But scientists from Mote Marine Laboratory, with labs in both Sarasota and the Keys, are working to alleviate some of the problems facing Keys marine life, while also using the area’s geography to benefit research into shark reproduction and other habits.
Kumar Mahadevan, executive director, and other scientists and officials from Mote Marine were in Key West Friday to offer updates about their projects at their Key West and Summerland Key facilities.
The new facility at Key West, located in the same building as the Conch Republic Seafood Company restaurant, will be the home of queen conch aquaculture research under scientist Kevan Main. She has already been involved in conch spawning, and plans to conduct studies on juvenile queen conch in Key West.
“There really has never been a concerted effort to bring the conch back to the republic,” Main said Friday during a press conference at the Key West Yacht Club.
She also said that conch aquaculture could eventually be used to supply queen conch for the needs of the commercial market, thereby limiting the number of conch taken from the wild for consumption purposes.
The queen conch that once filled Keys waters are no longer present, and the conch that appears on local menus in harvested mainly in the Bahamas, Main said.
But her research is not limited to queen conch, and Main is conducting extensive studies on coral reef aquaculture and is working on producing large numbers of coral colonies to restore damaged or dying reef areas in the Keys, while also developing disease-resistant strains of selected coral species.
“We are using the small coral fragments that are just lying around after a grounding that damages the coral, and trying to give them a second chance,” Main said.
She often shares the Tropical Research Lab on Summerland Key with shark researcher Wes Pratt, whose studies about the mating habits of nurse sharks have been featured in National Geographic.
“We’re adding this exciting and complex animal to the spectrum of life that is being studied down here in the Keys,” said Pratt, now a full-time resident of Summerland Key.
Pratt pointed out that as “apex predators,” or animals at the top of the food chain, sharks are often one of the first populations to reflect the signs of a changing environment.
Pratt and his research assistant, who is also his wife, are beginning a project to tag as many sharks as possible in Keys waters to track their migration patterns and preferred breeding grounds.
Main and Mahadevan pointed out Mote’s emphasis on community involvement when it comes to research pertaining to specific communities.
“Our philosophy is to do what the community wants us to do, and really be a community service organization, and we’re hoping the Summerland and Key West facilities will be here for the community,” Mahadevan said.
Mahadevan introduced Dan Gallagher, who is in charge of the lab’s education and outreach programs that enable Monroe County students to visit the labs, participate in research studies and promote the use of technology in distance-learning projects.
For example, Mote Marine is preparing to install a live video camera at Looe Key reef to allow students in North Dakota see a coral reef, and watch divers explore it.
The lab on Summerland Key is open, but crews are working on the installation of a visitor center for the public to actually see what is happening and watch the research take place. That center is expected to open in the spring, while the public center at the Key West facility should be open this October, Mahadevan said.
By Mandy Bolen, keysnews.com
