Alexandra Gulick’s grazing manuscript published in Ecology

Title: Recovery of a large herbivore changes regulation of seagrass productivity in a naturally grazed Caribbean ecosystem Authors: Gulick, Alexandra G; Johnson, Robert A; Pollock, Clayton G; Hillis-Starr, Zandy; Bolten, Alan B; Bjorndal, Karen A. Our results show that green turtle grazing stimulates seagrass productivity, and that grazing intensity has a relevant role in regulating […]

Azores research team has major publication

The long-term collaboration of the ACCSTR with the University of the Azores, DOP, has resulted in a major publication on the first assessment of population trends of oceanic loggerhead turtles. Frederic Vandeperre, Hugo Parra, Christopher K. Pham, Miguel Machete, Marco Santos, Karen A. Bjorndal & Alan B. Bolten. Relative abundance of oceanic juvenile loggerhead sea […]

Robert Johnson survey manuscript in press Journal of Ecology

Title: Seagrass ecosystem metabolic carbon capture in response to green turtle grazing across Caribbean meadows. Authors: Johnson, Robert; Gulick, Alexandra; Constant, Nerine; Bolten, Alan; Smulders, Fee; Christianen, Marjolijn J. A.; Nava, Mabel; Kolasa, Keith; Bjorndal, Karen.. Our results show there is a consistent response in metabolic carbon dynamics to green turtle grazing in T. testudinum […]

Alex Gulick and Nerine Constant conduct research in Sargasso Sea

Nerine Constant and Alexandra Gulick recently returned from a very successful expedition on a Greenpeace research vessel in the Sargasso Sea where they evaluated the thermal properties of Sargassum mats — important developmental habitat for sea turtles — and how those properties may be affected by climate change. Alexandra and Nerine are PhD Candidates at […]

Robert Johnson presents at ESA

ACCSTR graduate student Robert Johnson presented research from his dissertation at the Ecological Society of America conference in Portland, Oregon. His talk was titled “Green turtles and blue carbon: Effects of grazing on seagrass meadow carbon dynamics.” This research was conducted in Little Cayman, Cayman Islands in 2016, and showed that green turtle grazing does […]

REU student Emma Hearne presents at ESA

NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates student Emma Hearne presented her research, titled “Preliminary analysis of green turtle grazing on primary producer diversity in Caribbean seagrass meadows” at the Ecological Society of America conference in Portland, Oregon. Emma was an REU student at the Central Caribbean Marine Institute in Little Cayman, Cayman Islands in 2016 who […]

Patricia Zárate gives keynote address

Dr. Patricia Zárate, past ACCSTR PhD student and currently Head of the Highly Migratory Species – Ecosystem Approach Project in the Instituto de Fomento Pesquero [IFOP, Fisheries Develop Institute] of the Chilean national government, has been invited to give the keynote address at the IFOP Regional Event in Punta Arenas in the Magallanes Region of […]

Successful 43rd Field Season in Union Creek, Great Inagua, The Bahamas

Karen Bjorndal and Alan Bolten have returned from a very successful field season at their longterm study site on Great Inagua, The Bahamas. Working with Bahamas National Trust wardens Henry Nixon and Randolph Burrows, they captured 69 green turtles, of which 41 (59%) had been tagged in previous years. This study is conducted in collaboration […]

Invasive seagrass found in Buck Island Reef National Monument

ACCSTR graduate student Alexandra Gulick and her team found the first occurrence of the invasive seagrass Halophila stipulacea in the waters around Buck Island Reef National Monument. This invasive seagrass, native to the Red Sea, has been slowly moving across the eastern Caribbean. This discovery will assist in the management of marine ecosystems in the […]

Robert Johnson receives best presentation award

ACCSTR Graduate student Robert Johnson was awarded the Best Student Oral Presentation at the Annual International Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology. His talk was entitled, “Green turtles and blue carbon: effects of grazing on seagrass meadow carbon dynamics.” The Symposium was held 15-20 April in Las Vegas, NV with 800 sea turtle biologists attending from […]

Archie Carr Center for Sea Turtle Research

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