Year: 2022
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Green Guide to the Holidays
An Ecology Florida Feature December 2022 Monica Starr Americans produce considerably more waste during the holiday season. Specifically, from Thanksgiving to New Year’s, we throw away 25% more trash compared to the rest of the year [2]. Last year, I wrote an article explaining various ways to make mindful and sustainable choices. This year, I…
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Maine Takes the Lead on Food Sovereignty—But Can Florida Catch Up?
by Lana Chehabeddine November 2022 Maine has officially broken U.S. (food) history, by opening the doors for its consumers to embrace and implement the idea behind ‘the right to food’. You may be thinking, “but doesn’t this exist already”? The answer is not so black and white. Typically, state and local regulations prevent consumers from…
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Protect the Keys
An Ecology Florida Feature October 6, 2022 by Monica Starr The Florida Keys is a marine protected area that includes productive seagrass beds, mangrove forests and over 6,000 species of marine life [1]. North America’s only coral barrier reef is often subject to activities including snorkeling, fishing, sailing, scuba diving, kayaking and boating. The 120-mile-long…
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Monarch Butterflies Added to the Endangered Species Red List
Ecology Florida August 2022 by Monica Starr The monarch butterfly embarks on an annual migration which can reach up to 2,800 miles from southeast Canada to central Mexico [1]. These beautiful insects have two pairs of orange-red wings with black veins and distinguishing white spots along the edges. The males have black dots along the…
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Citrus Greening Still Impacting Farmers in Florida
July 2022 An Ecology Florida Feature by Monica Starr As the end of citrus season approaches here in the state of Florida, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has estimated a record-low harvest. Compared to the previous growing season, the production of oranges, grapefruit and other specialty crops is already down about 22% [1]. This season,…
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Giant African Snail Infestation in Pasco County
It was confirmed on June 23rd that a Giant African land snail was present in Pasco County. The recent snail sighting was discovered by a Master Gardener in the New Port Richey area near Massachusetts Avenue and Rowan Road [1]. This first snail confirmed was nearly eight inches long which is about the maximum size…
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Fleet Farming in Orlando
by Monica Starr June 2022 Fleet Farming is an Orlando-based non-profit urban agriculture project that transforms lawns into productive micro farms and gardens. Creating localized food systems in areas without access to fresh produce, it converts underutilized lawn space to edible gardens at schools, community centers, and affordable housing units. Besides addressing food-security issues, Fleet…
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Earth Day History in Florida
by Monica Starr April 2022 An Ecology Florida Feature Every year, April 22nd represents the start of the modern environmental movement. Since 1970, we have been celebrating the planet while providing a voice to the environmental concerns here in the United States. Today, there are almost 200 countries around the world that are engaged with…
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3D Printing Tech Helps Treat ZooTampa Hornbill’s Tumor
by Monica Starr April 2022 An Ecology Florida Feature Advancements in 3D-printing technology has been represented in the medical community all over the world. Most recently in Tampa, researchers were able to save a resident that developed a fatal form of cancer. Crescent is the 25-year old female hornbill who currently resides at ZooTampa. After…
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Manatees Continue to Struggle Here in Florida
by Monica Starr February 2022 Along the Atlantic coast, Florida manatee mortalities continue to increase and organizations like the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are currently investigating why. Similarly, various environmental conditions in the Indian River Lagoon are also of concern. It is extremely important to…