Get to Know a Marine Scientist!

Welcome to a new blog series with Shark Fin Swim. I’m Hope, the founder and ocean illustrator behind Shark Fin Swim. Our small business helps raise awareness for ocean conservation through our ocean inspired prints while using eco friendly materials and production practices to bring ocean advocates a more sustainable option for swimwear. As a biologist and purpose driven small business owner this blog series is going to help you learn more about Marine Science! Let’s meet our scientist for this week!

 

Nicole Alyse is a Marine Scientist based in Southwest Florida who studies surface water quality. Nicole graduated with her bachelor’s degree from FGCU.  Find her on Instagram at @__nautical_nicole__

 

What first inspired you to pursue a career in marine science?

As a kid I always wanted to be a coral farmer raising and planting corals back into the ocean. Seeing all the coral bleaching growing up only a few hours from the Florida Keys it was something that I was interested in. I would’ve had to move to work with coral dive the gulf side of Florida where I live doesn’t have a ton of coral and I wasn’t ready to move out of the area. I feel like water quality is the baseline foundation for everything so I figured why not start there?

Red Tide is a common issue in Florida, can you explain what Red Tide is for those who don’t know?

Red Tide is a living thing which I think a lot of people don’t realize. It’s a single celled organism (phytoplankton) but they’re in huge numbers which is what causes negative effects on human and marine life health. It’s a neurotoxin specifically Brevetoxin. When you had red tide in the water and the waves are crashing all these single called organisms together that single cell shell breaks almost like glass and releases the neurotoxin. For people if you’re asthmatic or immunocompromised it’s best to stay out of the water and away from the beach during Red Tide blooms because it is not just in the water but in the air too. It’s not uncommon to see dead birds from Red Tide as well as marine life. As a kid I always wanted to be a coral farmer raising and planting corals back into the ocean. Seeing all the coral bleaching growing up only a few hours from the Florida Keys it was something that I was interested in. I would’ve had to move to work with coral dive the gulf side of Florida where I live doesn’t have a ton of coral and I wasn’t ready to move out of the area. I feel like water quality is the baseline foundation for everything so I figured why not start there? Common symptoms for people are coughing and throat irritation. You typically see Red Tide blooms under warm water conditions where there are excess nutrients available which can be from a variety of factors. I could talk about this all day! At the simplest level without water quality we have nothing. Our sea grass beds suffer which serve as a nursery for our seahorses and fish that are brooding. They also serve as a food source for animals like our manatees. It affects our oyster beds which serve as a natural filtration system which affects our mangroves and it just keeps going. It also affects Florida on an economic level for our tourism which is a huge source of revenue for our state brings people to our beaches. Some could be from run off lawns that have been fertilized, golf courses etc.

What does a typical field day look like for you?

We’re based in an estuary so we typically start with the more fresh water or brackish water sites after gearing up the boat and work our way to the higher salinity locations throughout the day. The boat serves as a lab as well but we also take samples back to analyze on lab days. If we get a call about a sick or injured animal from the FWC (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission) then we have to go locate them. If it’s a deceased animal we relocate the animal away from, the public and try to determine the cause of death externally. If we can’t tell externally we help scribe for the FWC while they preform a necropsy to determine the cause of death.

Can you explain why water quality testing is important and the effect it has on our marine ecosystems?

 I could talk about this all day! At the simplest level without water quality we have nothing. Our sea grass beds suffer which serve as a nursery for our seahorses and brooding fish. They also serve as a food source for animals like our manatees. It affects our oyster beds which serve as a natural filtration system which affects our mangroves and it just keeps going. It also affects Florida on an economic level for our tourism which is a huge source of revenue for our state and brings people to our beaches.

One of the main threats to manatees specifically are boat strikes, are there any other main threats/ cause of illness you see that most people don’t know about? 

The main cause we see in our area is boat strikes which is usually pretty obvious to determine cause of death externally. The other main causes we see are from cold strikes if we have extended periods of cold weather in Florida. We also see parasites often as a cause of death which can be related to the cold strikes as well. If an animal is struggling during a cold strike and their immune system is suppressed they might not be able to fight off the parasites. Another reason is that during a cold strike if the animals migrate to a spring or other area there isn’t a huge food supply so they’re eating whatever they can find which isn’t always good for them and can cause them to get infected with parasites like nematodes that get into their lungs. 

Who are some of the people you look up to in the marine science community or have helped you in your career?

Obviously Sylvia Earle was a huge mentor for so many of us but also people like Steve Irwin and it might seem funny but Spongebob was a huge influence on me growing up. My professors at FGCU were amazing, many of who I still work with and for to this day since I finished my degree. They’ve always been so supportive and great at helping me network within the community.

As a Metalhead can you tell us what metal band you think your favorite marine animals would be and why?

That’s such a fun question! I love stingrays they’re my favorite but we also have electric rays and I think they’d listen to Black Sabbath when Ozzy was with them. Corals are so weird and only spawn if the moon phase is aligned so I think they’re listening to Tool all the time. sea urchins listen to thrash metal like Megadeth or Metallica and sharks probably listen to something pretty heavy like Lamb of God or Slipknot