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CURRENTS Click on the image to read the latest issue of Currents, the newsletter of the Nova Southeastern University Oceanographic Center. To view this .pdf file, you need a copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you do not have a copy, you can download it here. 
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Bernhard Riegl, NSU Oceanographic Center (OC) professor and National Coral Reef Institute (NCRI) associate director, and Richard E. Dodge, Ph.D., NSU OC dean and NCRI executive director, have recently published Coral Reefs of the USA, which is the first volume in the new series, Coral Reefs of the World. Click on the icon to read the article. |
Traditionally, the cleanliness of a beach is monitored by sampling the bathing water a few meters from shore. But since sand is an effective filter, it follows that fecal bacteria (those from sewage) may be concentrated in the sand as the tide flows and ebbs. Click on the icon to read the article. |
Madhura Mokashi, a Marine Biology major, gives a video overview of her research with research scientist Dr. Amy Hirons. Click on the icon to view the video. |
On March 6, 2008, a press conference was held at the NSU Oceanographic Center (OC) by the Port Everglades Harbor Safety Committee formerly announcing the reconfiguration of the commercial ship anchorage in Ft. Lauderdale. Click on the icon to read the article. |
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Hoping to eliminate a threat to coral reefs, the Coast Guard on Thursday announced the elimination of a ship anchorage off the Fort Lauderdale coast. Click on the icon to read the article. |
Scientists at the National Coral Reef Institute (NCRI) are currently growing more than 400 corals from the larval stage as part of a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) -funded research, and will transplant them to restore damaged coral reefs. Click on the icon to read the article. |
Richard Dodge, Ph.D., dean of NSU’s Oceanographic Center and NCRI Executive Director, was honored for his work with the Southeast Florida Coral Reef Initiative (SEFCRI) group. Click on the icon to read the article. |
NSU’s Oceanographic Center and the Circle of Friends of NSU’s Alvin Sherman Library, Research and Information Technology Center gathered to make waves in an effort to save sharks. Click on the icon to read the article. |
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Richard Dodge, Ph.D., dean and professor of the NSU Oceanographic Center (OC) and executive director of NCRI, along with researchers Dave Gilliam and Bernhard Riegl, participated on the panel “Coral Reefs and Climate Change. The conference included a keynote speech by former Vice President Al Gore. Click on the icon to read the article. |
Having been pounded for years by cargo ships running aground, the coral reefs off Fort Lauderdale will soon receive protection. Click on the icon to read the article. |
Scientists are enlisting fishermen to help determine the travels of swordfish in the South Florida area. Click on the icon to read the article. |
Graduate students from NSU’s Oceanographic Center participated in the Alaska Coastal Ecology class this past July. Click on the icon to read the article. |
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Kevin Helmle, a researcher based at the NSU Oceanographic Center (OC) National Coral Reef Institute (NCRI), is featured in the two-hour documentary special A Global Warning? on The History Channel. Click on the icon to read the article. |
Edie Widder, Ph.D., of the Ocean Research and Conservation Association, Inc., captivated a packed audience of faculty and students at the Oceanographic Center with an extraordinary presentation on her research into marine bioluminescence Click on the icon to read the article. |
Abby Renegar, Ph.D. candidate under Patricia Blackwelder, Ph.D., recently attended the Microscopy and Microanalysis Conference held Aug. 5-9 at the Broward County Convention Center. Click on the icon to read the article. |
Congressman Ron Klein visited Nova Southeastern University’s Oceanographic Center on August 17 to learn more about the outstanding science education and research being conducted. Click the icon to read the article. |
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Earlier this month, Oceanographic Center student Samara Parker, working with New England Aquarium’s Rescue and Rehabilitation Department, was one of several marine biologists to assist with the necropsy of a stranded Sei Whale. Click the icon to read the article. |
Nova Southeastern University Oceanographic Center is taking part Wednesday in gathering tire debris from the seafloor and turning it into reuseable energy. Click the icon to read the article. |
In researching for a story on the fate of coral reefs, Dan Rather and his staff learned of the coral reef research being done by scientists of the NSU National Coral Reef Institute (NCRI) and of the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium (coming to Fort Lauderdale in 2008) that NCRI is helping organize. Click the icon to read the article. |
Oceanographic Center graduate student Matthew Potenski completed five months of field research in Tanzania, on the east coast of Africa. During his time there he observed and tagged whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) in the waters surrounding Mafia Island, Tanzania. Click the icon to read the article. |
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The Oceanographic Center’s Guy Harvey Research Institute (GHRI) recently received a $5,000 donation from Yahama Contender Miami Billfish Tournament (YCMBT) to assist the GHRI’s shark and billfish research. Click the icon to read the article. |
The Marine Industries Association of South Florida Offers has offered its support for Manatee Avoidance Technology Research being studied by Oceanographic Center professor, Edward O. Keith. Click the icon to read the article. |
Oceanographic Center graduate student Maureen Trnka, and researcher, Alison Moulding, Ph.D., undertook a comprehensive review of the coral reproduction literature for the National Coral Reef Institute to identify predicted coral spawning and larval duration times in the Caribbean and to help identify gaps in scientific knowledge. Click the icon to read the article. |
Dr. Bernhard Riegl, associate professor at the OC and associate director of NCRI, and Guy Harvey were featured in an article in the December 2006 issue of Dockwalk. Click the icon to read the article. |
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Oceanographic M.S. student, Kirk Kilfoyle, and his professor, Richard Spieler, Ph.D., were recently in Mexico for a month to deploy a series of artificial reefs for the World Bank's Restoration and Remediation Working Group. Click on the icon for the complete story. |
James D. Thomas, Ph.D., professor at the NSU Oceanographic Center (OC), has discovered a new species of deep-sea amphipod crustacean that is among the rarest crustaceans known to science. Click on the icon for the complete story. |
Believed to be the oldest living animal of South Florida, the Monster Coral has been discovered in the waters of Port Everglades, in the county of Broward, by a group of investigators of the Oceanographic Center of Nova Southeastern University (NSU). Click on the icon for the complete story. |
Researchers fear more than half the world's coral reefs could die in less than 25 years and say global warming may at least partly to blame. Click on the icon for the complete story. |
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Scientists from the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science and the Nova Southeastern University.s National Coral Reef Institute are working to build an automated coral reef mapping system that will provide scientists and managers with the information necessary to improve management of coral reefs within the U.S. territorial waters. Click on the icon for the complete story. |
There seems to be some question about whether a lack of sharks are is upsetting the balance of nature. Click on the icon to hear the complete story. (KMOX 1120 AM St. Louis) |
Ocean-going vessels waiting to enter Port Everglades drop anchor in two areas nestled among three reefs that parallel the coastline. But this year, two large ships missed their mark and ran aground on the reefs, crunching delicate coral and sea fans. In response, the U.S. Coast Guard last week unveiled a draft emergency proposal: Limit the size of the vessels allowed among the reefs and restrict them to certain areas. Click on the icon for the complete story. |
Now the idea seems daft. But in the spring of 1972, the dumping of a million or so tires offshore here looked like ecological enlightenment. What happened instead is a vast underwater dump -- a spectacular disaster spawned from good intentions. Click on the icon for the complete story. |
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New studies of the white shark (aka great white) show that its social life and hunting strategies are surprisingly complex. Click on the icon for the complete story. |
A growing number of researchers say that the tire reef off the coast of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., created to stimulate new marine growth, has become an environmental disaster. Click on the icon to listen to the story on NPR's All Things Considered. |
Scientists studying mitochondrial DNA of basking sharks, found in various oceans worldwide, have found very little difference in their genetic makeup, according to a paper published in the current online edition of Biology Letters. Click on the icon for the complete story. |
Researchers are probing whether sewage and other pollution are damaging coral reefs that help protect coastal areas from storm surges. Click on the icon for the complete story. |
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Researchers have recently identified a new species of hammerhead shark hailing from waters just off the coast of South Carolina, according to two independent studies. Click on the icon for the complete story. |
Mahmood Shivji, Ph.D., director of the Guy Harvey Research Institute at NSU’s Oceanographic Center, recently returned from setting up a field research study on fish behavior in St. Thomas, USVI. Click on the icon for the complete story. |
Basking sharks may be among the largest fish in the world (they can be more than 30 feet long), but they are hardly monsters of the deep. Their slow movements make them an easy target. Because of that, they are listed as vulnerable by the World Conservation Union. But there is little data on basking shark populations. A recent study fills in the blanks a bit. Click on the icon for the complete story. |
A two-year study found that supplemental feeding changes the activity patterns, feeding habits and reproduction of stingrays. Click on the icon for the complete story. |
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A new species of hammerhead shark has been discovered off the coast of South Carolina, but summer swimmers don't have to worry—it's the sharks that are in trouble, experts say. Click on the icon for the complete story. |
Psst, beach divers and snorkelers . . . Lauderdale-By-The-Sea is not the only game in town anymore. You might want to direct your fins south to Hollywood's North Beach Park or Hallandale Beach's public swimming beach. Click on the icon for the complete story. |
Oceanographic Center faculty member Edward O. Keith, Ph.D. and his collaborator at the University of Miami, Lemnuel Aragones, Ph.D., were notified on May 24, 2006 that they were receiving a $10,000.00 grant from the Sea World Busch Gardens Conservation Fund to support our ongoing study of the Ecology and conservation of cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) in Tañon Strait, Philippines. Click on the icon for the complete story. |
On May 4-13, Oceanographic Center research assistants Pat Quinn (Ph.D. candidate) and Kirk Kilfoyle (M.S. candidate) traveled to Koror, Palau, for the Coral Reef Restoration and Remediation Working Group (RRWG), an international multi-group project funded by the World Bank Global Environmental Facility. Click on the icon for the complete story. |
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Student divers piloting their research vessel noticed the freighter just off Fort Lauderdale beach Wednesday morning. They immediately knew the 623-foot Norwegian ship was too close to shore. It was also too close to the fragile reef they had come to inspect. Click on the icon for the complete story. |
Scientists from Nova Southeastern University and the University of South Carolina have discovered a previously unknown species of hammerhead shark in the southeastern Atlantic. Click on the icon for the complete story. |
The National Coral Reef Institute (NCRI) at NSU's Oceanographic Center has been selected for an award in the amount of $10,000 from the "Protect Our Reefs" program funded by the sale of the coral reef specialty license plate. Click on the icon for the complete story. |
For years, great white sharks have been trophy-hunted for their large jaws and teeth. Now, thanks to a DNA test, conservationists have proof that smaller members of the species are being killed for their fins, which are likely sold for food in Asia. Click on the icon for the complete story. |
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Law enforcement agents are using a genetic test developed at NSU’s Guy Harvey Research Institute (GHRI) to identify fins and other products from the highly protected Great White Shark, according to an article published in the January issue of the journal Conservation Genetics. Click on the icon for the complete story. |
Scientists at Nova Southeastern University are helping federal fisheries agents bust a black market in fins with a DNA test that does what even the best biologists cannot -- tell one dismembered shark part from another. Click on the icon for the complete story. |
Mahmood Shivji, a conservation biologist at Nova Southeastern University, is helping federal fishing enforcement agents make their case against a New York seafood exporter accused of illegally possessing the fins of protected great white sharks. Click on the icon for the complete story. |
On 11 December 2005, 60 Minutes broadcast "Swimming with Sharks", about the controversies surrounding shark cage diving in South Africa. The broadcast featured R. Aidan Martin, who teaches "Biology of Sharks and Rays" through the NSU Oceanographic Center's distance education programs. Click on the icon for the complete story. |
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Oceanographic Center professor Charles Messing, Ph.D., and M.S. student Stephanie Rogers recently participated in an expedition which explored deep-sea coral reefs along Florida's east coast, from St. Augustine to the Keys. Click on the icon for the complete story. |
A huge cone of ancient coral has been discovered in the waters off Hollywood, offering scientists an unusual opportunity to learn about global warming, sewage pollution and the decline of the Everglades. Click on the icon for the complete story. |
The Mercury Pompano Beach Fishing Rodeo, a recreational fishing tradition in South Florida, is recognizing the world class fish conservation research of the Guy Harvey Research Institute at NSU’s Oceanographic Center. Click on the icon for the complete story. |
As it has for the last four years, NSU's Oceanographic Center participated in Florida Oceans Day by manning a booth at the State Capitol. Click on the icon for the complete story. |
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Five NSU Oceanographic Center / National Coral Reef Institute (NCRI) research assistants and graduate students had the opportunity to dive and visit AQUARIUS, the world's only undersea laboratory located 20 meters beneath the surface. Click on the icon for the complete story. |
Renowned marine wildlife artist and conservationist, Guy Harvey, Ph.D., has painted a mural at Terminal 1 of the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. A portion of the proceeds received for the mural will be donated to the Guy Harvey Research Institute at NSU's Oceanographic Center to support its internationally recognized research in marine conservation. Click on the icon for the complete story. |
The U.S. Coral Reef Task Force met December 2, 3, and 4 at the Intercontinental Hotel in Miami to conduct business related to the conservation of the Nation's precious coral reef resources. During the meetings, Dr. Richard Dodge of the National Coral Reef Institute ( NCRI ), reported on the successful U.S. bid to host the International Coral Reef Symposium (ICRS) in 2008. Click on the icon for the complete story. |
Here's a riddle: How do you properly manage populations of animals that play vital roles in ocean ecosystems but are heavily fished, if you cannot even determine how many of the animals are being caught? The answer is you can't. But one Florida researcher is diligently applying new and innovative marine biotechnology techniques to correcting the situation. Click on the icon for the complete story. |
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Environmental officials say a coral reef off the coast of Fort Lauderdale was heavily damaged when a freighter grounded last week. Click on the icon for the complete story. |
Tugboats pulled the grounded freighter Federal Pescadores into deeper water Sunday evening, clearing the way for divers to go in today to look for damage to coral reefs. Click on the icon for the complete story. |
In order to meet an insatiable demand for shark fins, teeth, jaws, cartilage and other body parts, commercial exploitation is depleting shark populations worldwide faster than the sharks can reproduce. Click on the icon for the complete story. |
DNA analysis of paternity is revealing that many apparently faithful animals are more promiscuous than once thought. But for the bonnethead shark, scientists have found the reverse. The revelation could have important implications for the management of shark fisheries, they report in the July issue of Molecular Ecology. Click on the icon for the complete story. |
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When the freighter Eastwind smashed part of a coral reef off Fort Lauderdale last month, it was the latest in a series of ship groundings that have hammered the reefs north of Port Everglades. Click on the icon for the complete story. |
The National Coral Reef Institute finds widespread damage resulting from the grounding of the freighter Eastwind off the coast of Ft. Lauderdale on March 26, 2004. Click on the icon for the complete story. |
Stanford Development Group is working with The Reef Ball Foundation and Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida to create a large mangrove ecosystem on Maiden Island, Antigua. Click on the icon for the complete story. |
The Guy Harvey Research Institute has just completed one of the first comprehensive biological studies of the effects of interactive marine encounters with stingrays. Click on the icon for the complete story. For |
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On Thursday, October 23, Charles Messing, Ph.D. of NSU's Oceanographic Center, co-hosted the exciting first live broadcast of "The Sherlock Project: Investigating the Natural World" from the Port Everglades entrance channel at John U. Lloyd State Park in Hollywood, FL. Click on the icon for the complete story. |
In return for NSUOC faculty and students participating in a manatee watch program during boat engine demonstrations, Honda Marine has donated a 225 HP outboard motor to the Oceanographic Center. Click on the icon for the complete story. |
A new genetic test will allow scientists to more effectively enforce the illegal plunder of great white shark populations for their fins, teeth and jaws. Click on the icon for the complete story. |
Scientists gathered at New York Aquarium in Coney Island yesterday to unveil a new method to detect great white shark parts in shark fin soup and other products. Click on the icon for the complete story. |
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NSUOC professor Dr. Mahmood Shivji has teamed with the Wildlife Conservation Society to develop a new genetic test that may lead to increased protection for great white sharks. Click on the icon for the complete story. |
A new genetic test may hold the key to saving some of the world's most threatened sharks, whose numbers are crashing for the sake of a bowl of soup. Click on the icon for the complete story. |
A new genetic test or identifying endangered species from dismembered body parts might help conservationists better document the fast-growing trade in shark fins. Click on the icon for the complete story. |
A DNA test that identifies the kind of shark ending up in shark fin soup is being hailed as a conservation breakthrough. Click on the icon for the complete story. |
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Jennifer Magnussen, NSUOC Ph.D. student in marine biology, has been awarded the Dr. Nancy Foster Scholarship for 2002. Jennifer is one of only 4 students in the nation to receive this award. Click on the icon for more information on the scholarship award. The NOAA news release can be found here. |
Recreation may not be the main reason for Nova Southeastern University's budding reef-nursery project, but certainly sport diving will benefit from it. Click on the icon for the complete story. |
A recent Science News article indicates that research and policy initiatives could take a bite out of shark exploitation. Click on the icon for the complete story. |
A burgeoning appetite for shark-fin soup has prompted the development of new genetic tests that will help safeguard the shark for commerce as well as conservation. Click on the icon for the complete story. |
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Nova Southeastern University researchers have created a ''nursery,'' where pieces of broken coral are attached to an artificial reef to grow. Click on the icon for the complete story. |
An international team of marine scientists will join hands with Dubai Municipality to conduct a series of ground-breaking studies on coral reefs at the Jebel Ali Marine Sanctuary. Click on the icon for the complete story. |
A new genetic fingerprinting technique could now allow conservationists and fisheries managers to assess which of the 400 shark species are most threatened by the booming trade in their fins. Click on the icon for the complete story. |
Shark fins bought in Hong Kong have been used by American geneticists to prove the effectiveness of DNA identification tests to help sound early alarms of overfishing of certain species. Click on the icon for the complete story. |
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A 6,000 year-old reef, once thought damaged beyond repair, now has a chance to be healed. Click on the icon for the complete story. |
After ships ground on the reefs off southeast Florida, divers attempt to salvage damaged coral. Click on the icon for the complete story. |
A stormy debate between shark fishermen and conservationists has been triggered, in part, by the growing popularity of shark fin soup. Click on the icon for the complete story. |
DNA test could help police shark fishing. Click on the icon for the complete story. |
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Two graduate students from the Guy Harvey Research Institute at Nova Southeastern University Oceanographic Center are working with artist Guy Harvey to study the life history, biology, behavior and economic value of Grand Cayman's stingrays. Click on the icon for the complete story. |
Late on the evening of August 6th a team of researchers from the National Coral Reef Institute [NCRI] at Nova Southeastern University witnessed a spawning event of staghorn coral, Acropora cervicornis, located on Southeast Florida coral reefs off Ft. Lauderdale. Click on the icon for more details. |
Every Thursday and Saturday, divers attend the feeding of Caribbean Reef sharks, conducted by Ocean Frontiers, in conjunction with the Guy Harvey Research Institute. Click on the icon for more details. |
Nova Southeastern University is now accepting applications for an MS degree in Coastal Zone Management. Evening courses will be held at NSU's West Palm Beach Center starting Fall 2001 or Winter 2002. Click on the icon for more details. |
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A view of our lab |
Where are we located?
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Current weather conditionsin the Ft. Lauderdale area |