies that does not belong to a groupwell known to non-scientists (e.g., birds,mammals, butterflies) requires learning

County. Jennifer Hartwig, an NSUOCgraduate who now heads up the NationalSave the Sea Turtle Foundation and stillworks on the Broward County Project, wasalso in attendance.

M.S. candidate Hemphill, who recentlyleft Florida to take a job with ConservationInternational in Washington, D.C., pre-sented a paper for that same company andstaffed a table that he let the group use todisplay the project’s brochures. Hemphillalso presented a paper titled, “FromFlagships to Beneficiaries: Defying Ocean’sEnd Global Agenda for Action and Its

Implications for Sea Turtles.” The paperwas coauthored by Sylvia Earle, LindaGlover, and Roger McManus.

The 2004 sea turtle season got underway March 1 and will continue throughSeptember. This is the third and finalyear of NSUOC’s three-year contract withBroward County to conduct the conserva-tion program. Personnel include 15 returningworkers, 7 new workers, and 5 alternates.Alicia Beltran returned for her secondyear as the project’s assistant manager, andCurtis Burney, Ph.D., is once again thefaculty supervisor for the project. Newworkers and alternates each undergo athree-day individual training, which beganon April 26. As of April 27, they had foundthree leatherback nests and three logger-head nests. It seemed like the season hadstarted off unusually slow this year, but withthe loggerhead nests all occurring in thelast week of April, it seems like it will pickup quickly. Since this is an even year, a veryhigh number of nesting green turtles isexpected, as seen by their alternating nestingpatterns over time.

Mahmood Shivji, Ph.D., gave invitedseminars entitled “Molecular Approachesto Shark Conservation” at the Universityof South Florida and Mote MarineLaboratory on March 25–26.

Edward O. Keith, Ph.D., and anumber of NSU graduate and undergrad-uate students attended the 12th annual

The group at the symposium banquet. Back row (l–r):Nicole Justice, Arlo Hemphill, Stefanie Ouellette,Mary Wozny, Jennifer Hartwig. Front row (l–r):Christian Guerreri, Leslye Waugh, and Fred Ottman.

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People on the MoveIt has been a busy winter for sea turtle

workers. At the end of January, the MarineTurtle Permit Holder’s Meeting was held inOrlando. NSU project manager StefanieOuellette and eight NSUOC students—Fred Ottman, Nicole Justice, WaltJustice, Mary Wozny, ChristianGuerreri, Liz Fahy, Leslye Waugh, andMegan Shoff—attended the meeting.These students have been working on theBroward County Sea Turtle ConservationProgram for one or more years, or wereapplying for the upcoming 2004 season.The group was welcomed on January 30 toan orientation and a reception. The nextday was full of lectures and presentationsabout statewide statistics regarding disori-entations, nesting, lighting, strandings, andcurrent research projects that were primarilyfunded through the sale of the sea turtlelicense plates and decals. In the evening,there was a social, and on Sunday, theyattended a behind-the-scenes tour ofEpcot’s The Living Seas. Some members ofthe group were also fortunate enough toparticipate in either a snorkeling or divingtour of the exhibit tank.

The 24th Annual Sea TurtleSymposium was held in San Jose, CostaRica, from February 22–29 and was attend-ed by Ouellette, Arlo Hemphill, FredOttman, Christian Guerreri, LeslyeWaugh, Mary Wozny, and Nicole Justice.All the students work or have worked onNSU’s Sea Turtle Project for Broward

the equivalent of a new language. The ter-minology is complex, the characters oftenobscure, and the writing sometimes con-voluted. Nevertheless, the class pitchedin, and by Sunday afternoon, many of thefishes and crustaceans had been identi-fied. The specimens will now be added tothe NSUOC collection and will con-tribute to teaching future students aboutthis extraordinary environment.

The students who participated wereGene Crease, Lindsay Dreger,Kristina Evans, Melody Fischer,Eileen Kelly, Kevin Lasagna, JeffreyMackin, Marisa Magrino, SandraMcClung, Stacy Prekel, RebeccaRaffel, Stephanie Rogers, KarenSchanzle, Danica Walcutt, BradWimmer, and Laura Wright. (Continued on page 4)

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Southeast and Mid-Atlantic MarineMammal Symposium held March 26–28 atthe Harbor Branch OceanographicInstitution in Fort Pierce.

NSUOC graduate student JaimeHilliard presented a poster titled “SeasonalAggregations of the Florida Manatee(Trichechus manatus latirostris) in PortEverglades, Fort Lauderdale, Florida,”describing her thesis research on the sea-sonal abundance of Florida manatees inPort Everglades. Manatees congregate inPort Everglades during the winter becauseof the warm water effluent from a FloridaPower and Light electricity generatingplant there. The poster was coauthored byKeith and M.S. student Ryan Goldman.

M.S. student Jennifer Scharnitz pre-sented a poster coauthored by Keith titled“Preliminary analysis of the vocalizations ofthe pygmy sperm whale, Kogia breviceps,”describing her preliminary work on theacoustics of the pygmy sperm whale.

Lindsey Fulcher, an undergraduatestudent from the Farquhar College of Artsand Sciences, presented a poster co-authored with Keith titled “Inverse correla-tion between water temperature and thepresence of Florida manatees (Trichechusmanatus latirostris) at Port Everglades,Florida,” describing the results of her inde-pendent study, which correlated the occur-rence of manatees in Port Everglades with

the temperature of the water in the FPLeffluent canal.

Keith also attended the annual meet-ing of the Federation of American Societiesfor Experimental Biology, held April 17–21in Washington, D.C. He presented a posterwith several undergraduate students fromthe Farquhar College of Arts and Sciencesas coauthors describing the latest results ofhis ongoing research project examining theadhesion of tear proteins to contact lenses.

The 2004 Belize Course took placefrom March 28–April 4. Twelve NSUOCstudents and one NSU undergraduate par-ticipated in the course, led by JimThomas, Ph.D. The group stayed on anisland known as South Water Caye, wherethe International Zoological Expedition(IZE) is located. The students were housedon the island in dorm-style housing for theentire week. Daytime was filled withlectures and all-day snorkeling expeditionswhere the students work together to createreef characterizations of two different reefs:South Water Caye and Whale Shoals.They were required to create species lists offish, invertebrates, corals, and algae at eachreef and in the various zones of the reefs.Evening time was for classroom work wherethe day’s work was compiled, maps drawn,reports written, and student presentationswere given. Most of the students also par-ticipated on one or two dives during their

Lindsey Fulcher with her poster

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Back Row (l–r):Jessie Watters, Joe Hall, Christina Stylianos, Michele Morgado, Fred Ottman, JackieHernandez, Brendan Bray, Stefanie Ouellette Front Row (l–r):Karen Schanzle, Laura Wright, Jim Thomas,Nikki Roddy, Melinda Bigelow, Sarah Maurer, Stephanie Rogers at Fort George Radison in Belize City beforereturning to the United States.

Jaime Hilliard and Ryan Goldman with their poster

Jennifer Scharnitz with her poster

The group getting ready to leave the island and headback to the mainland (Continued on page 5)

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Oceanworld Manly divers in the shark tank outside visitor walkway

(L-R) Myuki (Liz) DeHart; Sylvia Earl, Ph.D.; andKathy Maxson

free time. Some visited Carrie Bow Caye,which is close to South Water Caye and isthe location of the Smithsonian FieldResearch Station. At the end of the week,they took a bus ride through the rainforestsof Belize and stopped at Belmopan, andthen on to Belize City for the last nightbefore returning to the United States.

Veljko Dragojlovic, Ph.D., gave a talkat the American Chemical SocietyNational Conference and Exposition heldMarch 28–April 2 in Anaheim. Titled“Nature of the Co-oxidant in CatalyticRuthenium Tetroxide Oxidations,” thiswork was supported by the President’sFaculty Research and Development Award2003/2004.

Kathy Maxson, the center’s librarian,attended the annual SAIL (SoutheastAffiliate of IAMSLIC) Conference at theUniversity of Texas at Austin’s MarineLaboratory in Port Aransas, May 11–13.The conference was titled, “Getting morewith less: How to be ‘lean and mean’machines in sustainable seas.”

The keynote speaker was Sylvia Earl,Ph.D., a well-know deep-sea researcher whois the Program Coordinator for the HarteResearch Institute for Gulf of MexicoStudies and the explorer-in-residence forNational Geographic. Earle’s talk was titled“Deep-Sea Dives in the Gulf of Mexico.”

M.S. student Megan Berkle wentaround the world in six months, visiting 13countries, 4 continents, and Hawaii. Thepurpose of her journey was to write a globalmarine resource guide. This is a compre-hensive, but detailed, list of all the nonprofitorganizations, aquariums, laboratories, andmarine science departments worldwide.Berkle visited facilities throughout SouthAfrica, Thailand, Australia, and Hawaii. InSouth Africa, she went to Two OceansAquarium (Cape Town), Stoney PointNature Reserve and Boulders Beach

(penguin colony), University of CapeTown Marine Biology Department, PortElizabeth Aquarium, East LondonAquarium, and Sea World (Durban). InThailand she visited the Kho SamuiAquarium and the Kho Phangan researchstation. In Australia she checked out theReef HQ Aquarium (Townsville), JamesCook University Marine BiologyDepartment (Townsville), the SydneyAquarium, and Oceanworld Manly, and inHawaii she stopped at the WaikikiAquarium.

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Berkle in Torres del Paine National Park, Patagonia, Chile

The SAIL group aboard the R/V Katy about to headout for a cruise.

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Other News NOAA’s Coral Programs Meet

For a second year, all of the coral reefprograms coordinated under the umbrellaof the National Oceanic and AtmosphericAdministration’s (NOAA) Center forSponsored Coastal Ocean Science(CSCOR) met together to find out whatthe other programs are doing, as well as tobe updated on NOAA procedural changes.Hawaii Coral Reef Initiative (HCRI)Research Program at the University ofHawaii hosted this year’s meeting in April.NCRI Executive Director Richard E.Dodge, Ph.D.; Associate DirectorBernhard Riegl, Ph.D.; and Coordinatorof Administrative Operations CarolFretwell represented NCRI at the meeting.The University of Puerto Rico hosted themeeting last year. NCRI is scheduled tohost it next year.

Fleet WeekFaculty members, staff members, and

students got a front row seat when the shipscame in and left again for Fleet Week,April 26–30. Among the ships that were inport were the U.S.S Enterprise (CVN-65),U.S.S. Mitscher (DDG-57), U.S.S. Philippine

“5 Percent Day” Nets Dollarsand Local Name Recognition

Our National Coral Reef Institute(NCRI) was the cover story for the Aprilissue of the Whole Foods MarketPlantation monthly newsletter. Of chiefinterest (to us!) was that employees of thestore had nominated NCRI to receive 5percent of net sales on Tuesday, April 27,from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. An informa-tion table was set up in the store, displayingthe many activities of NCRI, as well as asupply of informational brochures aboutSouth Florida’s coral reefs and NCRIbrochures for distribution. More than ahundred brochures were given out duringthe day. We’ll have to wait to see howmuch was raised. A BIG thank you to allwho stopped by and shopped on NCRI’s “5Percent Day.”

Members of the Florida Ocean Alliance (FOA) Board and Governor Jeb Bush release the Commission onOcean Policy Report on Oceans Day in Tallahassee on April 21.

“OCEAN” Was Topic of the Day“Oceans Day 2004” in Tallahassee drew

more than the usual constituents of theFlorida Institute of Oceanography and theFlorida Ocean Alliance this year.Dovetailing with the release of the OceanCommission Report to state governors, aceremony took place on the capitol steps,including Governor Jeb Bush; FrankMuller-Karger, member of the Ocean

Commission; and Tim Keeney, deputyassistant secretary of commerce for oceansand atmospheres, among the dignitaries.NSUOC and NCRI were represented atOceans Day by an exhibit staffed by DeanRichard E. Dodge, Ph.D., and CarolFretwell, NCRI coordinator of administra-tive operations.

The U.S.S. Enterprise

Sea (CG-58), U.S.S. Simpson (FFG-56),U.S.S. Stephen W. Groves (FFG-29), theU.S.S. Trenton (LPD-14), and the submarineU.S.S. Miami (SSN-755). Fleet Week wasfollowed up with the McDonald’s Air & SeaShow, May 1–2.

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Ship Grounded off PortEverglades

Once again a ship grounded near PortEverglades on March 26. The Eastwind, aGreek-flagged freighter carrying bauxiteand oil, ran aground during rough seas,destroying thousands of square feet of reef.The grounding also killed a federally pro-tected loggerhead sea turtle whose crushedremains were found by divers.

This is not the first grounding in thearea. In June 2003, the Alam Senang, a 585-foot Malaysian cement carrier, ran up onthe second reef from shore near FortLauderdale Beach, dislodging hundreds ofhard corals, as well as soft corals andsponges. In February 1998 the Pacific Mako,a 428-foot freighter owned by a CaymanIslands company, was caught in the anchor-age in a powerful storm, causing it to dragits two anchors over the reefs toward shorealso near Fort Lauderdale Beach. Thisgrounding dislodged corals as well as causingthe destruction of part of the underlyinglimestone structure of the reef.

The following month, heavy winds andstormy seas pushed the Hind, a 348-footPanamanian freighter that was parked inthe anchorage outside of the port, towardshore and caused it to drag its anchor. The

grounding scraped clean parts of one reef,grinding the coral to rubble.

The reefs are not only valuable biolog-ically, but they provide a vital benefit to theregion’s economy, attracting thousands ofpeople for recreational diving, fishing, andsnorkeling. NSUOC’s National Coral ReefInstitute (NCRI) is actively involved in thescience of coral reef restoration and recovery.

Hypothesis-driven projects include exam-ining reef fish and coral recruitment, stonycoral and octocoral transplantation, andthe use of coral nurseries. NCRI will con-tinue to work with resource managers andresource users to determine the bestapproach for restoration and recovery fol-lowing ship groundings and other physicalimpacts to our coral reefs.

Brian Walker and Brian Ettinger check out damaged coral on grounding site.

Shining Stars in a Sea ofTechnology

Members of the Oceanographic Centerwalked away with two first place entriesat NSU’s Seventh Annual TechnologyFair, held on main campus April 30.Representing the OC and the NationalCoral Reef Institute, Bernhard Riegl andRyan Moyer took first place in the facultydivision with their “Acoustic SeafloorMapping” entry. In the professionaldivision, Kevin Helmle and KevinKohler took first place with their entry,“Coral X-Radiograph DensitometrySystem: CoralXDS.”

The theme of this year’s TechnologyFair was “Adventures on TechnologyIsland,” and the OC staff fit right in,involving the center’s research vesselSurveyor as part of their display. For theirefforts, each first place team walked awaywith a medal and cash prize. TheTechnology Fair is an annual event spon-sored by NSU’s Office of InformationTechnologies and Media Services

Technology Training Services and is a goodopportunity for Oceanographic Centerfaculty and staff members to showcase theapplication of technology in their givenarea of research.

(L-R) Kevin Helmle, Bernhard Riegl, Ryan Moyer,and Kevin Kohler stand proudly in front of the R/VSurveyor at NSU’s Seventh Annual Technology Fair.

Kevin Kohler and Kevin Helmle man their award-winning multimedia presentation at NSU’sTechnology Fair.

Ryan Moyer (left) and Bernhard Riegl (center)explain the principles of Acoustic Seafloor Mappingto an attendee of NSU’s Technology Fair. Also picturedis NSUOC M.S. student Daniel Bogorff (seated).

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MASTERCURRENTSINSTITUTE OF MARINE AND COASTAL STUDIES

M.S. degree specialties are marine biology, coastal zone management, physicaloceanography, and marine environmental sciences. Each course carries three credithours or may be audited. Tuition is $567 per credit hour (50 percent less for audit).Classes meet once a week from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the Oceanographic Center(unless otherwise specified). The summer term runs from July 6–Sept. 16, 2004(unless otherwise specified). Registration ($25 nonrefundable fee) is June 14–July 9.For further information, call Andrew Rogerson, Ph.D., or Melissa Dore at (954) 262-3610or 800-396-2326, or email imcs@nsu.nova.edu. More information can be found at theWeb site www.nova.edu/ocean/.

Summer SemesterJuly 6–September 17Marine ChemistryOCOR-5605 This course is one of the five core coursesrequired for all master’s specialties. Theclass will review the properties and compo-sition of seawater; the importance, distribu-tion, relationships, and cycling of majornutrients; dissolved gasses; trace metals;and organic compounds. A self-paced labo-ratory is included in the course activities.Problem solving is supplemented withinteractive microcomputer work. StartsJuly 7. Lab Fee: $40. Instructor: CurtBurney, burney@nsu.nova.edu

Coral Reef Biology and EcologyOCMB-7012The purpose of this class is to introduce stu-dents to the general biology and ecology ofcorals and coral-associated organisms.Topics will include a historical perspectiveof coral study; coral distribution, diversity,and abundance; coral taxonomy; reef typesand morphology; zooxanthellae symbioses;reproductive ecology including recruitmentand dispersion of larvae and propagules;coral reef trophic systems; natural andanthropogenic perturbations; coral adapta-tion and evolution; corals as a source of proxyrecords; rapid reef assessment techniques;and coral reef resource management.Active classroom discussion will be encour-aged during and following the presentationof material by the professor. A formaldiscussion period on selected papers will beconducted during each class. Material willbe presented from a global perspective,with focus on the South Florida andCaribbean marine environment. Twoweekend field trips are planned to allow thestudent to directly experience the localcoral reef and coral community habitats.Meets Mondays. Starts July 12. Labfee: $15. Instructor: Joshua Feingold,joshua@nsu.nova.edu

Ecosystem ManagementCZMT-0670/MEVS-5015Ecosystem management has gained wide-spread visibility as an approach to achieve

sustainable and responsible naturalresource use. With an increased interest inthis emerging management paradigm, thiscourse will explore interactive relationshipsamong organisms, community structure,and the application of emerging technolo-gies, including GIS and remote sensing,relative both to ecology and management.A case study of the marine environment ofthe Bahamian Archipelago, and the appli-cation of the sciences of ecology and con-servation biology to real-world concerns,will help demonstrate how scientificresearch significantly reduces uncertaintyand improves resource managementdecisions. Starts July 6. Lab fee: $10.Instructor: Stefan Harzen, harzen@taras.org

Tropical Marine Fish EcologyOCMB-6120/CZMT-6090This course will cover the ecology of tropicalfishes, including coastal, estuarine,mangrove, and pelagic fishes. Emphasis ison identification of local species. Currenttheories on distribution and abundance willbe discussed in addition to ecological theory.Field work will take place at the KeysMarine Laboratory, Long Key, Florida. Onreturn to the Oceanographic Center, self-directed and self-scheduled laboratorystudy will be required. July 26–August 1field course. Lab fee: $375. Limited to20 students. Instructor: Richard Spieler,spielerr@nsu.nova.edu

Taxonomy of Marine Invertebrates,OCMB-6085(subject to change)This course will cover the taxonomy andecology of marine invertebrates (emphasizingshallow tropical western Atlantic species)

New/Continuing OCGrants as of February 19and April 23 includedContinuing:

Richard Dodge, Ph.D., URSCorporation, Studies on Natural GasPipeline effects.

Curtis Burney, Ph.D., wasawarded a grant from the BrowardCounty Commissioners to runthe Broward County Sea TurtleConservation program for 2004 inthe amount of $137,375.

New:Edward O. Keith, Ph.D., was

awarded a grant from the Florida Fishand Wildlife Conservation CommissionManatee Avoidance TechnologyProgram, 2004, to support his researchon the “Development of an underwa-ter infrared camera to detect mana-tees.” This was one of only threegrants in this program awarded thisyear. Total funds awarded $18,944.

Alexander Yankovsky, Ph.D.,Arizona State University, CoupledPhysical Numerical Models of nonlin-ear interaction. More in-depth infor-mation on this study will be in theSummer Currents.

and train students in their identification.Field work and a self-paced laboratory areintegral to the course. Class includes aweeklong field trip to the Keys. August fieldcourse, dates TBD. Lab fee: $350. Instructor:Charles Messing, messingc@nsu.nova.edu

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Notice to all Oceanographic Center Students: A Change in the Core Requirements.

To cope with the diverse background of our students, we have initiated a newsection of Biostatistics.

Biostatistics I is intended for students with little or no background in statistics.Biostatistics II is intended for students with previous statistical experience. To satisfycore requirements, only one of these courses need be completed. However, studentswho feel that they would benefit, can take both Biostatistics I and II, with the secondcourse counting as an elective. (Note: If you have previous statistical experience, youcannot take Biostatistics I.)

Biostatistics I will be offered in the fall term, and Biostatistics II will be offered inthe spring term. Students who are unsure of their capabilities are encouraged tocontact the instructor, Mark Farber, at mfarber@nsu.nova.edu.

Distance Education coursesCoastline Environmental Security:New perspectives on threats to thenatural environmentCZMT-0677In the post-September 11, 2001, globaltheater, there is a widely held perception ofnew threats facing democratic societies.Traditional terrorist targets include humanassets such as political leaders and foreigndiplomatic staff; physical assets such asaircraft, buildings, factories, and powerstations; and institutional assets such as leg-islatures and courts of law. We seek here toexpand the notion of threat beyond thesetraditional determinants to include thecoastal environment, domestically andinternationally.

Specifically, but not exclusively, we willconsider:

1. What is environmental terrorism?2. What are coastal environmental

assets?3. Possible security countermeasures that

could be used to reduce or eliminatethreats to environmental assets.

4. The costs and benefits of employingcountermeasures and their feasibilityconsidering the desire for an open andfree society.

Instructor: Scott White

Marine GeologyOCOR-5604 The objectives of the course are (1) toenable students to examine the structure,evolution, and stratigraphy of the oceanbasins and continental margins and (2) toprovide an understanding of the dynamicprocesses that shape the surface of theearth under the ocean surface. Instructor:Bernhard Riegl (Please note: For CZMstudents only)

Fall Term September27–December 17Marine Ecosystems, OCOR-5602Instructor: Curt Burney

Biostatistics I, OCOR-5603Instructor: Mark Farber

Scientific Diving and Coral ReefAssessment, OCMB-9700Instructors: David Gilliam/Lance Robinson

Physical Oceanography, OCOR-5607. Instructor: Sean Kennan

Marine Mammals, MEVS-5016/OCMB-6340. Instructor: EdwardKeith

Fluid Mechanics, MSPO-TBA.Instructor: Alexander Soloviev

Ph.D. Degree OfferedThe Oceanographic Center offers

a doctoral degree in oceanography/marine biology. The program requiresa minimum of 90 credits beyond thebaccalaureate. At least 48 credits mustconsist of dissertation research, andat least 42 credits must consist ofupper-level coursework. Requiredcourses include the four M.S. corecourses. Other upper-level courseworkis usually in the tutorial mode with themajor professor. Tuition is $3,868 perquarter.

Internship in Coastal PolicyCZMT-0664Students enrolled in this course are expectedto invest the equivalent of three hours perweek for 14 weeks (i.e., at least 42 hours) intheir internship. This can be done at aresearch organization; private company orconsulting firm; local, county, state, orfederal agency; or other approved venuethat is related to coastal zone activities. Inaddition to hands-on work, each intern willalso keep an academic journal of internshipactivities. The journal will be submitted forreview for the final grade. The student’ssupervisor at the internship venue will alsoevaluate the student. Permission andapproval of supervising professor is requiredbefore you enroll in this class. Instructor:Steffen Schmidt

Marine Mammal ManagementCZMT-0667An interdisciplinary approach to peopleand the environment—as this has evolvedover time and as it stands today—thiscourse examines the present state of therelationship with marine mammals alongwith what it is likely to be for the future,whether by default or design. The marinemammal and environment relationship isextremely complex and fluid. It changesdepending upon place and time, and therate of this change is accelerating alongwith related developments such as popula-tion and economic growth, technologicalcapacity, and our expanding use of theworld’s oceans and waterways. We will lookat the position and influence of marinemammals within the environment, as wellas the development of physical conditions,values and economic activities that haveled to their present situation. Instructor:Keith Ronald (minimum of 10 studentsneeded)

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DefensesTHESIS

Irene Arpayoglou, “Cultivation of Wrack Collected Seagrasses.”Committee members: Stacy Myers, South Florida WaterManagement District; Curt Burney, NSUOC; Carman N. Vare,environmental program supervisor, Department of EnvironmentalResource Management (DERM). March 12

Courtney Campbell Arena, “Electro-ionization technology as atreatment for ballast water with a review of potential methods usedto verify treatment.” Committee members: Andrew Rogerson,Don McCorquodale, and Curtis Burney. April 8

Neil Hammerschlag, “Factors Affecting Predatory Success ofWhite Sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) at Seal Island in False Bay,South Africa.” Committee members: R. Aidan Martin, ReefQuestCentre for Shark Research; Edward O. Keith, NSUOC; and MarkI. Farber, Adjunct NSUOC. May 24

Deployment of a surface mooring as part of the South Florida Ocean Measurement Center (SFOMC) project,a cooperative program involving NSU oceanographers (courtesy A. Soloviev).

Thus, in addition to fulfilling the normalrequirements for acceptance to the M.S.programs, students should have a basicmathematics background including a yearof calculus. Physical oceanography is theuniting discipline in oceanography—alloceanographers need to appeal to the

The Oceanographic Center hasreceived approval to offer a new master’sdegree in physical oceanography (MSPO).The first MSPO class begins in October2004. NSU has a rich tradition in physicaloceanography: the Oceanographic Centerwas first directed by a renowned physicaloceanographer, William Richardson,Ph.D., and has long been one of the leadingresearch centers for physical oceanography.Current faculty members conduct researchin many areas of physical oceanography,including: global, tropical, and coastal cir-culation; air-sea interactions; dynamicmodeling; and relations to climate andmarine ecosystems.

The MSPO is flexible, with twotracks—a research track and a non-research track—so students can choose tostudy to become a professional researcher orto apply their expertise in the corporate,government, or private sectors. Classes areheld at the Oceanographic Center in theevenings. The curriculum covers the widerange of topics needed for a physicaloceanography degree. Students will learnabout the dynamics of the ocean currents;coastal regions; instrumental methods;satellite oceanography; and the biology,geology, and chemistry of the oceans.

The distinguishing factor between theM.S. in physical oceanography and theother M.S. degrees at the OceanographicCenter is the emphasis on ocean physics.

ocean dynamics and currents to understandoceanic processes.

For more information, see our Web siteat www.nova.edu/ocean/mspo/ or contactthe M.S. in physical oceanographyprogram coordinator, Sean Kennan, atskennan@nsu.nova.edu.

PublicationsCash, D., A. Combs, and V. Dragojlovic (2004).

Cobalt-catalyzed photolytic ethoxycarbonylation ofbromoalkanes in the presence of a Lewis acid, TetrahedronLett. 45 (6), 1143-1145. (Daniel Cash and Angela Combswere NSU undergraduate students. Both of them are currentlyenrolled in NSU’s osteopathic medicine (D.O.) program.The work was supported by a President’s Faculty ScholarshipAward 2000/2001.)

Keith, E. O., O. Lo, T. Siddiqui, S. Dixon-Banks, and A.Janoff (2004). A Comparison of Albumin and LysozymeAdhesion to the Four Types of Contact Lens Materials.FASEB J. 18(5):A1235.

New Master’s Degree in Physical Oceanography Being Offered

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A 196-cm mature male Caribbean reef shark, named Gale after our boat captain, is drawn close to the boat forsurgery. After his release, a receiver positioned a quarter of a mile east on the reef slope records Gale millingaround for about two hours, starting at midnight. The next night he visited the same spot from 4:00–7:00 a.m.Continued monitoring will tell us a great deal about Gale’s residency to Glover’s reef, reveal his habitat preferences,and will hopefully help conservationists design effective marine parks for his species.

into its body cavity. Before the shark wakesup, medical sutures are used to close thewound and other vital biological informa-tion, such as body length, sex, and clasperlength (for males) is taken. This year, theteam successfully implanted pingers into 7Caribbean reef sharks and 22 nurse sharks,and checked the data stored in thereceivers for information about last year’ssharks. So far, the nurse sharks seem to beshowing fidelity to specific sites around theatoll, but make long nocturnal excursions,making their home-ranges very large andheterogeneous with regard to habitat. The

Members of the NSUOC/Guy HarveyResearch Institute (GHRI) ConservationGenetics Laboratory Demian Chapman;Debra Abercrombie; Vince Richards;and Mahmood Shivji, Ph.D.; recentlyreturned to Glover’s reef atoll, Belize, tocontinue work on the local shark popula-tion. This year, in collaboration withscientists from the Pew Institute for OceanScience (PIOS), and with funding from theWildlife Conservation Society (WCS) andthe Sea-star Foundation, they were seekingto surgically implant coded-telemetrytransmitters (“pingers”) into the body cavi-ties of nurse, Ginglymostoma cirratum, andCaribbean reef, Carcharhinus perezi sharks.Once “pingered” the ocean predatorswould then be released to go about theirdaily lives, where an array of bottom-mounted receivers built by the team wouldtrack their movements over periods of oneto two years and help reveal their degreeof residency, space-utilization patterns, andhabitat requirements. Pingering a shark isno easy task, however. First the shark mustbe captured using a baited hook and thenbrought close to the 21-foot workboatwhere a lasso is used to snare its tail. Thesharks, some of which are almost 2.5 meterslong, are then restrained alongside the boatand gently rolled over so that they areupside down. This results in a state of torpor(not for the scientists) known as tonicimmobility, allowing the researcher tomake a small incision into the shark’s ven-tral surface where a pinger can be inserted

one adolescent male Caribbean reef sharkpingered last year swam past one receiveron the reef slope almost every day inthe early evening, from November 1 toFebruary 14. Since the 14th, he hasapparently left Glover’s, prompting theresearchers to speculate that maybe hefound a girlfriend and took off forValentine’s Day! The results of the study willhelp resource managers in the Caribbeandesign Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)that are large enough, and encompassenough critical habitat to maintainvulnerable shark populations.

Conservation Genetics Laboratory Studies Secret Lives of Belizean Sharks

Sarah Frias-Torres, Ph.D.,postdoctoral associate, NOAA.“Little sea wonders:seadragons, seahorses, andpipefishes.” March 5

Keith Ronald, Ph.D., adjunctprofessor, NSUOC. “Mermaids,myths, and monsters…orMarine mammals and man inglobal commerce, conflict, andcompetition.” March 19

Veljko Dragojlovic, Ph.D.,NSUOC. “Pharma SeaBioprospecting—collectingnatural products for theirmedicinal properties.” April 16

Friday Seminar Series for March and April

John Farina, Department ofEnvironmental ResourcesMangement (DERM). “JobOpportunities at DERM.Everything you wanted to knowabout the environment butwere afraid to ask.” April 23

Charles Messing, Ph.D.,NSUOC. “Ancient gardens ofthe deep.” April 30

Joel Trexler, Ph.D., FloridaInternational University,“Metacommunity Dynamicsof Fishes in the FloridaEverglades.” May 7

William Hamlett, Ph.D.,Indian University School ofMedicine. “Chondrichthianreproduction: a sexual smorgas-board.” May 14

05-040/04 DBB

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Editor: Kathy Maxson

NOTICE OF NONDISCRIMINATIONNova Southeastern University admits students of any race, color, sex, age, nondisqualifying disability, religion or creed, or national or ethnicorigin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school, and does notdiscriminate in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.

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Currents, Spring 2004

Kathy Maxson, Peggy Oellrich, and Chris Barry show their support as theU.S.S. Enterprise prepares to depart.

The U.S.S. Philippine Sea.