27/02/19
Recorded Temperature: Around 34 degrees
Location: Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers, FL.
Time of Departure to Location: 9 am
Arriving upon Florida Golf Coast University we where greeted by out student tour guides, Kate and Rachel, who where current students at the university. They informed us that the University was founded in 1991 on the 3rd May. FGCU is a total of 760 acres of campus located 21 miles from Naples and south of Fort Myers.
Kate and Rachel guided us around the large campus while providing knowledge on each department, and the university itself.
They explained to us the intense use of sustainability efforts provided throughout the university and the emphasis to students and lecturers on being globally friendly. Solar panels where installed into the university.
Taylor Hancock met us after our guided tour and took us to one o the computer rooms where we lectured us on his research topic ‘Molecular prey identification for the critically endangered smalltooth sawfish’.
He spoke about the small tooth sawfish species having a late sexual maturity, males taking seven and a half years while females taking ten twelve years, making them a slow population growth. The average size of the Sawfish (Xiphophorus hellerii) is five point five metres, and is one of the highest predators in the estuaries.
He spoke about his work, having 16 samples which where collected between the years or 2010 and 2015, which the majority of these samples where taken from juveniles.
He ran BLAST searches to identify species which were able to determin what fish the sawfish where eating.
After the talk we headed over to a local natural trail which was on the grounds of the University, when we encourage by our lecture Christian Dunn to head off trail and emerge ourselves into our environment for about an hour. Heading off in our different directions we stood in the middle of a cypress swamp looking at the environment around us.
Finishing our walk through the Cypress mangroves we headed to a mall in the Gulf Coast Town Centre, where we experienced a traditional American hunting shop. This shop was filled with stuffed trophy animals which are commonly shot in American, from Boars to gamefowl and even sharks. Guns, hunting rifles and cross bows in all colours and sizes.
From the hunting shop we headed over the road to a a puppy shop called Lil Rascals Puppies, this shop was filled with young puppies catergorised into breeds. Lack of enrichment was provided to these puppies, only a bowl and and a blanket, and some alone. Immediate stereotypical behaviours where present in these puppies, lethargy and wall biting was present, will all puppies bark prefusely for attention.
Daily Species List and Acknowledged Behaviours –
- Osprey in locomotory flight and calling.
- Puppies displaying stereotypical behaviours
- White Ibis on the sides of the road
- Great Blue Heron fishing
