Harbor Branch foundation awards grant


The Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute Foundation announces the award of a $101,600 grant to FAU Harbor Branch to support the 2020 Indian River Lagoon Graduate Research Fellows Program as well as to support for the recently held 2020 Indian River Lagoon Symposium.

This support represents net proceeds from the Foundation’s 2020 Love Your Lagoon event.

Outstanding Student Presentations Awards

Poster Presentation:
Assessing Wading Bird Disturbance by Boat Traffic on Oyster Reefs in Mosquito Lagoon Using Video Observation
John Buzby, University of Central Florida

Poster Presentation:
Connecting the Community with the Indian River Lagoon through Public Outreach Efforts
Skyler Klingshirn, Andrew Pressley, and Juliet Ruggiero,
Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute at Florida Atlantic University

Poster Presentation:
The Effect of Sea Level Rise on the Health of Sable palmetto Hammocks in the Coastal Oaks Preserve University of Central Florida
Griffin Wagner, Alex Bounassi, Maxwell Tardif, and Geena Salinas, Vero Beach High School & Sebastian River High School

3-Minute Oral Presentation:
Exposure to Multiple Algal Toxins among Young Bull Sharks,
Carcharhinus leucas, in Florida’s Indian River Lagoon
Michelle L. Edwards, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute at Florida Atlantic University

15-Minute Oral Presentation:
Quantifying the Effects of Hypoxia and Fish Kills on Fish Community Diversity in the Indian River Lagoon
Dakota M. Lewis, University of Central Florida

15-Minute Oral Presentation:
Assessing the Response of Mangrove Snapper (Lutjanus griseus) Trophic Dynamics to Oyster Reef Restoration in the Indian River Lagoon
Jennifer M. Loch, University of Central Florida

People’s Choice Awards

People’s Choice Award – Best Student Poster Presentation:
Cathodically Protected Steel as a Replacement for Plastic in Oyster Reef Restoration Methods
Morgan Gilligan & Afanasy Melnikov, Florida Institute of Technology

People’s Choice Award – Best Student 3-Minute Oral Presentation:
Exposure to Multiple Algal Toxins among Young Bull Sharks, Carcharhinus leucas, in Florida’s Indian River Lagoon
Michelle L. Edwards, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute at Florida Atlantic University

People’s Choice Award – Best Student 15-Minute Oral Presentation:
Stoichiometry of Nutrient Fluxes in Sediments
Lulia Bibire, Florida Institute of Technology

The 2020 Indian River Lagoon Symposium by the numbers:


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