Casey Boleman Butler

Helicopter surveys

I got to assist University of Florida scientists with boat use surveys in Miami-Dade and Broward counties during holiday weekends. They were interested in what type of user-groups were out there -- commercial or recreational, and whether they were fishing, diving, etc.

Coral Restoration

FWC's Fish and Wildlife Research Institute has a couple of staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis) coral nurseries in the Florida Keys. Once the corals are big enough we can outplant them to areas on the reef where they have been depleated.

coral fragmentation

The staghorn corals can be fragmented, or broken up into smaller pieces. All of the corals in the FWC's FWRI nurseries are from just a few original coral colonies that are genetically identical 'genets'. There are currently ~20-30 genets in these nurseries.

coral trees

Coral farming relies on the corals being away from algae and other competitors, so suspending them on these trees helps to keep algal growth down. It also reduces the amount of scrubbing needed by minions like myself :)

coral in Belize

Belize is home of the second largest barrier reef in the world. I helped out with a study-abroad course that allowed students to submerse themselves in the world of marine ecology.

sponge and brittle stars

At the Pelican Cayes World Heritage Site in Belize, mangrove, coral, and seagrass habitats converge!

Elkhorn coral

Acropora palmata, a threatened type of branching coral. These corals are susceptible to disease and impact from boats and storms.

Coral Banded Shrimp

This guy came out to show off for the marine ecology class group in Belize. (Stenopus hispidus)

spiny lobster infected with PAV1

Juvenile spiny lobsters (Panulirus argus) are prone to infection by a herpes-like virus "Panulirus argus Virus 1" or PAV1. It essentially infests itself in the host's blood cells, replicating the virus until the blood cells lyse, or explode. This eventually makes the lobster's clear blood turn white. They get very sluggish and stop molting. These highly infected juveniles die.

Jack and the Twin Vee

My husband and I met while doing research with Old Dominion University

hitchhiker

This guy was tired of swimming and climbed up in our boat. Silly iguana

loggerhead sponge

Loggerhead sponges can grow to be the size of small Volkswagon cars, and filter a crap ton of water. Issues with algal blooms can wipe out these animals.

barrel sponges at the reef

exploring the reef in the Bahamas

Abaco, Bahamas

a special kind of match

silly azure sponge

My favorite sponge is this beautiful reef sponge. It looks luminescent even at depth, with beautiful purple-blue tones. You can usually find brittle stars, gobies, or shrimp in these beauties.

silly sponge with a brittle star

heart-shaped azure sponge

silly barrel sponge

silly sponge

being a goof

underwater soundscape research

My husband Jack is working on characterizing sound of various habitats found in Florida Bay, and how the sound affects the recruitment of larvae to these habitats.

little spiny lobster

Tennessee Reef Light

Florida Keys