Florida Atlantic University’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute has a new boat and some big plans for the upcoming tourism season. The 36-passenger pontoon tour boat, Discovery, funded by a grant from the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute Foundation, will add to its public education program offerings by providing weekly Indian River Lagoon Research excursions.
Caused by a herpesvirus, fibropapillomatosis (FP) is the most significant infectious disease affecting sea turtle populations worldwide. It is widespread in warmer climates like Florida, where almost 70 percent of sea turtles in a population have FP in some places; it has been documented in the Caribbean, South America, Hawaii, Japan, Australia, and beyond.
The Gulf Research Program (GRP) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine awarded a $346,179 grant to Laurent Chérubin, Ph.D., an associate research professor at FAU Harbor Branch.
