The distribution and direct impacts of marine debris on the commercial shrimping industry.

Commercial shrimpers frequently encounter marine debris in their nets, resulting in economic impacts. Currently, no information existed on the spatial and temporal distribution of marine debris that shrimpers encounter and the subsequent economic impact on commercial shrimping. Twenty commercial shrimpers participated in a comprehensive data collection program (July 2020 through December 2020) within the north-central Gulf of Mexico, USA to characterize the quantity and impacts of marine debris.

Defining distribution and habitat use of west-central Florida's coastal sharks through a research and education program.

Identifying critical habitat for highly mobile species such as sharks is difficult, but essential for effective management and conservation. In regions where baseline data are lacking, non-traditional data sources have the potential to increase observational capacity for species distribution and habitat studies. In this study, a research and education organization conducted a 5-year (2013-2018) survey of shark populations in the coastal waters of west-central Florida, an area where a diverse shark assemblage has been observed but no formal population analyses have been conducted.

Exploration of the Canyon-Incised Continental Margin of the Northeastern United States Reveals Dynamic Habitats and Diverse Communities.

The continental margin off the northeastern United States (NEUS) contains numerous, topographically complex features that increase habitat heterogeneity across the region. However, the majority of these rugged features have never been surveyed, particularly using direct observations. During summer 2013, 31 Remotely-Operated Vehicle (ROV) dives were conducted from 494 to 3271 m depth across a variety of seafloor features to document communities and to infer geological processes that produced such features.