An overview of the Wild Dolphin Project, who we are and what we do.

By Cassie Rusche

Bio: Cassie Rusche received her B.S. (2013) in biology from Northern Kentucky University and her M.S. (2016) in biological sciences from Florida Atlantic University. Cassie is originally from Cincinnati, OH where she grew up loving animals of all kinds. She has always been interested in their behavior and why they do what they do. During her undergrad she was involved in undergraduate research examining parental care behavior in the Carolina Chickadee, a small songbird. After being involved in this research, Cassie knew she wanted to pursue her graduate degree, and so she found Dr. Denise Herzing and the Wild Dolphin Project. She was working on her master’s thesis, investigating spotted dolphin aggressive behavior, and helping out on the boat from 2014-2016. She moved back to Cincinnati, OH briefly but decided she missed the dolphins, Florida’s beaches, and the warmer weather! Cassie is now back working with us as our Research Assistant and will be out in the field on the boat a lot during the summer field season!

Fish Health
Overview and Case Study of a Porcupinefish

By Keith Herman

Keith was born and raised in Delaware, Ohio about 45 minutes north of Columbus, very near the Columbus Zoo and aquarium. He spent his formative years playing soccer, fishing, and generally being outdoors. He attended Miami University 2001 – 2005 and received degrees in Zoology and Psychology. Miami University (Oxford, OH) is not to be confused with University of Miami (Florida). Miami University was founded in 1809, while Florida did not even become a state until 1845.

Keith started his career caring for fish, in the fall of 2005, at Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies in Gatlinburg, TN. After three and a half years, he took a promotion and left for warmer weather, landing at SeaWorld Orlando in early 2009. He then spent over eight years maintaining aquariums there for millions of guests each year. In January of 2017 he started at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center in Boca Raton, Fl., where he has been for just a few weeks shy of four years now. Gumbo Limbo is by far the smallest facility he has worked at, but he has been enjoying the challenge of caring for fish endemic to South Florida.

Gulf Stream in a Martini Glass

By Andy Dehart

Few aquariums are able to house pelagic fishes. The Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science has pioneered a novel exhibit design to house these exciting aquatic ambassadors and recreate the open ocean feel of the Gulf Stream. Andy Dehart, VP of Animal Husbandry and Marine Conservation will provide details on the construction and activation of this unique exhibit and offer insight into the animals that are featured in this exhibit.

With more than 25 years of experience in animal husbandry at several major public aquariums throughout North America, Andy Dehart oversees all animal husbandry operations and aquatic life support operations at Frost Science. Dehart also oversees the museum’s marine conservation initiatives, including restoration efforts, the marine exotic species response program and species-specific conservation efforts.

Prior to joining Frost Science, Dehart helped build and open Toronto’s Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada as the Director of Husbandry, and had previously spent 19 years at the National Aquarium in both Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C. Additionally, Dehart was part of the opening team at the Kingdom of the Seas Aquarium at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium in Omaha, Nebraska. Dehart’s extensive knowledge of sharks has led him to serve as Shark Advisor for the Discovery Channel, and he has appeared on the “Today Show,” “The Early Show,” “NBC Nightly News,” “Larry King Live,” “Fox News,” “USA Today,” “The O’Reilly Factor” and “The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer.” He has been featured in seven Shark Week productions for the Discovery Channel.

Dehart earned a Bachelor of Science in biology from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Loggerhead Marinelife Center

By Casey Palmer

The presentation will be about the work done at Loggerhead Marinelife Center, Florida’s sea turtles, sea turtle biology, sea turtle nesting, and ways that everyone can aid in sea turtle conservation.  Loggerhead Marinelife Center (LMC) is a nonprofit sea turtle research, rehabilitation and educational institution that promotes conservation of ocean ecosystems with a focus on threatened and endangered sea turtles. The Center features an on-site hospital, research laboratory, educational exhibits and aquariums, and also operates the Juno Beach Pier, which hosts world-class angling and sightseeing. Situated on one of the world’s most important sea turtle nesting beaches, Loggerhead Marinelife Center (https://marinelife.org/) is open daily and hosts over 350,000 guests free-of-charge each year. The Center’s conservation team works with 90 local and international organizations across six continents to form partnerships and share conservation initiatives and best practices that are core to its mission of ocean conservation. The Center is expanding and has launched its Waves of Progress capital expansion campaign, designed to accelerate and amplify LMC’s conservation and education impact. When complete, the facility will offer one of the world’s most advanced and unique experiences for guests and scientific partners.

Casey Palmer is the Community Outreach Coordinator at Loggerhead Marinelife Center. She is originally from Bowie, Maryland and studied Biological Sciences at Towson University. In her career, her primary focus has been conservation and education in both inland, coastal, and marine environments. Before her current position, Casey worked with The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore, National Park Service, and the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. She shares her passion for marine conservation and sea turtles through the summer camp and outreach programs she facilitates at the center.

The Great White Sharks of Guadelupe Island

By Gary Rose, MD

We all grew up watching Jaws and if you are a scuba diver you have realized that diving with Great Whites is nothing like we see in the movies. Gary Rose,MD will bring you, virtually, to Guadelupe, Mexico, to dive with him and the Great White Sharks. You will learn about their behavior and what makes them tick. As you view his photo presentation you will feel like you are right there with him ........ and the Great White Sharks.

Gary Rose MD has been a certified diver for over 45 years and is a PADI Open Water Instructor. As a Plastic Surgeon and Associate Professor of Microbiology and Surgery at the College of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University, he has fulfilled his life passion as a marine biologist with his research on marine microorganisms, as well as large ocean apex predators. Dr. Rose lectures all over the world in an interactive and entertaining style. His years of experience are evident in the many stories and anecdotes he relates. Dr. Rose is a member of the Divers Alert Network and The Undersea And Hyperbaric Medical Society. You can find him on weekends diving our local waters and photographing our plentiful and diverse sharks.

Manta Rays

By Jessica Pate

Jessica is the Founder and Lead Scientist of the Florida Manta Project in the Marine Megafauna Foundation (https://marinemegafaunafoundation.org/).

Jessica has an undergraduate degree from UNC-Chapel Hill and a graduate degree from Florida Atlantic University. She has studied sea turtles in Florida, Central America, and West Africa. She has also taught marine biology on traditionally rigged schooners and has crossed the Atlantic Ocean by sail. In 2016, Jessica started the Florida Manta Project to study the biology and ecology of manta rays in South Florida.

Jessica will be talking about manta ray biology and global manta ray conservation, as well what discoveries that she has made about Florida’s manta rays. You will also find out how to become a citizen scientist and contribute to important manta ray research!

How to Improve Club Bylaws

by William Dilley

Will Dilley is one of the attorneys who participated in the review of our Club's Bylaws. He will be speaking to us to answer questions about the problems he sees in our Bylaws, to give us more details about how those problems affect an organization like ours, and to suggest ways the Bylaws could be improved.

He was born and raised in Miami, Florida. In 2013, after graduating from Florida Atlantic University with a Bachelor's of Business Administration, double majoring in Management and Marketing, he earned his Juris Doctor cum laude from Nova Southeastern University, Shepard Broad College of Law.

Prior to joining The Law For All, P.A., Will represented multi-national retail giants, global logistics companies, and some of the largest insurance companies in the world. As lead Trial Attorney and head of the Litigation Department, Will currently focuses on representing individuals, professionals and small businesses alike in claims involving fraud, deceptive trade practices, trade secret disputes, intellectual property rights, breach of contract, property disputes, construction disputes, will and trust disputes and general commercial litigation matters throughout the State of Florida.

Will is admitted to practice law in the State of Florida and in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, and possesses diverse litigation experience in both the state and federal trial courts. Becoming a member of the team at The Law For All, P.A. has allowed Will to combine his extensive litigation experience with his passion for all things business related.

Will splits his time between Fort Lauderdale, Florida and the Florida Keys, where his family has resided for nearly thirty years. Having represented numerous corporate and insurance giants, it is his professional mission to take everything he has learned and bring effective and efficient resolutions to all of his clients' disputes with a level of creativity, outside-the-box thinking and highly personalized service that you just won't find with "big firm" representation.

Marine Conservation and Research Expeditions

With Angela Smith and Shark Team One

Angela Smith, founder of the endangered species conservation and citizen science expedition organization Shark Team One will speak about working with large marine animals and the conservation of endangered species worldwide.

Her program will highlight how photographers, nonprofit organizations, conservationists, students and divers can bring awareness to dwindling shark populations and the issues that face our oceans today.

Angela will talk about The Endangered Whale Shark Conservation Program, Shark Team One’s longest running project and what it’s like to work with these gentle giants. Angela’s presentation will also take you to a remote island off the coast of Western Mexico for a photographic essay about endangered great white sharks and to the Bahamas and Dominica where we will see behind the scenes on Shark Team One film productions. Shark Team One’s endangered species work also extends to marine mammal research expeditions, so we’ll discuss and view endangered sperm whale families of the Caribbean.

Angela is also the NGO Vice-Chair for the Southeast Florida Coral Reef Initiative (SEFCRI) where she is working to help develop federal and state management strategies to help save coral reefs along the Southeast Florida reef tract and has led Shark Team One to be a member of the Sylvia Earle Alliance spearheading the creation of the Coastal Southeast Florida Hope Spot in conjunction with Mission Blue and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Angela is a researcher supported by the S.E.E. Initiative (Science, Exploration, Education) with National Geographic and partners, is a Microsoft AI for Earth grantee, a member of Ocean Artists Society and a writer for National Geographic Open Explorer. Her wildlife documentary films have won accolades at venues such as Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival, Blue Ocean Film Festival, Jackson Wild and Wildlife Conservation Film Festival.

Visit Angela’s website at: www.sharkteamone.org

STAY HOME, STAY SAFE
JOIN US FOR A ZOOM MEETING

We will not have a meeting at the Courtyard hotel for the month of May. Instead, you can expect to receive an invitation to a Zoom meeting, which will be scheduled for Thursday, May 7, at 7:00 PM. The invitation will include a link for you to click when it is time to join the meeting. Please click the link five or ten minutes before the start of the meeting. You will be directed to a waiting room and asked to provide your name. Provide the name we have in the membership directory because only members or their registered guests will be allowed into the meeting. Members can register a guest by sending the guest's name in an email to president@usadiveclub.org by noon on May 7. We will not have an outside speaker for this meeting. Nils will discuss the status of our planned overseas dive trips and we can find out how our friends have been getting along in lockdown. Please join us.

Stay at Home

In order to help keep members safe from the COVID-19 virus, all April Club events have been canceled. As I write this on March 26, 2020, all non-essential businesses, including dive charters and dive stores have been shut down by government decree. It is possible that these conditions may extend into May, or even longer. We will let you know if this affects future Club events.