{"id":883,"date":"2019-10-09T12:21:14","date_gmt":"2019-10-09T16:21:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/scotchbonnet\/?p=883"},"modified":"2021-01-05T17:23:10","modified_gmt":"2021-01-05T22:23:10","slug":"fall-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/scotchbonnet\/2019\/10\/fall-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"Fall 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
Above: An ocean sunfish (Mola mola) in the Open Sea exhibit. \u00a9Monterey Bay Aquarium<\/em><\/p>\n Welcome to the newest online issue of Scotch Bonnet<\/em>. This marine education newsletter also is available as a PDF<\/a>, if you\u2019re like me and want to keep a hard copy.<\/p>\n At this time last year, communities were struggling to recover from Hurricane Florence and the subsequent flooding. This year, Ocracoke and Hatteras Islands were hit hard by record flooding during Hurricane Dorian. Our North Carolina Sea Grant thoughts go out to all the teachers, students, schools, and families that suffered damage from the storm or flooding.<\/p>\n We hope that you\u2019re up and back to normal very soon! Providing students with a strong foundation in science and knowledge about our environment will help prepare them for future disasters like this one.<\/p>\n Those of you who know me well know that I have a favorite fish: the ocean sunfish, Mola mola<\/em>.\u00a0 For some reason these giant swimming heads caught my attention many years ago, and I have been fascinated and thrilled by them ever since!<\/p>\n I thought I knew a lot about these way cool fish, but I just learned about a new species of sunfish that has been documented recently in Monterey Bay. The hoodwinker sunfish, Mola tecta<\/em>, was first described in 2017 by Murdoch University\u2019s (Australia) Marianne Nyegaard. After examining 150 DNA samples, she found four separate species of sunfish, yet only three had ever been seen!<\/p>\n Now the new species, the hoodwinker sunfish, has been documented in Monterey Bay. It was recently photographed by a friend of mine: J.R. Sosky, a middle school science teacher in Monterey, California!\u00a0 Read about this \u201cMajor Mola Moment\u201d and check out J.R.\u2019s underwater photo here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Molas have been sighted regularly by fishing boats and from fishing piers here on the Outer Banks.\u00a0 I have been lucky enough to see two species of ocean sunfish over the last 35 years of living here, including several sightings of Mola mola<\/em>.<\/p>\n One Friday, back in the mid-1980s when I was working at the N.C. Aquarium on Roanoke Island, a noted naturalist from the Edenton area came in to tell us about a large stranded (dying) fish he found on Pea Island.\u00a0 The way he described it made it clear to me that this was an ocean sunfish.\u00a0 A friend and I left work early that day and headed down to Pea Island to see if we could find this unusual animal.\u00a0 YES, we located the animal, but it wasn\u2019t an ocean sunfish \u2013 it was a sharptail mola, with an elongated upper caudal fin!<\/p>\n You can also learn more<\/a> about the ocean sunfish group from the Two Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town, South Africa.<\/p>\n If you want to see an ocean sunfish, the Monterey Bay Aquarium<\/a> has one (sometimes two) in its Open Sea tank. In fact, Monterey is the first aquarium in North America to maintain ocean sunfish in captivity!<\/p>\n If you can\u2019t get to Monterey, you can watch their Open Sea web cam<\/a> on your streaming device.\u00a0 It\u2019s mesmerizing and calming to watch tunas, sharks, bonito, and other species (including the ocean sunfish) swim so gracefully through the water. I am gazing at Monterey Bay Aquarium\u2019s mola as I work on this issue!<\/p>\n Thanks to Carrie Council, Lauren Daniel, Megan Davis, Melissa Dowland, Dymond Generette, Barbara Goldentyer, Ashely Hamlet, Jessican Janc, C.C. King, Gail Lemiec, Alison Manka, Jennifer Metzler-Fiorino, Jennifer Phelps, Tanya Poole, Gretchen Smith, Renee Strnad, Dave Sybert, Dana Thomason, and Brooke Wilson for their contributions to this issue.<\/p>\n Wishing you all a wonderful fall season!<\/p>\n As you explore this new issue of Scotch Bonnet<\/em>, you will notice professional development opportunities and family adventures for everyone. Take advantage of these wonderful conferences, workshops and more, especially if you\u2019re working on your environmental education certification. There\u2019s a lot going on in North Carolina and beyond!<\/p>\n coastalstudiesinstitute.org<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n What:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Blue Heron Bowl<\/strong> The 2020 Blue Heron Bowl, a regional part of the National Ocean Sciences Bowl (NOSB), will be hosted by the Coastal Studies Institute on North Carolina\u2019s Outer Banks. This competition is open to high school teams in North Carolina.<\/p>\n Two teams, each composed of four students and one alternate, square off against each other to answer questions related to marine science. Many of these students are coached by a marine science or general science teacher that sponsors their training.<\/p>\n The Blue Heron Bowl consists of a set of matches. Each match consists six minutes of toss-up and bonus questions, followed by two team challenge questions, ending with a final six minutes of toss-up and bonus questions.<\/p>\n Winners of the Blue Heron Bowl will be sent to the national competition in April. Location of the national finals has yet to be determined. There, our Blue Heron Bowl champion will face-off against 25 other teams in the national finals!<\/p>\n Team registration for the 2020 competition will open soon!<\/p>\n Goals of the NOSB competition are to increase knowledge of the oceans and to raise visibility and public understanding of the national investment in ocean-related research. The competition gives oceanographic research programs the opportunity to develop new connections with their local pre-college community and to open students\u2019 eyes to ocean-related careers.<\/p>\n Ultimately, the success of the Blue Heron Bowl requires the concerted efforts of many volunteer staff and sponsors. Sponsors help offset the costs incurred, while volunteers serve as moderators, scientific judges, rules judges, timekeepers, and scorekeepers. The 2020 event will need assistance from many, so consider joining the Blue Heron Bowl squad of volunteers! If you\u2019re interested in volunteering, you can sign up here: forms.gle\/suX3pEDZMLB6RbgB8<\/a>.<\/p>\n Interested teachers and prospective volunteers should contact Dave Sybert (sybertd@ecu.edu<\/a> or 252-475-5451) as soon as possible to get started on this exciting event!<\/p>\n capefearbg.org<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n What:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Project WILD<\/strong>Blue Heron Bowl Coming to Outer Banks<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\nWhen:\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Saturday, Feb. 1, 2020
\nWhere:<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 ECU\u2019s Coastal Studies Institute, 850 Highway 345, Wanchese
\nCost:<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 FREE entry
\nRSVP:\u00a0 <\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Contact Dave Sybert (sybertd@ecu.edu<\/a> or 252-475-5451)<\/p>\n
\nProject WILD at Cape Fear Botanical Garden<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\nWhen: <\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Monday, Oct. 21; 9:00 a.m. \u2013 4:00 p.m.
\nWhere:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cape Fear Botanical Garden, 536 N. Eastern Blvd., Fayetteville
\nCost:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>FREE (entrance fee waived)
\nCredits<\/strong>:\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a06 contact hours CEU credit; EE Certification Criteria I; optional homework
\nRSVP:\u00a0 <\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Pre-registration required: email Barbara Goldentyer (bgoldentyer@capefearbg.org<\/a>)<\/p>\n