POETIC LICENSE OR REMEMBRANCE OF THINGS PAST? |
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The Indian River Lagoon is believed to be the most biologically diverse estuary in North America.
On Wednesday, March 26, for the last event in the ongoing HARBOR BRANCH Ocean Science Lecture Series,
Dr. Dennis Hanisak, director of the institution's Marine Education and Marine Science Divisions, will
discuss how the lagoon's health is directly tied to its water quality and the health of its seagrass
beds. He will also explain how those of us fortunate enough to live on or near the lagoon impact it
and why some areas of the lagoon have lost significant amounts of seagrass in recent years due to
human activities that reduce water quality. Finally, Dr. Hanisak will address the question of whether
historical references to "the gleaming Indian River with its waves of blue" are an example of poetic
license or remembrances of a healthier past for the lagoon.
Dr. M. Dennis Hanisak has 30 years of experience in marine biology and ecology. He has worked at HARBOR BRANCH since 1977 conducting research on seaweed and seagrass in the Indian River Lagoon as well as in other parts of Florida, the Bahamas, and the Caribbean. He is a past president of the Phycological Society of America, current chairman of its Board of Trustees, and the president-elect of the International Phycological Society. He received his Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from the University of Rhode Island. Dr. Hanisak will give his talk at both 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 19 at the main auditorium of the Johnson Education Center at HARBOR BRANCH Oceanographic Institution, 5600 U.S. 1 North, Fort Pierce, FL. The talk is free to the public. For more information, please contact the Marine Education Office at 772-465-2400, ext. 506, or email education@hboi.edu. FULL SCHEDULE FOR 2003 OCEAN SCIENCE LECTURE SERIES: January 8 - Shirley Pomponi & Don Liberatore - Submersible Science at Harbor Branch: Looking from the Inside Out January 15 - John Tucker - Marine Foodfish Culture and Stocking January 22 - Edie Widder - Bioluminescent Oddities and Wonders January 29 - Ned Smith - What Goes Around Comes Around: The Gulf Stream and the Circulation of the North Atlantic Ocean February 5 - Greg Bossart - Emerging Diseases in Marine Mammals: Should "Flipper" Be Worried? February 12 - Tammy Frank - Lifestyles of the Very Hot, the Very Cold and the Very Deep: How Do They Survive There? February 19 - Clay Cook - "Hunger Makes Strange Bedfellows": Symbiosis of Algae with Corals, Sea Anemones and other Marine Organisms February 26 - Joe Lopez - The World as a Classroom: Molecular Studies of Marine Biodiversity in the Field March 5 - Lee Frey - Robot Explorers: A Look at Unmanned Underwater Vehicles March 12 - Amy Wright - DBMR: The Deep Sea-Link to Drug Discovery March 19 - Megan Davis & Ken Riley - A Fish Eye's View of Aquaculture March 26 - Dennis Hanisak - "The Gleaming Indian River with Its Waves of Blue": Poetic License or Remembrances of Things Past? (Kermit Returns) HARBOR BRANCH Oceanographic Institution, Inc., is one of the world's leading nonprofit oceanographic research organizations dedicated to exploration of the earth's oceans, estuaries and coastal regions for the benefit of humankind. CONTACTS: Mark Schrope - Science Writer 772-465-2400 x433) • schrope@hboi.edu Jan Petri - Government and Public Relations 772-465-2400 x241 • petri@hboi.edu |