cape may

The red knot is a shore bird species that visits the shores of Cape May on its migration route. This species has the longest migration route of any species that visits our shores. It travels from tropical and temperate conditions in the winter all the way to the Arctic for breeding, a journey that totals…

Plastic is something we use mindlessly everyday for cooking, storage, travel, amongst many others. As a material it is lightweight, durable, strong, and cheap to manufacture. It’s no wonder our world is so blind for the horrors that plastic causes outside of our small bubble of a world. The same reasons we love using plastics…

For some of you non New Jersey seaside residents, you would be surprise to here that New Jersey has offshore reefs. You are probably asking yourselves, New Jersey has reefs? Where are they? Are they like the ones you see at the Great Barrier Reef? Let’s find out. New Jersey Has Reefs             You heard…

It is argued that the human species is the most intelligent species to roam the planet. We communicate in depth, we have extraordinary cognitive abilities, and we build and expand like no other species – but, we build our complicated designs and stable habitats in an ever changing environment. There is indeed something that we…

How Garbage is Harming Adult Ospreys and Their Chicks Ospreys are one of New Jersey’s largest species of raptors. They have a wingspan of about 59.1 inches to about 70.9 inches, and can weigh from 49.4 ounces to 70.5 ounces (Osprey Life History, n.d.). They are usually easy to spot when flying due to their…

The Water Quality in Cape May, New Jersey and its Effects on Bottlenose Dolphins Mary Jacketti Intern at Cape May Whale Watch and Research Center, University of Miami   Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine if the Atlantic Ocean or Delaware Bay in Southern New Jersey was clean or polluted. We…

Shark Encounters of New Jersey Arianna Nixon Intern at Cape May Whale Watch and Research Center, University of Tampa September 6, 2017* *To view the most recent shark attack data, please visit the Global Shark Attack File.   The state of New Jersey has approximately 227 km of costal land, commonly referred to as the…

Marine debris is any man-made solid material that has been directly or indirectly, intentionally or unintentionally, disposed or abandoned into the marine environment (NOAA, What is marine debris?). 60% to 80% of all marine debris is composed of plastic (Derraik 2002). Plastics are lightweight, durable, and cheap synthetic organic polymers. This has allowed them to…

Onboard the American Star, we may encounter a Loggerhead Sea turtle (Caretta caretta) swimming in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean or the Delaware Bay along the coast of Cape May. These reddish-brown marine reptiles are the most common sea turtle to spot along the coastal waters of New Jersey. Although the Loggerhead sea turtle…

 As many of you have already seen on the news or read online, far more than thirty sperm whales have washed ashore in Europe since the beginning of last year. Four of the thirteen whales found in Germany were discovered to have large amounts of plastic waste in their stomachs. The marine debris included a…