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Spanish Moss is familiar to anyone who has visited Florida. It can appear anywhere as a result of the wind dispersing its seeds as it does the seeds of dandelions. But development of the draping clusters of Spanish Moss depends on the seed landing in the right place – on a horizontal limb of a rough-barked tree near water or in a very humid environment. Most Spanish Moss plants only grow to a bit over a foot long, but as they reproduce, one plant becomes many plants linked together by their limb-like scaly-surfaced leaves. There is safety and a future for the plants in such a mass. The cluster of plants holds moisture in – allowing them to survive dry times and also facilitating pollination as insects move from a flower on one plant to a flower on another in the cluster. A mass of Spanish Moss plants appears gray during dry times as the plant shrinks, but is green in appearance as rains allow the plant to swell with water and expose bare areas between the scales.

The Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law this month by President Biden, includes more than $360 billion for energy and climate reform. We’ll explore what the new law could mean for climate change mitigation efforts in Florida with professor and Director of the Center for Environment and Society at Florida Gulf Coast University Jennifer Jones, Ph.D.

About 13 years ago Tamaqua Borough in Pennsylvania passed an ordinance prohibiting corporations from dumping waste sludge into open-pit mines by mandating…

Storks are large, somewhat heron-like birds that spend a lot of time feeding and standing or sitting around – sometimes in small groups. Like herons and egrets, they feed on fish, crayfish and other small animals that they capture in aquatic environments. They are unique birds that may be most closely, but still distantly, related to pelicans. The Wood Stork is North America’s only native stork and is easily recognized by its primarily white plumage with black wing tips, a long heavy bill, long legs, pink feet, and a relatively bare head with wrinkled neck skin. A Wood Stork’s bill is not designed for spearing prey, but for deftly grabbing it. Among a Wood Storks unusual behaviors, a Wood Stork will often rest on its “heels” while sitting on the ground with its feet lifted above the ground. It will also sometimes stand on one leg with its other foot lifted and propped against the leg it is standing on.

We’re joined by David Wolff, founder of a nonprofit company called Ocean Habitats that’s creating and selling mini artificial reefs that are generally…

This weekend saw protests around the state over water quality issues. With a thick mat of blue-green algae creeping along the Caloosahatchee River and a…

As springtime unfolds and temperatures warm up, many animals are more active, leading to more opportunities for human interaction. You may have seen the…

The Pigmy Rattlesnake is four to six inches long at birth and some adults can reach two and a half feet – although most reach only about 20 inches. It is…

The use of plastics has in many ways changed how we live. But, according to researchers, roughly 8 million tons of plastic waste winds up in the oceans…

In his seminal work, “The Immense Journey,” author and anthropologist Loren Eiseley penned the often cited quote:“If there is magic on this planet, it is…