Road to the Bioblitz: Site Scouting at Jupiter Inlet & Indian River Lagoon!.We’re prepping for June’s Infaunal Bioblitz by testing gear, scouting benthic hotspots, and getting ready to uncover life below the surface. #RoadToTheBioblitz #BioBlitz2025 #MarineScience

Road to the Bioblitz:.We took the R/V Sunburst offshore to test sampling methods, scout potential sites, and ensure everything is ready for our upcoming Infaunal Bioblitz this June. Trips and prep days like these are critical to the success of the Bioblitz! .Stay tuned for more!

Red Waves not Red Tide! .Pink waves spotted near the Fort Pierce Inlet jetty may look alarming, but they’re not caused by Red Tide. The color comes from harmless red and pink macroalgae, like Halymenia, breaking up in the surf. Some of the beautiful algae growing along our coast!

Manuscript Monday!! 🦐 Justin Scioli coauthored a paper describing Salmoneus manningi, a very rare species of symbiotic snapping shrimp from the Indian River Lagoon! 🌊📄

Creature Feature Friday: Monocorophium tuberculatum! .A type of amphipod found in freshwater, estuarine, and saltwater environments, that perfers living on or in substrate at the bottom of estuaries, bays, and intertidal brackish waters – like the IRL! .📸:Curtis Head

The Benthic Ecology Lab attended the Benthic Ecology Meeting 2025 in Mobile Alabama. We had a great time sharing our research, catching up with collaborators, and learning about the incredible work happening across benthic systems, and of course enjoying the bull shark!

Creature Feature Friday: Mnemiopsis leidyi, the Sea Walnut. M. Leydyi is a ctenophore (comb jelly). These gelatinous marine animals look similar to jellyfish but belong to the phylum Ctenophora. They use colloblasts, sticky cells, to catch their prey! .PC: Rob Aguilar, SERCINVERT

Meet Caprellidae, the skeleton shrimp! 🦐💀 These spindly amphipods cling to algae, swaying like eerie sea ghosts. Some change color to blend in, while others wield massive claws for battle! Tiny but mighty, they keep marine ecosystems in check. 🌊👀 .#SmithsonianMarineStation

Creature Feature Friday: The Spoon Worm! .Meet Ochetostoma sp., a burrowing marine worm! Once thought to be its own phylum, it’s actually an annelid that lost segmentation!.Check out instagram for more info:@smithsonianbenthicecology.PC📸: Justin Scioli. #SpoonWorm #Echiura

Extracting DNA from Organic Material!.We use chemical solutions & centrifugation to break cells, remove inhibitors & purify DNA for sequencing. 📷: Sabrina Castellanos 📩 Questions? ZehnpfennigJ@si.edu.#OceanDNA #eDNA #MarineScience #SmithsonianScience #DNAExtraction

📢JOB ALERT! .The SMS Benthic Ecology Lab is looking to hire an independent research technician contractor. Interested in applying? .Visit to see the full job description. Applications should be sent to Holly Sweat (SweatL@si.edu) by 5pm on 2/21/25.

Through his work, he aims to shed light on the poorly understood biogeography of microturbellarians. Outside of research, Yander enjoys exploring nature and collecting shells in his free time. Welcome, Yander! We look forward to your contributions and exciting discoveries ahead.

In his current role, he will focus on cataloging microturbellarians in the Indian River Lagoon and surrounding areas. These fascinating, yet often-overlooked, microscopic animals have been largely neglected in previous studies, with only six species recorded in Florida to date.

Meet our newest lab member, Yander L. Diez! .Yander joins us as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow and passionate taxonomist. Yander’s research integrates both morphological and molecular approaches to explore the diversity of molluscs, crabs, and microturbellarians.

Congrats to Iris Schmeder, one of our '24 summer interns, on her first co-authorship! This paper investigated of utilizing riparian spiders as sentinels of mercury contamination in aquatic environments. Interested in learning more? Read the full paper 🎉

Check out our most recent reel where we show you how we prepare our sediment samples for DNA extraction! 🧬.

Today we're highlighting a paper published by our newest lab member Elizabeth Urban-Gedamke. Her paper explores using a novel nutrient medium to encourage cell division and long term culture in marine sponge cells. Check it out!

📢Internship Announcement!.We are offering a year long, part time paid internship. Do you have experience with or interest in eDNA techniques? Send your CV and a brief statement of interest to SweatL@si.edu to apply!

In her free time, Elizabeth enjoys SCUBA, sailing, kayaking, and snorkeling. She also loves to travel, write, take too many photos of her cats, and making music (her other B.A. from Rollins is in vocal performance). Welcome to the lab Elizabeth!😄🦐.

As a lifelong resident of the Treasure Coast, Elizabeth has developed a passion for the Indian River Lagoon and its health. She is excited to be turning her skills towards the investigating benthic infaunal communities of the Indian River Lagoon system.