North Carolina at Wilmington 

 suggested microscopic animals 

 called rotifers might be just the 

 ticket. Now, rotifers are "cooked" 

 up to nurture the tiny creatures. 



The in-house breeding 

 programs for sea horses, moon 

 jellyfish and sea nettles is 

 so successful, the aquarium 

 provides animals to sister 

 aquariums as well as aquariums 

 around the country. 



But nature needs more 

 scientific coaxing when it comes 

 to breeding yellow stingrays. 

 That's where a collaborative 

 agreement with the North 

 Carolina State University 

 College of Veterinary Medicine 

 comes in. A joint study to learn 

 more about yellow stingrays' 

 reproduction process yielded the 

 live birth of five healthy pups in 

 2004. An ultrasound borrowed 

 from the North Carolina Zoo 

 helped determine the due date. 

 And, the veterinary college's 

 Craig Harms administered a 

 human hormone to induce labor 

 and make local history. 



Often, research 

 opportunities literally come to the 

 doorstep of the aquariums. That's 

 how Joanne Harcke became 

 involved with turtle research 

 while serving as research 

 coordinator at Roanoke Island. 

 What began as an informal 

 partnership with state and federal 

 agencies to rehabilitate stranded 

 or injured sea turtles now is a 

 far-reaching research project. 

 Before being released, turtles 

 are fitted with transmitters so 

 scientists — and the public 

 — can track them online at www. 

 ncaquariums.com/turtletrails. 



Harcke, now at Fort Fisher, 

 says the program is providing 

 new information about turtles' 

 mysterious migration patterns. 



Continued 



COASTWATCH 9 



