Gulf Specimen Marine Laboratory

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Gulf Specimen Marine Laboratory, Inc
PredecessorGulf Specimen Marine Company, Panacea Institute of Marine Science
FounderJack and Anne Rudloe
59-2021454
Location
  • Panacea Florida
Official language
English
Managing Director
Jack Rudloe
General Manager
Cypress Rudloe
Office Manager
Debbie Clifford
Biologist
Tom Harrah
David Frisby, Andrea Carter, Robert Seidler, Jack Rudloe, Cypress Rudloe
Staff
6
Websitehttp://www.gulfspecimen.org
External videos
Jack and Cypress Rudloe with the Sea Mobile
video icon Gulf Specimen Sea Turtle Release of "Spot" Rehabilitated Kemp's Ridley
video icon WFSU Demensions Allie the Sea Turtle Release

Gulf Specimen Marine Laboratory (GSML) is an independent not-for-profit marine research and education organization and public aquarium in Panacea, Florida, USA.

History

The laboratory has its origins in Gulf Specimen Marine Company, which was founded by writer and naturalist Jack Rudloe in 1963 as a marine specimen company primarily supplying scientists. John Steinbeck was an important mentor to the company.[1] The present location in Panacea, Florida, was purchased in 1964. In 1971 Rudloe married marine biologist Anne Eidemiller; Anne Rudloe founded the Panacea Institute of Marine Science' in 1980.[2] In 1980 this became a registered non-profit as Gulf Specimen Marine Laboratories, Inc., with Jack and Anne Rudloe as cofounders.[3]

In 2010 Jack and Anne's son Cypress Rudloe took over as general manager.[4] In 2012, Richard Gordon joined as emeritus scientist. In December 2014 the aquarium suffered a major setback when the aging ozonator donated to GSML two decades before by Valdosta State University stopped working. The Aquarium launched a social media campaign and by March 2015 had raised over $70,000 to purchase the new equipment and to rebuild and upgrade the associated water purification system.[5][6] The new water purification system, donated at cost by Xylem Inc. came on line June, 2015.[7][8]

Activities

In addition to providing specimens for other scientists, GSML publishes both peer-reviewed scientific works and popular articles, and is involved in environmental activism, particularly in regards to coastal wetlands preservation. GSML also rescues and rehabilitates marine organisms, especially sea turtles. In 1990 the Gulf Specimen Marine Aquarium opened to the public; it has over 15,000 visitors annually.[4][9] Norman Griggs DVM of Shepherd Spring Animal Hospital is the GSML veterinarian. He provides sea turtle care pro bono and in 2015 allowed GSML to expand the hospital facilities to include a sea turtle tank.[10][11][12]

Wetland preservation

Gulf Specimen Marine Lab has worked to preserve coastal wetlands and in particular is directly involved in the preservation of 35,000 acres of wetlands in the Florida Panhandle and the Florida Big Bend region through government lobbying, appearances at public meetings, television and radio appearances, and popular articles and books about marine wetlands.[9][13][14][15][16][17]

Jellyfish industry

Gulf Specimen Marine Laboratory was involved in early efforts to establish the now successful jellyfish export industry on the East Coast of the US.[18][19][20][21]

Sea turtle rescue

Gulf Specimen Marine Laboratory staff began tagging sea turtles under the guidance of Archie Carr[22][23] and were the third sea turtle rescue organization in Florida. GSML is one of 23 state-permitted captive sea turtle facilities and the northernmost in Florida.[24] In addition to short-term rescue such as cold stunning[25] and fish hook removal[26] the lab provides long-term rehabilitation.[27] The lab lacks specialized laser treatment surgical equipment for sea turtles and must transfer them from the Panhandle region to facilities such as Clearwater Marine Aquarium if they require laser treatment for fibropapillomatosis.[10] However Dr. Griggs have been successful in complex surgical procedures such as reconstructive surgery on partial amputations.[28] Their best known sea turtle was "Allie", a 250 lb (113 kg), 50-year-old female loggerhead sea turtle rescued by a local commercial fisherman at Alligator Point, Florida, on May 15, 2012. Allie required 14 months of care before she was returned to the wild on June 22, 2013. Thousands of people followed her recovery online and 1500 people came to see her released at Bald Point State Park.[27][29] In 2015 GSML joined the Responsible Pier Initiative [1] as a partner with The Loggerhead Marinelife Centre.

Education

Gulf Specimen Marine Lab staff and volunteers use experiential learning approaches to teach marine science and environmental awareness. GSML has several "touch tanks" of various sizes where visitors are encouraged to handle marine organisms "to overcome fear and increase curiosity and thereby learning"[30] as well as guided marsh walks and visits to the GSML dock.[9] The laboratory is visited by an average of 12,000 children in 400 school groups each year.[9] In 2011 GSML added the Sea Mobile, a mobile version of the touch tank display, to provide the experience to groups unable to travel to the aquarium.[4] GSML also provides internship opportunities to university students.[31]

Contributions to research

Gulf Specimen Marine Laboratory provides marine specimens to scientists worldwide, including some that were the first specimen known to science, such as Chiropsella rudloei.[32][33][34] GSML provided organisms sent to space by NASA.[35] In addition GSML has supported direct research; for example, the laboratory assisted with an update to the 1957 Winston Menzel Annotated Check-list of the Marine Fauna and Flora of the region[9][36] and provided the National Geographic Society-supported "PhotoArk" project with several specimens.[37] In 1968 GSML provided the first specimens of the bryozoan Bugula neritina used by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to develop the bryostatin family of drugs used for treatment of cancer, HIV, Alzheimer’s disease and strokes.[38][39] Authors associated with GSML and its predecessor the Panacea Institute of Marine Science have published more than 40 peer-reviewed scientific articles on horseshoe crabs, electric rays, mysid shrimp, sea turtles, and algae fuel.[9][40][41]

Awards

  • 2014 Education and Outreach Environmental Law Institute National Wetlands Award[42]
  • 2004 ChevronTexaco Conservation Award[35]
  • 2003 Gulf Guardian Award Winners (3rd)[43]
  • 2003 Governor's Community Investment Award, Partners in Prevention.[44]

References

  1. ^ T. Manning, S. Matos, B. Addler, "Hidden Treasure: The Steinbeck-Rudloe Letters", Steinbeck Studies 16.1–2 (2005) 109–17
  2. ^ "Alumna Writes, Lives, Researches Florida Ecology", Mocavo Records, MWC Today, Spring 1983, pp. 7–8
  3. ^ "Gulf Specimen Marine Laboratories Conservation Plan for Individual Take Permit", Permits and Authorizations, Fisheries, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, January 27, 2003, retrieved January 30, 2015.
  4. ^ a b c Haloub, Bonnie. "Panacea marine lab celebrates 50 years", Tallahassee Democrat, May 12, 2014, retrieved January 30, 2015.
  5. ^ Portman, J Marine lab needs help to keep caring for its sea creatures Tallahassee Democrat, Feb 2015, retrieved May 21, 2015
  6. ^ "Spot" Gives You Two Flippers Up For Your Support of Our Ozonator System Sunday, March 8, 2015, Retrieved May 21, 2015
  7. ^ Etters, K New water-purifying system installed at Panacea marine lab Tallahassee Democrat June 18, 2015, Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  8. ^ Xylem supports Gulf Specimen Marine Laboratory’s sea turtle rehabilitation program Retrieved Jan 26, 2015
  9. ^ a b c d e f Bettendorf, Elizabeth. "A place, a purpose, a Panacea", Florida State University Research Review, Summer 2009, pp. 28–39.
  10. ^ a b Gannet Newsservice, "Sea turtle said to suffer from disease caused by humans" 10News this morning, November 28, 2013, retrieved February 4, 2015
  11. ^ Aleman, L. "Panacea’s Gulf Specimen Marine Laboratories Celebrates 50th Year", 850 Business Magazine, Feb-Mar 2015
  12. ^ Portman J Spot the sea turtle slips back into the waves Tallahassee Democrat, June 2, 2015 (Retrieved June 4, 2015)
  13. ^ Wyatt Blassingame, "Jack and the Dragline. One man’s unwavering battle to save North Florida’s Marshes", Audubon75.3, May 1973, pp. 53–59
  14. ^ Neil Maxwell, "Lonely Causes. Jack Rudloe’s Crusade to Save Tidal Swamps Wins Him Few Friends. He Says Dredging Projects Will ruin Florida Coast: An Altruist or a 'Nut'?", Wall Street Journal, Vol. CLXXXIII No. 22, January 31, 1974.
  15. ^ "Jack and Anne Rudloe reach millions to save Florida wetlands", Wetlands Warriors 2005, p. 2
  16. ^ L. Willoughby, Flowing Through Time: A History of the Lower Chattahoochee River, University of Alabama Press, 1999, p. 183
  17. ^ E. Whitney, D. B. Means, A. Rudloe, Priceless Florida: Natural Ecosystems and Native Species, Pineapple Press, 2004
  18. ^ "Goodbye Oysters, Hello Jellyfish?". Miami Herald. 17 July 1988.
  19. ^ Morgenthaler, Eric (14 December 1992). "U.S. Has Jellyfish That Nobody Wants Except Maybe in Asia: Man With Plan in Panacea, Fla., Sees Export Opportunity In What is Usually a Bane". Wall Street Journal. pp. A1, A4.
  20. ^ "Jellyfish Alert: taking the sting out", New York Times Magazine, September, 1995.
  21. ^ Bland, Alister (31 January 2014). "Southern Fishermen Cash In On Asia's Taste For Jellyfish". NPR. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  22. ^ Anne and Jack Rudloe, "Sea Turtles. In a Race for Survival", National Geographic 185.2, February 1994, pp. 94–121
  23. ^ Western Atlantic Turtle Symposium (San José, Costa Rica, 1983), U.S. National Report, WATS I, Vol 3, No. 53, pp. 423–88.
  24. ^ "Where to view Sea Turtles", Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Retrieved January 30, 2015
  25. ^ "Cold Stunning Participants", Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Retrieved January 30, 2015.
  26. ^ Anderson, D. "Discover Our Local Aquarium: Gulf Specimen Marine Lab", Outdoor and Nature, Visit Tallahassee, A Division of Leon County, Florida
  27. ^ a b Nickerson, E. "Allie The Sea Turtle Released Into The Wild" WCTV2, Tallahassee, Florida, June 22, 2013, retrieved January 30, 2015.
  28. ^ Zema,N Injured sea turtle lent a hand Wakulla News August 26, 2015, retrieved Aug 28, 2015
  29. ^ Swoboda, L. Day trippers Flock to Turtle Release, Aplalach Times, June 26, 2013
  30. ^ P. M. Franklin, N. J. Mikula, Backroads of Florida: Your Guide to Great Day Trips & Weekend Getaways, Voyageur Press, 2009, p. 147
  31. ^ "Interning at Gulf Specimen Marine Laboratory", WFSU Ecology Blog video
  32. ^ Chiropsella rudloei, at Wikispecies
  33. ^ Bastian Bentlage, "Description of the chirodropid box jellyfish Chiropsella rudloei sp. nov. (Cnidaria: Cubozoa) from Madagascar Marine Biodiversity Records", Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 6 (2013) e118, doi:10.1017/S1755267213000924;
  34. ^ Bentalge, B. "A Jellyfish meets its namesake: Wetland Warrior Jack Rudloe", Department of Invertebrate Zoology News - No Bones, Washington DC, Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, 20 May 2014, retrieved January 30, 2015
  35. ^ a b Environmental Heroes Honored at 50th Annual ChevronTexaco Conservation Awards Investors, Press Release, Chevron Texaco, Sep 9, 2004, Retrieved January 30, 2015
  36. ^ R. Winston Menzel, Annotated Check-list of the Marine Fauna and Flora of the St. George's Sound-Applachee Bay Region, Florida Coast (Contribution No. 61) 1956
  37. ^ About the PhotoArk, Joel Sartore Photography Inc., 2014, retrieved February 4, 2015
  38. ^ Thomas J. Manninga et al., "Identifying bryostatins and potential precursors from the bryozoan 'Bugula neritina'", Natural Product Research 19.5 (2005) 467–1
  39. ^ Halford, B. "The Bryostatins' Tale", Chemical and Engineering News 89.43, October 24, 2011, pp. 10–17
  40. ^ V. Vinayak, R. Gordon, S. Gautam, A. Rai, "Discovery of a Diatom That Oozes Oil", Advanced Science Letters 20 (7-9), 1256-1267, July 1, 2014
  41. ^ Jack and Anne Rudloe Papers, University of Florida Smathers Libraries - Special and Area Studies Collections
  42. ^ 2014 Education and Outreach National Wetlands Awards Winners, Environmental Law Institute, Washington DC, Retrieved January 30, 2015
  43. ^ Gulf Guardian Award Winners 2003, 3rd US Environmental Protection Agency, Gulf Guardian Award Winners 2003, Youth/Education Category - 3rd Place, Project #: GG-03-2, Gulf of Mexico Program Office, MS, Retrieved January 30, 2015
  44. ^ Chandler, D. "Domino's owner wins community award", The Gainesville Sun, October 21, 2003, retrieved Feb 4, 2015

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gulf_Specimen_Marine_Laboratory&oldid=701785015"