Stephanie Byrne

Several Lee County teachers are getting a hands-on opportunity to learn about Southwest Florida wetlands. Nine Lee County teachers are taking part in FGCU’s Wetland Academy, where the teachers get to learn from research scientists. The teachers then get to share the lessons with their classrooms. The program’s ultimate goal is to invite 20 teachers […]

An individual whale that has been studied in Florida over the last two years is part of a small group being named a new species. Where the sea creature was found sets it apart from similar animals. Rice’s whale is a newly-named species of fewer than 100 baleen whales found in the northeastern Gulf of […]

More water from Lake Okeechobee is scheduled to be sent to the Caloosahatchee River, as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to increase water releases now to potentially avoid the need for too many releases during the wet season. It’s a decision a water expert in Southwest Florida calls a gamble. “It really is […]

Two eaglets have died on Captiva Island in January. Now, the Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife (CROW) is trying to figure out why one of them died. While the necropsy results have not yet come out or been verified, CROW has said vets found a broken, bloody feather and it’s likely that one eaglet […]

Southwest Florida’s only university is at the forefront of research of the area’s unique watershed and gulf. FGCU’s The Water School is helping businesses in the region by solving our water quality issues, and it will soon have a location right on FGCU’s main campus. While The Water School was in the works before the […]

Scientists want to know the long-term effects of red tide on turtles and their hatchlings. They are collecting data and hope to be able to report back by year’s end on what the toxins from the algal blooms did to the population of sea turtles that nest in Southwest Florida shores. The massive red tide […]

University of Florida researchers want to see if sargassum seaweed that lines the coast can be used for landscaping in the state. Researchers hope to use composted sargassum seaweed for landscaping, but they are working to find out if it is safe and possible first. “It is an algae, so it has a lot of […]

Red tide levels are decreasing across our coastlines in Southwest Florida. But, for multiple animals, the damage from red tide has already been done and they need help. Sadly, fish aren’t the only creatures affected by red tide. Dr. Heather Barron is the Medical and Research Director at CROW Clinic. “We always have birds come […]

As the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers cuts back on water releases from Lake Okeechobee feeding into Southwest Florida, we decided to look at whether this will help the Caloosahatchee River bounce back Wednesday. Over the past weekend, it was clearly visible where freshwater from the Caloosahatchee met the Gulf. Darker water is a mixture […]

Dozens of vultures gathered on Bunche Beach on Tuesday feasting on dead fish that washed up on shore thanks to red tide. But further up the beach, Jerry Lightner, of Pennsylvania, said everything’s been good. Before his beach trip, he said, he read about red tide and was concerned. “Read about what it does to […]