What's Happening at Gulf Specimen? |
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Anne Rudloe Memorial Education Center Update |
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As of September 7, 2021 we officially have an estimated completion time for our new Anne Rudloe Memorial Education Center classroom and learning center for Gulf Specimen Marine Laboratories. We are predicted to finish the renovation by mid-November due to backorders and lack of supplies. It has been a long process, but we couldn't be happier with the work that has been completed so far!
We cannot wait for this project to be up and running for the public to see! |
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With assistance from Volunteer Florida, Gulf Specimen has made significant improvements to our facilities that will help us expand our education programs. Through a Hurricane Michael Disaster Grant, the organization has provided nearly $500,000 to create new indoor and outdoor classrooms on recently acquired property and construct a new parking lot.
Without Volunteer Florida and the support of Nancy and Gene Phipps and the Tallahassee Phipps Foundation, this expansion would not be possible. Our organization relies on support from volunteers to provide care for our animals and teach our visitors about the different species in our aquarium. Volunteer Florida is a great partner in helping us continue our mission to promote protection of marine life in the Gulf of Mexico by providing meaningful experiences for our visitors and volunteers. |
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Why Are Short Spined Sea Urchins So Popular For Shipments? |
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During early May through late December, we begin seeing a rise in the amount of sea urchin orders that we take and send out to research laboratories, schools and universities. This month so far, we have sent out over 100 short spined sea urchins per week. Shipping sea urchins is normal for us, but making sure they're fertile is the top priority for majority of our buyers. The main species we send out is the species Lytechinus variegatus which ranges from purple, pink, white and black in color and has short spines emanating from its round body. |
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When fertile, the eggs can be seen clearly through microscopes which makes them easy subjects for demonstrating embryology and mitotic spindles. From a single sea urchin, you can produce huge volumes of eggs by reproducing them naturally or artificially. When we collect a large amount of sea urchins, we make sure they are fertile by injecting a few with a potassium chloride solution which makes them spawn. We can also tell gender from this. If a population shows minimal fertility, we will use them in our touch tanks and for education, but if they are fertile, we keep them separated in a large tank outside where they will be fed but not disturbed.
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Beach Exploration Tours Continuing Through the Winter! |
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Explore the nearby beaches of the ‘Wilderness Coast’ with GSML naturalist and certified Green Guide Debbi Clifford. In an easy 2-3 hour walk, learn about the natural history of local shore life: shells, critters, plants, and the ‘blob on the beach’.
Debbi has been exploring the beaches of Wakulla & Franklin counties for the past 30 years as a marine life collector for Gulf Specimen Marine Lab in Panacea, FL. She is also a certified Florida Green Guide.
Call 850-984-5297 for reservations and information! Only 6 dates remaining for our 2021 season! |
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As you know, all over the country aquariums and zoos were closed down for the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and are currently still recovering, so how did that affect Gulf Specimen then and where are we now? |
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The struggle to keep Gulf Specimen alive and running during a worldwide pandemic was not something we could have ever prepared for. From being shut down to the public, to livestreaming educational lectures, hosting virtual sea turtle releases, and even creating an online gift shop, Gulf Specimen had to quickly adapt in order to stay in business and keep people interested.
Being a nonprofit organization, Gulf Specimen relies on income from tourists and local visitors coming to explore the natural wildlife found in our local waters. One of our main sources of income comes from school field trips. We see thousands of students each year and the lack of visitors was just the first wave of our financial struggle. We were also unable to simply pause and close down the entire aquarium for a few months like other businesses had because of what we do and the animals we care for. |
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The second important aspect of our business is supplying marine organisms to research laboratories and schools all over the country... but schools had just moved to online learning. We did have the occasional order from home aquarists wanting fish or invertebrates for their personal aquariums, and we did have a couple of schools order a few organisms for virtual labs for their students. |
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Our staff was limited and had to be extremely flexible to keep the lab cleaned and the animals fed and healthy.
Our livestreams were our most popular and most 'visited' online exhibits offered. Our staff member, Leslie Breland, would offer educational livestreams once a week or so. She would show off critters and the livestream would let you virtually send in questions for her to answer.
Our founder, Jack Rudloe would also offer online lectures where he would share his many decades of knowledge from living around and directly working with animals found here.
After this phase was over and we were able to partially reopen, we started taking reservations for the aquarium and heavily limiting the amount of people who were allowed in the lab at a time.
Through all the changes and restrictions, we can officially say that we have come out and overcome majority of the COVID struggles. We have been able to fully open our aquarium to the public without restrictions and have been steadily shipping out orders of live specimens.
Over the summer, we have completed our parking lot renovation and since then have started even more renovations and expansions to make the aquarium bigger and better.
We would like to send out a personal thank you for everyone who kept their memberships and continued to donate throughout the closures. We could not have survived without the support given by you. |
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Why Do We Need Estuaries? |
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In honor of National Estuaries Day, let's take today to learn about the importance of estuaries in our area! |
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Estuaries are one of the safest places in the oceans for many local species of fish, birds and other wildlife to come and spawn. Estuaries are referred to as the “nurseries of the sea” for providing habitat for thousands of juvenile organisms as they feed and grow into adults. In these areas, juveniles have safe places to hide in mangroves, seagrass beds, rocky shorelines and more areas that they wouldn't have in the open ocean or further inland.
Estuaries also act as water filters from land water and waste runoff. As water from land drains into our ocean waters, it passes through wetlands and salt marshes where the majority of the sediments and pollutants are filtered out, providing a valuable environmental service to our ecosystems.
Another huge benefit for coastal communities is their ability to act as protective barriers for large storms that create floods and surge. Wave energy from offshore will lessen as it passes over coral reefs, seagrasses, rocks and shoreline plants.
With several threats to estuaries including coastal development and increased pollutants in the waters, we are at risk of disrupting the estuarine ecosystem. If this happens, we could have a decrease in the amount of organisms living in the environment. This could affect our local fish and shrimp populations as well as bivalves such as oysters and scallops.
Although estuaries might be small compared to the vast ocean, they are an ecosystem that is just as important, if not more, for species survival.
Feel free to share your favorite estuary stories or pictures on Facebook or Instagram and be sure to tag Gulf Specimen! Our social media links are below!
Facebook Tag: @ Gulf Specimen Marine Lab
Instagram Tag: @gulfspecimenaquarium |
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Although We Do School Field Trips, You Can Also Book a Personal Tour For Your Group or Family!
Interested in a private one-on-one tour with one of our experts? We have three different options for you to explore our facilities and surrounding environments! |
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If you are just looking to tour the aquarium, we can show you first-hand all of our vibrant creatures found in the Gulf of Mexico. You will be taken through the aquarium with a tour guide who can identify and answer any questions you may have! You will also get a chance to see sharks and moray eels feeding and have a chance of your own to feed sting rays!
If you are looking for a little extra fun, you can book our Aquarium and Living Dock tour! After a guided tour of the aquarium, the group will continue on outdoors to the Living Dock located in the estuarine waters of Dickerson Bay. There, the tour guide will demonstrate the fouling community species and intertidal zonation of barnacles and oysters. Participants get to experience hands on specimen collection from the dock to be identified and viewed up close before being released.
If you want an even longer and more in-depth tour, you join us for a three hour Aquarium, Living Dock and Marsh tour. Feed some sharks, learn to bait crab traps and experience specimen collection with us! Use a beam trawl and seine net for the first time to collect common estuarine specimens like blue crabs, grass shrimp, and sea nettles. Learn about important keystone species that live and depend on salt marshes and witness the different juvenile stages of our local game fish in the wild. Participants are strongly encouraged to help! |
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Meet Our Fall 2021 Interns: Jessica & Leslie |
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Jessica is an upcoming senior at Florida State University in Tallahassee, working on her bachelors in Biology. She was born and raised in Clearwater, FL and has long loved being by the beach and activities in the ocean. Until Gulf Specimen, she had never had the hands-on experience she was hoping and looking for.
Her favorite part about being an intern at the marine lab is feeding the animals, especially Lil' Herc the loggerhead sea turtle. Jessica is still not sure what she wants to do in the future but she hopes to get involved in sea turtle rehabilitation and ocean conservation efforts. |
If you, or someone you know is interested in applying for our internship program, please click the link below to find out more!
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| Leslie is a recent graduate from the University of South Alabama where she earned a bachelors in Biology. During her time in college, Leslie participated in a few research projects and courses at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab that fueled her curiosity and interest in marine sciences even more, but she had very little experience interacting with marine life until interning at Gulf Specimen Marine Lab.
Her favorite part about being an intern is feeding and interacting with the animals here at the lab, especially our resident loggerhead sea turtle, nurse sharks, and southern stingrays. Leslie has plans of attending graduate school in the future to pursue a masters degree in marine sciences but is unsure on which direction to take in her studies. After working in the lab, she has become more interested in animal husbandry and sea turtle rehabilitation. |
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Wonders of the Gulf: Creature Feature |
| North Florida is gifted with an amazing array of diverse animals where we find fascinating creatures. Our exhibits change every season. |
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 | Arrow Crab Metoporhaphis calcaratus, or Stenorhynchus seticornis
The spider-like arrow crab which occasionally rises from the bottom and “walks” up and down in the water column, one of the most bizarre forms of behavior to be witnessed in an aquarium. It has a tiny body with a long pointed rostrum and long slender legs. |
| | | Oscellated Moray Gymnothorax saxicola
A beautiful animal with speckled yellow and black body, and a dorsal fin that runs the length of the body. Colorful and docile in the aquarium, but should be handled with care. |
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A hardy brownish green anemone with vertical pale blue columnar dots and small retractile tentacles that lives on rocks and jetties in the intertidal zone. |
| | | Hogfish Lachnolaimus maximus
This beautiful species can be found swimming along sandy bottoms decorated with sponge beds and coral mounds. The hogfish gets it's name from its pig-shaped snout used to dig into the sand and rocky crevices looking for crustaceans. |
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We are so grateful for our monetary donors, but we have also decided to create an Amazon Wishlist filled with items to be used in our turtle hospital and around the aquarium. You can find the Wishlist linked below and allows our donors to pick their donation!
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