We would like to say a big “thank you” to Stefanie Plein for her fascinating presentation on bottlenose dolphins of Sanibel and Captiva at our February Zoom meeting! If you missed the presentation, you can learn more about dolphins and New Wave Marine Foundation at captivadolphins.org.
Our shell club meetings are traditionally held on the second Sunday of the month, but please note that our March and April Zoom meetings will both be on the THIRD Sunday of the month at 2 PM EST. Be sure to join us to hear these informative and entertaining speakers!
March 19: Dr. Stephen P. Geiger, “Marine gastropod studies at the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute: a shift in foci for molluscan fisheries”
April 16: Paul Jones, “Bivalves of Sicily”
In March, Dr. Geiger will give a very brief overview of the molluscan studies at the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute including a discussion of Florida’s oysters, clams, scallops and marine snails. He will also explain why a gastropod project was started and what it has revealed. Are horse conch numbers on the decline? How are the bay scallops faring? Which Florida gastropods are endangered? You’ll learn about all of this and more at our next meeting!
Dr. Steve Geiger is a Research Scientist in the Marine Shellfish Biology section of Florida Wildlife Research Institute’s Marine Fisheries Research division (Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission) based in St. Petersburg, FL. He has worked on Molluscan Fisheries since 2001 and has been a Research Scientist since 2009 with a focus on monitoring and restoration of bay scallops, restoration and monitoring of oysters, monitoring of oysters as an indicator for Everglades Restoration, and development of a program to monitor biodiversity in gastropods. He is also called upon to study other molluscan issues as needed. In addition, Dr. Geiger is a shell-collector, former editor and contributor for the newsletter Suncoast Shorelines, and current vice president of the Suncoast Conchologists.